A mysterious nonprofit group backed in part by George Soros and linked to Fusion GPS has been investigating President Trump and possible Russian interference.
The Daily Caller reports that just days after Trump’s inauguration, a nonprofit organization started up in Washington, D.C., their goal was to continue a private investigation into the president’s alleged ties to Russia.
The organization called “the Democracy Integrity Project” founded by Daniel J. Jones – a former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer – hired the opposition research firm Fusion GPS and dossier author Christopher Steele as part of the initiative, Jones told the FBI in March 2017.
Only a few details of the Democracy Integrity Project have come out over the nearly two years since its founding.
It’s been confirmed that George Soros gave “the Democracy Integrity Project” at least $1 million and is considering giving more.
The Democracy Integrity Project’s articles of incorporation – obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation – shows that a white-collar defense attorney worked with Fusion GPS in the past and a former State Department
“The documents that have been obtained through a public records request show that Adam Kaufmann, a partner at the firm Lewis
Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss, and Dafna Hochman Rand, the former deputy assistant secretary of state in the bureau of democracy, human rightsand labor, are listed along with Jones as Democracy Integrity Project board members.”
“Rand is listed on the initial registration for the Democracy Integrity Project, which was filed on Jan. 31, 2017. Her LinkedIn profile says that she worked at the State Department through January 2017, though the exact date of her departure is unknown. Rand is not listed as a board member in a March 31, 2017, filing, suggesting that she left the organization shortly after joining.”
Adam Kaufmann, listed as one of Democracy Integrity Project board members, has worked for Derwick Associates, a Venezuelan power company accused of bribery and money laundering. Kaufmann also recently commented for a New York Times story about Trump’s family taxes.
Founder Daniel J. Jones also operates a consulting firm called ‘Penn Quarter Group’ and told the FBI that he hired Fusion GPS and Steele with the goal of “exposing foreign influence in Western elections.”
Jones claimed he had received $50 million in funding from seven to 10 wealthy philanthropists.
The funding by Soros was confirmed by a New York Times report on Oct. 31. A spokesman for billionaire George Soros told the NYT that he had given $1 million to Jones’ group and was considering giving them more.
The DCNF also reports:
Jones sent text messages to Waldman suggesting that his organization was behind several anti-Trump news stories. In a text message introducing himself as being with the Democracy Integrity Project, Jones told Waldman that “Chris wanted us to connect,” seemingly referring to Steele.
“Our team helped with this,” Jones wrote in a text that linked to a March 17, 2017, articlefrom Reuters about Russian investments in Trump’s Florida real estate properties.
Jones also sent a link to an article published by McClatchy alleging that the FBI was investigating whether Russians had used bots to influence the spread of articles at conservative outlets like Breitbart and InfoWars.
Report by Pete Andrews for MilneNews.com
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