Sneak Preview Of Jeb Bush's Donors
Credit: Gage Skidmore
June 6, 2015

Jeb Bush has been artfully playing the game of not declaring his candidacy so he can keep his donors under wraps and coordinate with his SuperPAC for as long as he possibly can, but now some clues are emerging as to the identity of his benefactors. As you might imagine, the preview is a strong indicator of as-yet undisclosed donors.

Thanks to Lee Fang's persistence and time spent digging through documents, we have some clues.

He doesn’t have to — Bush’s Super PAC and traditional PAC are on a semi-annual reporting timeline, meaning they have until mid-July to file public campaign finance reports. Clues from a variety of sources, however, provide a preview of his donors, who include major leaders in technology, business and lobbying.

Agents for foreign governments fall under special transparency rules, meaning several have already had to disclose their donations in filings with the Justice Department. Ignacio Sanchez, a former trade official for President George W. Bush, is a lobbyist for Saudi Arabia. Sanchez gave$5,000 to Right to Rise on February 17, the same day that George Salem, another lobbyist retained by the Saudi government to influence American policy, gave the group $10,000. A day later, former Sen. Don Nickles, R-Ok., now a lobbyist for Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea, among other clients, gave $5,000 to Right to Rise.

Glenn Youngkin, managing director of the Carlyle Group, the investment firm that owns Booz Allen Hamilton, gave $10,000, according to a disclosure statement posted on the company’s website. Because Carlyle manages pension fund money, the company faces special campaign finance requirements.

Although Bush has not named the donors giving to his PACs, certain donors, including state-level PACs, are obligated to disclose on a different schedule. These disclosures show that Florida politicians have dipped into their own campaign funds to support Right to Rise. The Florida Conservative Leadership Fund, associated with state Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, gave $5,000 to Bush’s Super PAC in February. Among other Florida PACs, Growing Florida’s Future chipped in $25,000, Liberty Florida gave$5,000, and the Treasure Coast PAC gave $1,000.

Read on for the rest of them...

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