John,

You may know Harlan Crow as the billionaire who has been secretly buying Clarence Thomas luxury trips for over two decades.

But that’s not where Harlan Crow’s troubling expenditures end.

Harlan Crow is also deeply intertwined with the shadowy world of Republican dark money, as CREW explained in a new analysis. His political spending started long before Citizens United opened the floodgates for dark money in American elections in 2010.

Between 1977 and 2009, Crow and his companies gave more than $2.4 million to federal candidates, parties, PACs and other political entities.

And since Citizens United, he’s spent even more! Since 2010, he’s spent $13.8 million on federal politics. Not only that, but he also personally took part in the creation of the post-Citizens United dark money system and secretly helped bankroll some of the new groups.

Even as the Supreme Court was deliberating Citizens United, Crow reportedly provided the major funding for Liberty Central, a dark money group founded by Ginni Thomas in late 2009.

According to Politico, of the $550,000 in anonymous start-up funds the group received in 2009, $500,000 came from Crow.

Asked later about his support of the group, Crow refused to even confirm his contribution, saying: “I disclose what I’m required by law to disclose, and I don’t disclose what I’m not required to disclose.”

Citizens United was a win for billionaires like Harlan Crow who wanted to anonymously spend money on elections. No wonder Crow helped bankroll the Republican dark money system…

Just weeks after the Citizens United decision in January 2010, four leading Republican political figures – Karl Rove, Ed Gillsepie, Fred Malek and Norm Coleman – set out to obtain the “seed funding” they needed to launch several post-Citizens United groups.

Together, they laid out their blueprint for a sort of “shadow party” to about 20 wealthy Republicans. They wanted funding for a network of what became some of the biggest players in outside political spending – like super PAC American Crossroads – that would work to defeat Democrats, and elect Republicans.

Crow was one of the politically-oriented billionaires who attended the fundraiser.

How much more Crow has given to dark money groups over the years is unknown. He has, however, also donated huge amounts to super PACs closely associated with dark money groups, including several Rove and others pitched to him just after Citizens United.

Crow’s secret political contributions and undisclosed gifts to Justice Thomas can be seen as two sides of the same coin, offering opportunities to exercise influence, while keeping the public in the dark about who is pulling the strings.

Thanks to Citizens United we may never know just how much Harlan Crow – or any billionaires – are spending to influence our politics. We need to shine a light on the world of dark money and end this corrupt secret spending.

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Thanks,

CREW