Rep. Ken Calvert responds to ‘bombshell’ Washington Examiner report on his challenger’s finances

A Republican lawmaker is sounding off on his Democratic challenger for accepting wads of “dark money” through a fellowship despite railing against anonymous donations in the political system.

“A new bombshell investigative report from the Washington Examiner discovered radical Democrat Will Rollins lined his own pockets with tens of thousands of dollars from liberal dark money groups, Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), who is facing a repeat challenge in California’s 41st Congressional District from former federal prosecutor Will Rollins, posted on social media Wednesday. “Even worse? Rollins previously said he wants to end dark money in politics.”

Calvert, who has been in Congress since 1993, was referring to a Washington Examiner story published Wednesday detailing how Rollins and other repeat Democratic congressional hopefuls have received cash through an unusual “fellowship” run by the liberal American Mainstream Policy Leadership Institute. AMPLI is a project of Our American Future Foundation, a newly-formed charity in Washington, D.C., incorporated by an associate of Democratic superlawyer Marc Elias.

“The more we learn about Rollins, the clearer it becomes: Will Rollins is a complete fraud who cannot be trusted to tell the truth about who he is or what he believes,” Calvert said in a statement Wednesday. “Moreover, voters deserve to know whether Rollins was being paid for actual work for this group or if he was merely being paid off by his dark money allies to run for Congress.”

🚨 A new bombshell investigative report from the Washington Examiner discovered radical Democrat Will Rollins lined his own pockets with tens of thousands of dollars from liberal dark money groups. Even worse? Rollins previously said he wants to end dark money in politics. #CA41 https://t.co/kkimDqGapl

— Ken Calvert (@TeamCalvert) January 24, 2024

The Wednesday story by the Washington Examiner revealed that the paid fellowship for candidates is no longer handled by New Politics Leadership Academy, a charity that trains people to run and has an affiliated New Politics 527 advocacy group also focused on “recruiting, developing, and electing servant leaders who put community and country over self.”

Experts in tax-exempt law have raised concerns over the fellowship in the past — questioning whether a charity could run afoul of federal rules by funneling salaries to candidates. Paul Kamenar, counsel to the conservative National Legal and Policy Center watchdog group, said on Wednesday that such fellowships could “constitute political contributions,” noting, “We will keep an eye on these groups to see if they are also complying with IRS rules as a charity.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee was vocal on social media about revelations concerning the fellowship, notably asserting in a press release that Democratic candidate Kirsten Engel’s “intimate involvement with these secretive left-wing forces orchestrating this unprecedented corrupt scheme is disturbing and Arizonans deserve answers immediately.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Engel listed her participation in the fellowship on her staff website through the University of Arizona. 

Engel was not paid through the fellowship, according to the American Mainstream Policy Leadership Institute. She also did not disclose any income from the program in her financial disclosures with the House clerk. The Democrat is aiming to unseat Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), whom she lost to in 2022.

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