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I missed this segment on Countdown the other night, but happened across the same information related to a bigger research project I'm working on. Even for a conservative organization, Steven Emerson has really gone beyond the norm here.
Emerson is the sole director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism Foundation. Its stated purpose is as follows:
RESEARCHED AND EXPOSED THE ACTIVITIES OF TERRORIST NETWORKS AND SUPPORTERS IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD AND EDUCATED THE PUBLIC ABOUT THIS THREAT THROUGH THE DISSEMINATION OF EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION.
According to the 990, program expenses related to that purpose for 2008 were $2,373,000.00. That seemed excessive to me, particularly for an organization that's fairly low profile, so I decided to look a little further. Interestingly, the biggest expense for the organization was...
This non-profit took in donations of $1,884,000 in 2008. It paid out $3,390,000 in expenses. All expenses were paid to:
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That's right. SAE Enterprises, solely owned by Steven Emerson, terrorism expert. Here's a few other little factoids. In his narrative submitted to the IRS for approval of non-profit status, he explains the relationship this way:
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If I understand this correctly, SAE Enterprises is a not-for-profit entity but won't be tax-exempt in order to "maximize fundraising" (translated, make big donations tax-deductible) to add "an additional layer of security" for Emerson (the only staff I'm aware of at SAE).
It's all very cloak and dagger, but really, it certainly appears to be a straightforward abuse of the laws around tax-exempt organizations. Whatever Emerson's credentials are, I'm dubious about them being worth $3.4 million and even more dubious about this whole arrangement.
I'm curious to know who the donors are, too. Haven't found them in my other research, but I'm still looking. Of course, I'm also looking for Emerson's background and what exactly qualifies him to be a 'terrorism expert'. Other than serving as a director alongside Elliott Abrams for the Middle East Media Research Institute, I'm having trouble identifying his bona fides with regard to Middle East expertise. His Wikipedia entry is quite sanitized compared to other information on the internet about his journalistic integrity.
More from Tennessean.com, who originally broke the story earlier in the week, and Emerson's reply.
Great work if you can get it. If I start fearmongering about terrorism here on the blog, will you all send millions for me to keep it up?
