Founder | Joel Arends |
---|---|
36-4818487 [1] | |
Legal status |
Corporation (formerly 501(c)(4) Super PAC [2]) |
Headquarters | Sioux Falls, South Dakota [1] |
Joel Arends | |
Dan Backer [3] | |
Revenue (2015) | $24,760 [4] |
Expenses (2015) | $22,253 [4] |
Website |
www |
Veterans for a Strong America (VSA) is a conservative [6] [7] political action committee that describes itself as a "non-partisan action organization dedicated to educating the public, members of Congress and the Executive Branch about a strong national defense, robust foreign policy and building a military that is second to none." [8] [9] The group was founded by Joel Arends of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who is also the chairman and sole staffer of the group. [10] [11] Arends is an attorney and political consultant in Sioux Falls, where the organization is based. [12] He previously worked as the South Dakota field director for the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign and as a consultant to the Americans for Prosperity group, affiliated with the Koch brothers. [9] VSA has been described as a dark money group. [13] [14]
Veterans for a Strong America is part of a "broader independent campaign by nonprofits linked to former Koch brothers operative Sean Noble," who runs the political consulting firm DC London. [15] The group was formerly registered as a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) ("social welfare") non-profit organization, [7] [9] but the group's status was automatically revoked by the IRS [2] in August 2015 [12] because it failed to submit tax reporting documents ( Form 990s) for three years in a row. [8] [9] [11] The group is appealing the decision. [12]
"Veterans for a Strong America has a history of bombastic advertisements linked to outlandish plans and fundraising appeals." [15] In 2012, the group ran an advertisement, produced by DC London, which claimed that President Barack Obama had taken too much credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden. [15] At the time, Arends "declared that the ' swift boating' of the president had begun." [15] The effort was largely ineffective, and the group spent $750,000, a relatively small amount, on direct attack ads against Obama. [15]
According to the group's latest filing with the Federal Election Commission as of mid-September 2015, the group has assets of US$30, and debts of US$318, owed to a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. [12] [16]
In May 2014, VSA released an attack advertisement against Arizona businesswoman Christine Jones, who was running against Arizona State Treasurer Doug Ducey in the Republican primary for Arizona gubernatorial election. [15] The ad invoked the 2012 Benghazi attack and attacked Jones for "once writing kind words about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton." [15] Jones' campaign criticized the ad as the "act of a desperate, fledgling campaign and their dark money allies who feel the need to go to this absurd association." [15] The ad was also produced by Nobel's DC London, which Arends called "a great partner to our organization." [15]
The group organized a campaign event for the Donald Trump presidential campaign of 2016 on the deck of the USS Iowa, [2] News reports in September 2015 following the event publicized the fact that the group had lost its tax-exempt status. [8] [9] [11]
The group's endorsement of Trump raised campaign finance questions as corporations are restricted to donating up to US$2,700 to a campaign; estimated event costs of US$11,000 paid by the VSA exceeded that amount, [2] although there is no substantive evidence that "contribution limits or other campaign laws were broken." [8] Other concerns raised include reports that the group does not appear to have any members or any relation with veterans. [11]
According to CNN, the group "sounds like a charity" despite having its tax-exempt status revoked. [12] The group claimed in a press release to have more than a half-million supporters, but a CNN investigative report "found scant evidence that Veterans for a Strong America has the supporters it says it does" and stated that "outside of Arends, CNN has found it difficult to find anyone with a direct link to the group." [12] Nonprofit Quarterly referred to the group as a "fake vet nonprofit." [9]
The VSA rose to notoriety in September 2015, after the Trump event. Attendees reportedly paid between $100 and $1,000 to attend the event. [12] The group issued a statement denying that the group had violated election law by organizing the event. [12] In an interview in September 2015, Arends said he was confident that the event was legal, [17] while acknowledging that the group's tax-exempt nonprofit status had been revoked, but said that these problems predated his tenure with the group, as well as the current board of directors. [17] Arends said that the group had disbanded in 2012 and was restarted by him in 2014. [17] Arends said that the " liberal media" was out to get his group [17] and that it was being attacked because they are endorsing Trump. [18] KSFY-TV reported that "Arends says he works in tandem with six volunteer board members and that he has a database of more than 500,000 members who have contacted the organization." [18]
Founder | Joel Arends |
---|---|
36-4818487 [1] | |
Legal status |
Corporation (formerly 501(c)(4) Super PAC [2]) |
Headquarters | Sioux Falls, South Dakota [1] |
Joel Arends | |
Dan Backer [3] | |
Revenue (2015) | $24,760 [4] |
Expenses (2015) | $22,253 [4] |
Website |
www |
Veterans for a Strong America (VSA) is a conservative [6] [7] political action committee that describes itself as a "non-partisan action organization dedicated to educating the public, members of Congress and the Executive Branch about a strong national defense, robust foreign policy and building a military that is second to none." [8] [9] The group was founded by Joel Arends of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who is also the chairman and sole staffer of the group. [10] [11] Arends is an attorney and political consultant in Sioux Falls, where the organization is based. [12] He previously worked as the South Dakota field director for the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign and as a consultant to the Americans for Prosperity group, affiliated with the Koch brothers. [9] VSA has been described as a dark money group. [13] [14]
Veterans for a Strong America is part of a "broader independent campaign by nonprofits linked to former Koch brothers operative Sean Noble," who runs the political consulting firm DC London. [15] The group was formerly registered as a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) ("social welfare") non-profit organization, [7] [9] but the group's status was automatically revoked by the IRS [2] in August 2015 [12] because it failed to submit tax reporting documents ( Form 990s) for three years in a row. [8] [9] [11] The group is appealing the decision. [12]
"Veterans for a Strong America has a history of bombastic advertisements linked to outlandish plans and fundraising appeals." [15] In 2012, the group ran an advertisement, produced by DC London, which claimed that President Barack Obama had taken too much credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden. [15] At the time, Arends "declared that the ' swift boating' of the president had begun." [15] The effort was largely ineffective, and the group spent $750,000, a relatively small amount, on direct attack ads against Obama. [15]
According to the group's latest filing with the Federal Election Commission as of mid-September 2015, the group has assets of US$30, and debts of US$318, owed to a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. [12] [16]
In May 2014, VSA released an attack advertisement against Arizona businesswoman Christine Jones, who was running against Arizona State Treasurer Doug Ducey in the Republican primary for Arizona gubernatorial election. [15] The ad invoked the 2012 Benghazi attack and attacked Jones for "once writing kind words about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton." [15] Jones' campaign criticized the ad as the "act of a desperate, fledgling campaign and their dark money allies who feel the need to go to this absurd association." [15] The ad was also produced by Nobel's DC London, which Arends called "a great partner to our organization." [15]
The group organized a campaign event for the Donald Trump presidential campaign of 2016 on the deck of the USS Iowa, [2] News reports in September 2015 following the event publicized the fact that the group had lost its tax-exempt status. [8] [9] [11]
The group's endorsement of Trump raised campaign finance questions as corporations are restricted to donating up to US$2,700 to a campaign; estimated event costs of US$11,000 paid by the VSA exceeded that amount, [2] although there is no substantive evidence that "contribution limits or other campaign laws were broken." [8] Other concerns raised include reports that the group does not appear to have any members or any relation with veterans. [11]
According to CNN, the group "sounds like a charity" despite having its tax-exempt status revoked. [12] The group claimed in a press release to have more than a half-million supporters, but a CNN investigative report "found scant evidence that Veterans for a Strong America has the supporters it says it does" and stated that "outside of Arends, CNN has found it difficult to find anyone with a direct link to the group." [12] Nonprofit Quarterly referred to the group as a "fake vet nonprofit." [9]
The VSA rose to notoriety in September 2015, after the Trump event. Attendees reportedly paid between $100 and $1,000 to attend the event. [12] The group issued a statement denying that the group had violated election law by organizing the event. [12] In an interview in September 2015, Arends said he was confident that the event was legal, [17] while acknowledging that the group's tax-exempt nonprofit status had been revoked, but said that these problems predated his tenure with the group, as well as the current board of directors. [17] Arends said that the group had disbanded in 2012 and was restarted by him in 2014. [17] Arends said that the " liberal media" was out to get his group [17] and that it was being attacked because they are endorsing Trump. [18] KSFY-TV reported that "Arends says he works in tandem with six volunteer board members and that he has a database of more than 500,000 members who have contacted the organization." [18]