Whitaker received $1.2M from conservative nonprofit: report

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker received $1.2 million between 2014 and 2017 from a conservative nonprofit in which he was reported as the only employee, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing tax filings.

But the source of the funds that the nonprofit organization, Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), used to pay Whitaker remains unclear, the Post reported.  

The Post also reported it could not establish the origins of FACT, noting the group is part of a national network of nonprofits that work to spread conservative messages, citing state and federal records, as well as interviews with those involved.

The foundation was created under a different name two years before Whitaker arrived in 2014, according to the Post.

{mosads}A spokesman for FACT declined to tell the Post where the foundation received the funds it used to pay Whitaker, saying in a statement it “is not required” to release donor information.

“Like nearly all non-profit organizations — including those with similarly stated missions — FACT does not and is not required to release its donor information,” the spokesman reportedly said. “This protects free speech rights of all of these groups’ supporters as outlined in the First Amendment.”

FACT’s pay to Whitaker included $500,000 in 2017, according to the Post.

At least some of the funds FACT received in 2014 reportedly came from DonorsTrust, a nonprofit organization that donors have used to anonymously give to conservative nonprofits, according to the Post, which cited tax filings.

The Post reported that the president of DonorsTrust declined to specify from where it had received the funding it then steered to FACT.

According to FACT’s website, the foundation promotes “accountability, ethics, and transparency in government” by holding public officials accountable for unethical conduct. 

Whitaker was appointed earlier this month as acting attorney general following the forced resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who drew Trump’s ire for recusing himself from the federal investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, including any ties to the Trump campaign. 

Whitaker’s appointment has come under fire because of his past criticisms of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, which Whitaker once suggested had gone “too far.”

He also previously called for the investigation to be defunded. President Trump has called the probe a “witch hunt” and has said it should end.