Red flags raised on mysterious dark money behind MTG and Gaetz lawsuit in California

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) are litigating a peculiar First Amendment lawsuit against the California cities of Anaheim and Riverside for canceling their appearances at a political fundraising event — but no one seems to know who is funding it, and that could be a legal problem.

According to The Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger, "Gaetz and Greene filed the lawsuit in July, seeking judgment against two California cities and a group of left-leaning nonprofits over a canceled political event during a fundraising tour in the summer of 2021. The plaintiffs include Gaetz and Greene in their official congressional capacities, along with their campaign committees and their joint fundraising group, 'Put America First,' which put on the 2021 tour. The parties filed the suit 'on behalf of themselves and the prospective attendees at their July 17, 2021 scheduled political rally.'"

They also cited the Ku Klux Klan Act against some groups, like the NAACP, but a judge dismissed that aspect of the lawsuit last month while letting the rest proceed.

Nowhere does the financier of this lawsuit appear to be disclosed, however — and legal experts are suspicious.

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"Over the last year, there are no federal campaign finance records of any payments or debts owed to any of the lawyers on the case from any of the political committees associated with Gaetz or Greene — or any federal political committee at all," said the report, noting that even Gaetz and Greene themselves aren't advertising this lawsuit to their supporters. Campaign finance professionals have said they would need to disclose this information under the law.

“Generally, any vendor needs to be disclosed,” said Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) communications chief Jordan Libowitz. “Campaigns can take on a debt to a law firm and then pay it off over time, that’s not unheard-of — to pay in one fell swoop after a campaign. But the debt to the firm would have to be reported for the services.”

All of this comes as Gaetz is subject to a sweeping House Ethics Committee probe that includes not just campaign finance allegations, but claims about drug use and sexual contact with underage girls — a matter which was probed by the FBI but ultimately did not lead to charges against the Congressman.

Gaetz, who denies all these accusations, has reportedly admitted to allies that his successful push to oust Kevin McCarthy from the House speakership was motivated by revenge for this ethics probe.