Anti-gay group sued over unreported $10,000 Romney donation

A legal complaint has been filed against the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) for allegedly trying to hide a $10,000 donation from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

NOM was formed in 2007 to pass Proposition 8 in California, a constitutional amendment to prohibit same sex marriage. According to the group's 2008 Federal Tax Return, they received a $10,000 contribution from Romney’s Alabama PAC, Free and Strong America, in October 2008. However, that donation was allegedly not reported on NOM’s filing with the California Secretary of State.

"That was only 3 weeks before the Prop 8 election in which NOM was heavily involved," explained Fred Karger, who filed the lawsuit with the California Fair Political Practices Commission. "Funny that NOM appears to have reported all the contributions that it received before and after Romney’s, but failed to report Governor Romney’s $10,000 to ban gay marriage in California."


Karger, the head of Californians Against Hate, has previously worked as a senior consultant for Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Gerald Ford. He was also the first Republican to enter the 2012 presidential race.

Karger began tracking the activity of NOM in 2008. The following year, he filed a complaint with the Maine Ethics Commission regarding NOM's refusal to disclose its donors.

The ensuing investigation forced NOM to turn over several confidential documents, which explained the group's plan to "drive a wedge between gays and blacks" and other political strategies.

"The Maine Ethics Commission and Attorney General’s office have done a phenomenal job of gathering evidence in the money laundering case I filed against NOM on August 24, 2009," Karger said. "The 29 Exhibits they collected are proving to be NOM’s undoing. NOM’s veil of deceit and lies has finally been lifted."

[Image via Gage Skidmore]