Thread by @jamesfourm

1/ From 2014:

"Red Sea LLC, Lerner’s firm, was paid $3.2 million working for the Club for Growth and Senate Conservatives Action, the super PAC arm of Senate Conservatives Fund, in three of those races." cc @emlas
politico.com/story/2014/07/…

2/ Friends of Pat Toomey PAC from 2016:

Red Sea LLC is Jon Lerner, protege of Arthur Finkelstein.

Harris Media is Vincent Harris, who worked for Rand Paul, Netanyahu, AfD etc.

Target Enterprises is Nick Ayers, who is now Mike Pence's chief of staff.
opensecrets.org/pacs/expenditu…

3/ Two days ago, Pence chose Jon Lerner to be his new national security adviser. Lerner will continue as deputy to U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, but he will also lead Pence’s foreign policy team and advise him on all national security issues.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…

4/ The lines keep blurring. The circle of trust keeps shrinking.

When Adelson discussed setting up a pro-Trump super PAC in May 2016, one of the people he considered putting in charge was (now Pence's chief of staff) Nick Ayers.
politico.com/story/2016/05/…

5/ In the lead up to last year’s Republican gubernatorial primary, Eric Greitens got a $4 million boost from LG PAC.

LG PAC's money came from a "nonprofit" called Freedom Frontier.

Nick Ayers was paid by both Freedom Frontier and the Greitens campaign.
kansascity.com/news/politics-…

6/ I love this photo so much. cc @gametheorytoday

Eric Greitens, Erik Prince and Dana Rohrabacher together in the summer of 2015.

Herein lies the problem too. All those millions given to candidate's super PACs. How many of them even know where the money actually comes from?

7/ Erik Prince is still raising money for his old boss, Dana Rohrabacher, too. This was only last month.

Rohrabacher has of course gone full Kremlin at this point. Prince works for the Chinese government. Greitens, Prince and DeVos take us right to...
talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cnn-a…

8/ Mike Pence's friend David McIntosh, who now heads the Club for Growth.

Club for Growth, like many #CNP (Council for National Policy) linked groups, claim they oppose Trump. I'm still trying to find evidence to, you know, support this claim.
indystar.com/story/news/pol…

9/ In any case, I mentioned in '/1' that Jon Lerner's company, Red Sea LLC, was paid $3.2 million by the Club for Growth in 2014.

Red Sea LLC also worked primarily with Club for Growth during the 2016 election.
opensecrets.org/expends/vendor…

10/ Now look at this.

"The Mercers’ partnership with Bannon began in 2011, thanks to an encounter that Robert and Rebekah had with Andrew Breitbart.

During a spring meeting of 🚩Club for Growth 🚩 donors at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach, FL, the Mercers sought out Breitbart...

11/ ...after watching him deliver a talk about how to co-opt the political strategies used by liberals."

Mercer has donated $2 million to Club for Growth over the years, including $250k in 2015. Isn't interesting how often these various groups intersect?
washingtonpost.com/graphics/polit…

12/ "Richard Uihlein, chief executive of Wisconsin-based shipping company Uline, is on track to meet or exceed his 2016 political giving, which totaled $19 million."

Uihlein recently gave $3.5 mill to Club for Growth Action (part of Club for Growth).
washingtonpost.com/news/post-poli…

13/ John Bolton paid Cambridge Analytica $1.1 million during the 2014 & 2016 election cycles.

Top political donors to Bolton included Robert Mercer, part owner of Cambridge Analytica, and Richard Uihlein, who contributed millions of dollars as well.
slate.com/news-and-polit…

14/ So, there are lots of ways to go with this, but I'll make a few final points.

Mercer has big problems with the IRS right now. Other donors have cold feet because Trump.

The GOP needs Adelson's money, and John Bolton's biggest and most influential backer is Sheldon Adelson.

15/ Still, guys like Richard Uilhein will pump money in. Cambridge Analytica might stay out of the midterms, but the strategy CA used in 2016 isn't going away.

Dark money guys will find a way to influence politics in dark ways.

One of the ways they do this is disinformation.

16/ A prime example of disinfo in the 2016 election is the idea that Trump and Pence's backers were wholly separate entities.

It simply isn't true.

Yes, these various alliances can & do shift, but Pence and Trump share many of the same political donors and campaign operatives.

17/ Paul Manafort's connections to Russia are undeniable, but his influence in the GOP is vast as well.

Manafort likely did play a big part in Trump picking Pence, but Manafort's presence in the campaign connected a lot of interests. Some in the US. Some linked to the Kremlin.

18/ Manafort convinced the people who mattered that supporting Trump was worth it. He brought in an old friend like Mike Pence to keep people calm.

Pence is a #CNP guy, through and through. A traditional conservative the GOP was supposed to be able to count on.

They were wrong.

19/ Manafort got into bed with Russian intelligence over a decade ago. Once you get into bed with Russian intelligence, they own you forever. This isn't complicated.
medium.com/@JamesFourM/tr…

20/ Somewhere along the way, Mike Pence decided to stand by Donald Trump, whether he was a traitor or not.

The unfortunate reality is it wasn't quite the leap most like to think it was.

In time, the truth of this is going to out. The dark money won't stay so dark forever.

21/ When I saw the news a couple days ago that Mike Pence chose Jon Lerner to be his new national security adviser, I realized Trump and Pence are running out of people who they can still trust.

Why else give Lerner two senior administration jobs?

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22/ But this last bit matters most. The late Arthur Finkelstein was Jon Lerner's mentor.

Who did the normally reclusive Finkelstein meet with in April 2016?

Sheldon Adelson. Bolton's sponsor. GOP donor. #CNP ally.

#BudapestBridge is coming full circle.

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23/ Two more.

Connie Mack IV and Arthur Finkelstein worked together for years in Hungary.

Last year, we saw Mack's work for Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, since Trump’s election "has included meetings and email exchanges with VP Mike Pence."
thedailybeast.com/the-strongman-…

24/ But who, I wonder, did Mack IV start lobbying for in 2014?

Wouldn't you know it, it's Sheldon Adelson again!

There. Is. Always. More.

These are not tangential or insignificant connections. These guys are all part of the same Mob. Mob. Mob.

--Ends--
thehill.com/policy/technol…

25/ CODA: In case you're wondering what I mean by #BudapestBridge, start here. If you have questions, feel free to ask.
medium.com/@JamesFourM/tr…