…with very little success.

Eric Greitens (r) [2016 file photo].

On Eric Greitens’ (r) now legendary transparency, a press release from Chris Koster’s (D) 2016 gubernatorial campaign:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15th, 2016
[….]

Statement: Eric Greitens’ “SEALs For Truth” is Funded By Dark Money Organization

St. Louis – Today, SEALs For Truth, a mysterious organization, and Eric Greitens’ largest donor, disclosed their list of “donors” to the public. Instead of a list of individuals, the organization was completely funded by a single organization called the “American Policy Coalition”. It is just one anonymous group funneling money to another anonymous group – a Russian nesting doll of campaign finance.

In the Republican Primary, Greitens claimed the donors behind SEALs For Truth were “Naval special warfare, Navy SEALs, and special warfare combatant crewmen who were also part of Naval Special Warfare, who saw what was happening in [his] campaign.” MEC filings show that was a lie.  

David Turner, spokesman for the Koster campaign, delivered the following statement:

“Eric Greitens lied to the people of Missouri. He is running a campaign with no regard for ethics or integrity. This FEC disclosure further proves his only interest is furthering his own political ambitions. With more than 70% of his donations outside of Missouri, and more obscured through legal entities and dark money groups, his pledge to clean up corruption is a complete and utter joke. What’s worse is that he continues to mislead Missourians by refusing to release his tax returns. I have one word to describe Eric Greitens on ethics: pathetic.”

###

Eric Greiten’s (r) received a single campaign contribution of $1,975,000.00 from “SEALs for Truth” on July 18, 2016.

The American Policy Coalition? “SEALs for Truth” and the “American Policy Coalition” don’t show up in any searches at the Missouri Ethics Commission.

The October quarterly filing [pdf] for “SEALs for Truth” with the Federal Election Commission lists a single $2,000,000.00 contribution from the “American Policy Coalition, Inc.” in Washington, D.C.:

SCHEDULE A
ITEMIZED RECEIPTS
All Listed Line Numbers
Committee: SEALS FOR TRUTH
Contributor’s Name Contributor’s Address Employer/Occupation Memo/Description Memo Text Date Amount ($) Aggregate ($) Limits
American Policy Coalition, Inc. P.O. Box 26445 Washington, DC 20001 07/18/2016 2000000.00 2000000.00

[emphasis added]

That’s it. One $2,000,000.00 contribution, of which all but $25,000.00 was passed through to Eric Greitens’ (r) 2016 gubernatorial campaign.

The disbursements for “SEALs for Truth” filed with the Federal Election Commission:

SCHEDULE B
ITEMIZED DISBURSEMENTS
All Listed Line Numbers
Committee: SEALS FOR TRUTH Disbursement To Address Election Type Date of Disbursement Extra Description Amount This Period Text Memo
Clark Hill PLC 601 Pennsylvania Ave NW Suite 1000 N. Bldg Washington, DC 20004 07/25/2016 Legal fees 3295.50

Clark Hill PLC 601 Pennsylvania Ave NW Suite 1000 N. Bldg Washington, DC 20004 09/01/2016 Legal fees 3010.00

Jackson-Alvarez Group 7777 Leesburg Pike Suite 407N Falls Church, Virginia 22043 09/28/2016 Research consulting services 5000.00

Greitens for Missouri 4579 LACLEDE AVE #138 St. Louis, Missouri 63108 07/18/2016 Contribution 1975000.00

[emphasis added]

Nope. Still no idea who wrote the check(s). So much for campaign finance transparency.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: Oh, like they couldn’t come up with another $25,000.00? (July 18, 2016)

Campaign Finance: not exactly a paragon of transparency (August 11, 2016)

Campaign Finance: just passing through (August 26, 2016)

Campaign Finance: Who’s that for? (September 17, 2016)

Campaign Finance: Oh, like anyone is surprised? (September 19, 2016)

Campaign Finance: maybe it all depends on what your definition of “grassroots” is (September 30, 2016)

Campaign Finance: let’s go for the record (October 4, 2016)

Campaign Finance: the journey continues, one $1,000,000.00 check at a time (October 6, 2016)

Campaign Finance: Who benefits? (October 9, 2016)

Campaign Finance: You were expecting something else? (October 14, 2016)