Paul Singer-Funded
Washington Free Beacon Behind Initial Fusion GPS Trump Effort
by Adam Shaw 27 Oct 2017
The Washington Free Beacon, funded by GOP
mega-donor Paul
Singer, was the original funder of Fusion GPS’ research project that
attempted to dig up dirt on then-candidate Donald Trump — a project that would
later be funded by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s
campaign.
The Washington Examiner first reported
Friday that lawyers for the Free Beacon — a conservative outlet based in the
nation’s capital — funded the project from fall 2015 to spring 2016, when it
pulled its funding as Trump looked set to clinch the nomination.
Lawyers for the Free Beacon informed the House
Intelligence Committee of its role in the funding on Friday.
The outlet issued
a statement standing by its decision to fund the project:
Since its launch in February of 2012, the Washington
Free Beacon has retained third party firms to conduct research on many
individuals and institutions of interest to us and our readers. In that
capacity, during the 2016 election cycle we retained Fusion GPS to provide
research on multiple candidates in the Republican presidential primary, just as
we retained other firms to assist in our research into Hillary Clinton.
After the Democrats took over funding of the operation in
mid-2016, Fusion GPS would hire former British spy Christopher Steele and would
lead to the production of the so-called “Trump dossier,” filled with salacious
but unconfirmed claims about how Trump was compromised by the Russians.
Fusion has come under scrutiny for its alleged
ties to Russia, including
the fact that many of the claims originate
from Kremlin sources — meaning that the information came from inside the Russian
government.
The Free Beacon noted in its statement that it had “no
knowledge of or connection to the Steele dossier, did not pay for the dossier,
and never had contact with, knowledge of, or provided payment for any work
performed by Christopher Steele.”
“The Washington Free Beacon has issued a statement
asserting that it had no involvement with Christopher Steele or the dossier he
compiled from Russian sources,” Jack Langer, spokesman for the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence, told Breitbart News. “The Beacon has agreed
to cooperate with the House Intelligence Committee to help the Committee verify
this assertion.”
Yet, the revelation is likely to fuel questions about the
role the so-called “Never Trump” movement played in an effort that would
eventually inflict damage on President Trump, and that was possibly part of a
Russian misinformation scheme.
The Free Beacon is funded in large part by the New York
hedge fund billionaire and major GOP donor Paul Singer. The New York
Times reports
that Singer initially supported Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for the Republican
nomination, but later spearheaded a campaign to deny Trump the nomination even
after Rubio dropped out of the race.
While supporting Republican establishment favorites such
as Rubio and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Singer was a major backer of Common Core and was the founder of a
super-PAC that has the express purpose of turning the GOP pro-gay marriage.
The Examiner reports that the Free Beacon was
originally part of the 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization — the Center for
American Freedom — but in 2014
became a for-profit organization. The Center’s original board of directors
includes William
Kristol, a prominent “Never Trump” activist.
Kristol is also the founder of the Weekly
Standard, which like the Free Beacon has a
neoconservative foreign policy outlook. The Free Beacon was co-founded by two
former Weekly Standard writers, chairman Michael Goldfarb and editor-in-chief Matthew Continetti.
***Update***
“The Washington Free Beacon has issued a statement
asserting that it had no involvement with Christopher Steele or the dossier he
compiled from Russian sources,” Jack Langer, spokesman for the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence, told Breitbart News. “The Beacon has agreed
to cooperate with the House Intelligence Committee to help the Committee verify
this assertion.”
Let’s connect the dots:
Paul Singer
Paul E. Singer is
the chairman for the Manhattan Institute
for Policy Research, was a contributor for the American Unity PAC, a contributor for the ESAFund, supported same-sex
marriage in New York, a contributor for the B-PAC, a contributor for the Conservative
Solutions PAC, and a contributor
for the Senate Leadership Fund.
Note: William Kristol
is a trustee at the Manhattan Institute
for Policy Research, and an editor for the Weekly Standard.
Michael Goldfarb
is a writer for the Weekly Standard,
the chairman for the Center for American
Freedom, and the founder of the Washington
Free Beacon.
Daniel S. Loeb is
a trustee at the Manhattan Institute for
Policy Research, the president of the Daniel
S. Loeb Family Third Point Foundation, was a contributor for the American Unity PAC, a contributor for the ESAFund, and supported same-sex marriage in New York.
Clifford S.
Asness was a trustee at the Manhattan
Institute for Policy Research, a contributor for the American
Unity PAC, a contributor for the ESAFund,
supported same-sex marriage in New
York, a contributor for the B-PAC, a
contributor for the Conservative
Solutions PAC, a contributor for the Senate
Leadership Fund, a leadership council member for the Robin Hood Foundation, and is a director at the International Rescue Committee.
Stephen A.
Schwarzman was a contributor for the Senate
Leadership Fund, an advisory board member for the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and is a friend of Mitt Romney.
Russian
Direct Investment Fund is a state fund for Russia.
Daniel
S. Loeb Family Third Point Foundation was a funder for the Robin Hood Foundation.
John B. King Jr.
is a director at the Robin Hood
Foundation, and was a secretary for the U.S. Department of Education.
Race to the Top
is a grant program for the U.S.
Department of Education, and encourages the adoption for the Common Core educational standards.
Kevin Jennings
was an assistant deputy secretary for the U.S.
Department of Education, the founder & executive director for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network,
and the president & CEO for Be the
Change.
Jonathan S.
Lavine is a board member for Be the
Change, and a co-managing partner for Bain
Capital.
Mitt
Romney was a co-founder for Bain Capital,
and a friend of Stephen A. Schwarzman.
Stephen A.
Schwarzman is a friend of Mitt
Romney, was an advisory board member for the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and a contributor for the Senate Leadership Fund.
Clifford S.
Asness was a contributor for the Senate
Leadership Fund, a trustee at the Manhattan
Institute for Policy Research, a contributor for the American Unity PAC, a contributor for the ESAFund, supported same-sex
marriage in New York, a contributor for the B-PAC, a contributor for the Conservative
Solutions PAC, a leadership council member for the Robin Hood Foundation, and is a director at the International Rescue Committee.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Robin Hood Foundation, Harlem
Children's Zone, and the International
Rescue Committee.
George
Soros was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society, and a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone.
Michael R. Bloomberg
was a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation,
a benefactor for the Harlem Children's
Zone, a New York (NY) mayor, and
an advocate for the ONE Campaign.
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue
Committee.
