Leaked video reveals right-wing dark money's 'ugly' role in crafting voter suppression bills

All over the United States — from Georgia to Arizona to Iowa to Texas — Republicans in state legislatures have been pushing voter suppression bills that are designed to make it harder to vote. And CNN has obtained a copy of a leaked video showing the role that "dark money" in the form of Heritage Action for America (the Heritage Foundation's sister organization) has played in crafting these bills, some of which have already been signed into law by Republican governors who include Georgia's Brian Kemp and Florida's Ron DeSantis.

In the leaked video aired by CNN and previously reported by Mother Jones, Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson can be seen bragging about the group's influence on those bills. Anderson, in the video, declares, "We're working with these state legislatures to make sure they have all of the information they need to draft the bills. In some cases, we actually draft them for them. Or, we have a sentinel, on our behalf, give them the model legislation so it has that grass roots, you known, from the bottom up, type of vibe."

CNN host Chris Cuomo, before airing the video, explained, "We're going to show just how ugly the game has gotten when it comes to the effort to suppress the vote." And he went on to explain why Anderson's use of the word "sentinel" is important.

Cuomo, the brother of Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, told viewers, "I want you to remember the word sentinel and the phrase, 'You know, they pass it along so it has that grass roots vibe.' This is the game…. Money matters."

The CNN host noted how deceptive Heritage Action's claims are. Heritage, in a statement to CNN, claimed that its intention is to make voting more transparent; Cuomo disagrees.

Cuomo said of Heritage, "You want to cheat. You want to limit how many people can vote — for minority groups and big urban areas, and those local officials you want cut out of the process. That's what you want because that is the far-right sale of White fright. These suppression advocates organize and then weaponize, many selling White fright and false notions that the election was stolen by big groups.

Mother Jones has published video of Anderson bragging about Heritage Action's voter suppression efforts. Watch the video below:

Leaked Video: Dark Money Group Is Writing Voter Suppression Lawswww.youtube.com