The indictment of former Trump campaign consultant Stephen K. Bannon on charges of misappropriating money from online solicitations shows once again the need for transparency for this type of operation. Bannon and associates raised over $25 million from an online GoFundMe appeal to help build the wall on the southern border and put the money into a 501(c)(4) nonprofit WeBuildTheWall, not required by law to disclose donors or file campaign finance reports to the Federal Elections Commission. (OpenSecrets.org, Center for Responsive Politics, August 20, 2020, by Anna Massoglia and Karl Evers-Hillstrom)
Federal prosecutors want to seize the assets of Bannon’s nonprofit Citizens of the American Republic that raised $4.5 million in 2018 but only made $15,000 in grants that year. It also paid out $250,000 to Bannon’s film company and $40,000 to Bannon’s nephew. The nonprofit promotes “economic nationalism and American sovereignty” mainly through trumpeting President Donald Trump’s ideas through films and podcasts. (Texas Tribune, August 24, 2020, by Yeganeh Torbati of ProPublica)