By Rebecca Ballhaus
A former staffer to Jeb Bush established a group earlier this
year that can raise money without disclosing its donors, a
revelation that has drawn criticism from campaign-finance watchdogs
who say the group will allow the likely 2016 candidate to benefit
from contributions his campaign might prefer not to disclose.
The nonprofit corporation called Right to Rise Policy Solutions,
sharing the same "Right to Rise" name as two other political-action
committees raising money for Mr. Bush's potential campaign is the
latest addition to a group of politically linked organizations not
required to disclose their donors. Other potential 2016 candidates,
including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Ohio Gov. John Kasich,
are also linked to nonprofits that aren't required to disclose the
source of their donations.
The establishment of the nonprofit allows the pro-Bush effort to
cover all its bases, said Kenneth Gross, the former head of the
Federal Election Commission's enforcement division. "No campaign
wants to leave anything on the table," he said. "There are certain
donors that don't want to be disclosed, and there are certain
donors that the campaign would prefer not to disclose."
Mr. Gross added that other candidates will likely move to add
similar nonprofit organizations to their arsenal. "I certainly see
it as another source of funding that other campaigns are likely to
follow suit on because they can accept any kind of money," he
said.
The nonprofit will be permitted to raise money from individuals,
corporations and even foreign sources, though some restrictions
could apply to how that money would be spent.
News of the nonprofit's ties to Mr. Bush, former governor of
Florida, was first reported by the Washington Post.
The group was established in Arkansas in February by Bill Simon,
a former top Wal-Mart executive who served under Mr. Bush as
secretary of the Florida Department of Management Services. Mr.
Simon, who gave to Republican nominee Mitt Romney's campaign in
2012 and has been a friend of Mr. Bush for many years, has been
involved in policy discussions with Mr. Bush in recent months.
In a statement, Mr. Simon said he established the group to
"highlight conservative policies that will restore economic and
social mobility in America," and said it will be involved in
creating policies "consistent with Governor Bush's optimistic,
conservative message and vision." He stressed that the non-profit
will be dedicated to policy, not fundraising.
Kristy Campbell, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bush, said in a statement
Wednesday that Mr. Bush is "aware" that Mr. Simon "established a C4
policy organization to highlight conservative, reform-minded
policies, consistent with igniting economic and social
mobility."
As a 501(c)(4), the organization won't be required to report to
the Internal Revenue Service until 2016, and even then won't be
required to make public a list of its donors. If Mr. Bush launches
a presidential campaign, the nonprofit will be barred from
coordinating with it but no such restrictions will apply to the
nonprofit's relationship with the super PAC already raising
millions for the former governor.
The nonprofit isn't planning to "publicly advocate or
advertise," Mr. Simon said. It will launch a website soon that will
make public the work it is doing.
A person familiar with the group said it isn't "formally
associated" with Mr. Bush. But the Bush team in recent months has
been aggressive in shutting down advocacy efforts not directly
linked to the former governor. Last month, a lawyer for Mr. Bush
ordered a Florida supporter to stop running ads promoting the
potential contender to avoid violating any campaign-finance
laws.
This is not the first time Mr. Bush who has sought to tout his
transparency, releasing a trove of emails from his tenure as
governor late last year has drawn criticism for playing in a gray
area of campaign-finance laws. The creation of a super PAC backing
him earlier this year was notable because it came simultaneously
with the launch of Mr. Bush's leadership PAC and bore an identical
name and logo. Super PACs can raise and spend money without caps,
but are prohibited from coordinating with a candidate's campaign.
But since Mr. Bush is neither a candidate nor an office-holder,
those restrictions don't necessarily apply.
Groups seeking to reduce the influence of money in politics
criticized the nonprofit's ties to Mr. Bush on Wednesday. "It's
exceedingly difficult to explain how the super PAC and the policy
organization are independent from Jeb Bush," said Fred Wertheimer,
president of Democracy 21. "It's just one more example of making a
mockery of the laws and counting on the fact that no one is
expected to enforce them."
On Tuesday, two campaign-finance watchdogs including Democracy
21 filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission charging
four candidates, including Mr. Bush, with violating
campaign-finance laws by raising money and staffing up for a
potential campaign, but failing to officially register with the
FEC.
The 2014 election saw a rise in the number of groups that spent
money on behalf of candidates but weren't required to disclose
their donors. Americans for Prosperity, the conservative group
backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, spent around $85 million
and drew high levels of criticism including from Senate Minority
Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.). Patriot Majority, a pro-Democratic
group, was also free from disclosure requirements and spent at
least $10 million on the campaign.
Write to Rebecca Ballhaus at Rebecca.Ballhaus@wsj.com
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