Our new book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics. Among other things, it discusses campaign finance.
The wealthy family led by conservative megadonors Robert and Rebekah Mercer, whose money helped propel Donald Trump to victory in 2016, invested nearly $20 million last year into a GOP-friendly dark money fund that allows donors to keep secret the ultimate destination of their contributions.
The Mercers' donation, delivered through their family foundation, went to the Donors Trust, according to a new 990 disclosure form. The hefty contribution reveals the Mercers played a much bigger role in financing groups during the 2020 election than previously known.
The Donors Trust takes the money it receives and funnels it to groups of their donors' choosing. It does not legally have to publicly disclose who is giving to their group or where specific financiers targeted their donations.
It isn't clear where the Mercers directed the Donors Trust to send their money. The Mercer Family Foundation finished the year with just more than $45 million worth of assets, according to the 990 form.
Some recent contributions to the Donors Trust have gone toward groups that pushed claims of election fraud before and after President Joe Biden defeated Trump in last year's election. In 2019, the Donors Trust, sent donations to groups such as Turning Point USA, which is led by vocal Trump supporter Charlie Kirk; and the VDARE Foundation, which the Southern Poverty Law Center labeled a hate group.
