Articles

Ms.: The Same Dark Money Groups That Helped Overturn Roe Are Also Behind Attacks on Abortion Pill
By Ansev Demirhan A federal judge installed by Donald Trump could declare a nationwide ban on the abortion pill mifepristone as soon as this week.

Trump’s Anti-Democracy Blueprint Continues on Two Years after the Capitol Insurrection
By Evan Vorpahl and Lisa Graves Two years after the violent insurrection at the Capitol that Donald Trump incited, his blueprint for attacking American democracy

New Documents Show ALEC Targeting School Board and Other Local Races
By Alyssa Bowen Recent documents acquired by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reveal a new initiative targeting local politicians–especially school board candidates–with right-wing

The Disinformation Playbook Targeting Our Public Schools and Elections
Since early 2021, a wave of right-wing organizations–funded by ultra wealthy donors they keep secret from the public–have sought to take political advantage of the

11 Times the Anti-Choice Fanatics Said the Quiet Part Out Loud and Revealed Their Playbook to Decimate Reproductive Rights
By Julia Peck When anti-choice groups are trying to look reasonable, they often try to frame their assault on reproductive rights as a pro-democracy effort

Leonard Leo’s Court Capture Web Raised Nearly $600 Million Before Biden Won; Now It’s Spending Untold Millions from Secret Sources to Attack Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, March 22, 2022 Contact: Becky Timmons | becky@littlething.co, (218) 206-4926 This week, as the Senate Judiciary Committee conducts confirmation hearings for

Dark Money “Law Center” Provided GOP Senators with Talking Points They Are Using to Attack Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee in This Week’s Hearings
By Alyssa Bowen and Lisa Graves At the end of February, less than a month before this week’s Supreme Court nomination hearings for Judge Ketanji

Black History Month: the Independent Women’s Forum Praises Black Diversity while Opposing Policies that Would Redress Racial Disparities
By Ansev Demirhan The right-wing women’s group called the “Independent Women’s Forum” (IWF) marked Black History Month by touting its commitment to “developing and advancing

Spotlight on “The Federalist”
By Evan Vorpahl and Ansev Demirhan With a new battle brewing over the Supreme Court, we are shining a light on some of the instruments

Right-Wing Groups that Celebrated Trump for Promising to Nominate a Woman to the Supreme Court Attack Biden for Promising to Nominate a Black Woman to the Court
By Julia Peck and Lisa Graves When President Biden renewed his pledge to nominate a well-qualified Black woman to the Supreme Court after Justice Stephen Breyer announced

How Right-Wing Women Are Using the Pandemic to Peddle School Privatization
By Ansev Demirhan Dark money-funded women’s groups are using this deadly pandemic to push their right-wing agenda to privatize public schools. There is no doubt

The “Independent” Women Who Oppose Women’s Rights to Make Independent Choices About Abortion
By Ansev Demirhan, Evan Vorpahl, and Alyssa Bowen January 22 marks 49 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on Roe v. Wade, which recognized the

A Year Later, All Known Evidence Still Points to Rep. Lauren Boebert Being the First to Report that Speaker Pelosi Had Been “Removed” from the House Chamber on January 6
By Alyssa Bowen, Evan Vorpahl and Lisa Graves On January 6th, freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) tweeted that the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi

Backgrounder: Women for America First
By Julia Peck, True North Research Women for America First (WFAF) is a dark-money 501(c)(4) registered in 2019 and led by the right-wing mother-daughter duo

New Report: Trump’s Jan. 6th Speech Incited an Insurrection and a Fanatical Rewriting of State Laws to Subvert Our Freedom to Vote
Trump’s Speech Is the Blueprint for the GOP’s Ongoing Legislative Campaign to Undermine Free and Fair Elections True North Research is issuing a report about

Who Is Behind the “Toxic Schools” Attack Website? Backgrounder on the So-Called Independent Women’s Voice
By Lisa Graves, Alyssa Bowen, and Evan Vorpahl with research from the True North Research Team On October 13, 2021, a Washington, DC-based non-profit group

Postal Service Chair Ron Bloom Worked at Private Equity Firm that Profited from Privatizing the Royal Mail
Now He Is All-In on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s Corrosive Plan to Charge More for Slower U.S. Mail By Lisa Graves and Evan Vorpahl, True

Meet the Architects of the GOP’s Imitation Paid Leave Scheme: the “Independent” Women’s Forum, a Pay-to-Play Front Group
By Evan Vorpahl Corporations and the extremely wealthy continue to make record profits during the Covid-19 pandemic while millions of Americans are struggling to pay
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Invests in Equity Firm Led by the New Chair of the Postal Service Board, Ron Bloom
Newly reviewed financial documents show that the controversial Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, recently started investing in the company where Ron Bloom, the new Chair of

The New Anti-”Woke” Advertiser Is a Dark Money Group Made from an Old Brand and Fueled by Secret Cash
A Backgrounder by Lisa Graves and Evan Vorpahl A group called “Consumers’ Research” recently grabbed headlines after announcing a million dollar ad buy against “woke”

Senate Testimony by Lisa Graves Calling for Transparency in Judicial Appointments and Disclosure of Dark Money Influence
True North Research executive director Lisa Graves testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on March 10, 2021, “What’s Wrong with the Supreme Court: The

Demands for Louis DeJoy’s Resignation and Postal Reform Rising as Trump-Appointee Continues Attacks on USPS
This is a summary of a full article that was first published on Moyers & Company. By Lisa Graves and Evan Vorpahl On Wednesday, February 24,

Justice Barrett’s Ties to Shell and API Are Far Deeper Than Reported; Her Father Could Be Deposed in Climate Change Suits
By Lisa Graves and Caroline Jones Executive Summary This backgrounder summarizes our research into Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s family ties to Shell Oil Company and

Right-Wing Dark Money Groups Seek to Undermine Biden’s Coronavirus Response — with a Stark Human Cost
By Evan Vorpahl In The Hill, Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) visiting fellow Natalie Goodnow criticized President-elect Joe Biden’s appointment of Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of the

Charles Koch’s Political Network Raises Fears of Voter Fraud While Leaving a Trail of Alleged Election Violations
True North Research has released a new report detailing the Koch network’s history of alleged election violations. Right-wing politicians and outside interests funded by Charles

Backgrounder on the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Barrett, Trump Advisor Leonard Leo, and Billionaire Charles Koch
True North Research has released a new report detailing the rightwing campaign to confirm Amy Coney Barrett and capture the Supreme Court. The reason Leonard

True North Research Calls for Bold Reforms of the Postal Service to Protect against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy
These are the answers of True North Research’s Executive Director Lisa Graves in response to Questions for the Record from Chairman Gerald E. Connolly on

Snapshot of Secret Funding of Amicus Briefs Tied to Leonard Leo–Federalist Society Leader, Promoter of Amy Barrett
A new review of grant documents, first published on the dark web, provides a snapshot of how groups tied to Leonard Leo–the man who put

Lisa Graves: “I am calling on Mr. DeJoy to Be Fired or Resign” at Congressional Hearing on the Postal Service
Here are the prepared remarks of Lisa Graves for the hearing on September 14, 2020, of the Subcommittee on Government Operations of the House Committee

Testimony by Lisa Graves Calling for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to Be Fired or Resign
Written Testimony Lisa Graves Executive Director True North Research Before the Congress of the United States, House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee

Louis DeJoy Was Sued by His Brother Who Alleged a Pattern of Financial Deception, which DeJoy Denied
True North Research has obtained the legal filings from a suit filed against Louis DeJoy by his brother Dominick DeJoy, Jr., about how Mr. DeJoy

Backgrounder on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s Known Financial Holdings and Conflicts of Interest
TALLY: Louis DeJoy, the new Postmaster General, has at least $30 million and possibly more than $75 million, invested in XPO Logistics, a contractor and

Independent Women’s Voice Leader Pushes Sexist Trope that Kamala Harris Is “Transactional” as Its Women’s Forum Downplays Her Qualifications via Tokenism Claims
Sexist or racist attacks on Senator Kamala Harris are sadly to be expected in the ugly era of Trump politics, given the historic nature of
NEWS RELEASE: Companies Call for an End to Systemic Racism in Public, But Help Perpetuate It Behind Closed Doors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:June 17, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: Devon Cruz devon@firesidecampaigns.com Companies Call for an End to Systemic Racism in Public, But Help Perpetuate It Behind

Lisa Graves: Charles Koch’s Radical Free Market Ideology Is Not a Symptom of America’s Disastrous Response to COVID-19. It’s a Cause.
First published on DeSmog Blog here. Charles Koch, CEO of Koch Industries, is receiving credit for launching a COVID-19 relief fund, as he urged a “distinctly American response” of private charity — and

Wait a Minute, Mr. Koch-Man: The Plot to Kill the Public’s Postal Service
The Postal Service is the most popular institution in America. So why are some of the people who represent us in Washington, DC, willing to

Front Group Spotlight: The Pay-to-Play Agenda of the “Independent” Women’s Forum
ISSUE ONE—IWF Opposition to Paid Family and Medical Leave and Earned Sick Leave Policies During Covid-19 and Beyond By Lisa Graves and Evan Vorpahl What’s

McConnell’s Proposal Is a Back-Door Bailout for Banks with No Limits on Corporate Spending on CEO Pay But New Limits on Paid Leave for Workers
Summary. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the Trump White House are pushing a proposal to respond to the COVID-19 crisis that is basically a $500

The “Independent” Women’s Voice Played a Key Role in 2016 Election
Two groups from outside of Wisconsin may have been responsible for President Donald Trump’s narrow win in the state in 2016, according to a recently

Charles Koch Subsidized Attacks on Election Laws Since the 1970s
Newly uncovered archive documents show that Charles Koch’s fortune helped subsidize the litigation that secured the controversial Buckley v. Valeo decision, which created loopholes in the Federal

David Koch Was One of the Most Powerful Politicians Never Elected
David Koch was more than a billionaire or a son of a Bircher. He was one of the most powerful politicians in modern American history–even