Earlier this week, End Citizens United (ECU) filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against No Labels alleging fraudulent misuse of their 501(c)(4) nonprofit status. The complaints follow a letter sent by ECU and eight other pro-democracy organizations warning No Labels to reveal their donors or face legal consequences.
The IRS complaint alleges that No Labels cannot be considered a nonprofit organization as their work primarily benefits the No Labels Party and that they are primarily engaged in political activity—not the promotion of social welfare. The complaint filed with the FEC claims that No Labels has violated federal law by failing to register as a political committee.
See below for coverage:
AP News: Who are No Labels’ donors? Democratic groups file complaints in an attempt to find out
Brian Slodysko and Jonathan J. Cooper
1/24/24
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The complaints, filed by the groups End Citizens United and Accountable.US, are part of a broader Democratic effort to ramp up legal scrutiny and elicit public scorn for No Labels as it teases a possible White House run by an as-of-yet unannounced ticket that many Democrats worry will play electoral spoiler.
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“We are continuing to work every single avenue with our partners to hold (No Labels) accountable legally, to expose them publicly and to make sure they are playing by the same rules as everyone else,” said Tiffany Muller, the president of End Citizens United. “I don’t think it’s any secret that No Labels is a threat to our democracy if they run a third-party (candidate). That’s going to siphon off votes from President Biden and reelect Donald Trump.”
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No Labels regularly promotes itself as a “common sense” centrist organization. But while the group has established No Labels political parties in numerous states, at the national level it is actually registered as a nonprofit with the IRS. That has enabled No Labels to operate with limited transparency while accepting unlimited sums from an anonymous set of donors — a source of financing often referred to pejoratively as “dark money.”
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If the Democrat-aligned groups are successful, No Labels would not only be compelled to register as a formal political party with the Federal Election Commission, but it would also have its tax-exempt status revoked, be forced to abide by the same donation amount limits as other political parties and be required to reveal its big-money donors.
The Hill: Democratic groups file complaint in push to force No Labels to reveal donors
Filip Timotija
1/24/24
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End Citizens United filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging “fraudulent” misuse of the No Labels’s 501(c)(4) nonprofit status. Accountable.US, another Democratic-aligned organization, filed a complaint with Colorado’s Secretary of State.
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“No Labels’ corrupt charade has gone unchecked for too long and it’s time for them to be held accountable for abusing the law to evade transparency,” End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller said in a statement.
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“No Labels has been trying to hide their donors because they know if Americans were able to see who is fueling their third party dreams they’d be exposed as puppets for big money special interests looking to pad their bottom lines over the interests of working people.”
Washington Examiner: Democratic groups file campaign finance complaints to uncover No Labels donors
Rachel Schilke
01/24/24
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With a likely rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump on the horizon, groups End Citizens United and Accountable.US filed complaints this week, hoping to throw a wrench in No Labels’s campaign fund pipeline and force the group to follow the same rules as other political parties, according to the Associated Press.
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“We are continuing to work every single avenue with our partners to hold [No Labels] accountable legally, to expose them publicly and to make sure they are playing by the same rules as everyone else,” Tiffany Muller, the president of End Citizens United, said via the outlet. “I don’t think it’s any secret that No Labels is a threat to our democracy if they run a third-party [candidate]. That’s going to siphon off votes from President Biden and reelect Donald Trump.”
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If the campaign finance complaints are successful, No Labels would be compelled to register as a formal political party with the Federal Election Commission. It also would have its tax-exempt status revoked, so it would have to abide by the same donation limits that Democrats, Republicans, and other political parties have to follow. No Labels’s big-money megadonors would be revealed as well.
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The group also plans to send its complaint to authorities in states where No Labels is mobilizing.
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