Biden getting dark money?

Records indicate that President Biden may benefit from substantial undisclosed donations from the main outside super PAC supporting his 2024 candidacy.

In July, Biden's team endorsed the Future Forward PAC as the leading external group raising significant funds to support his campaign. At that time, the PAC claimed to have raised $50 million for the year.

However, it appears that much of this money might be held in the affiliated dark money nonprofit, Future Forward USA Action. The PAC's recent mid-year report shows only $67,000 in contributions, which came from a vendor refund and in-kind donations from the nonprofit for staff expenses.

Future Forward's nonprofit is known for hiding its donors and has previously transferred tens of millions to the PAC for electoral purposes. This setup leaves Biden's candidacy open to receive support from anonymous donors as the nonprofit accumulates a substantial amount of cash before the election heats up.

The situation has sparked criticism, given Biden's previous stance against dark money, with many seeing it as political hypocrisy. The funneling of secretive donations through the Arabella Advisors consulting firm adds an additional layer of secrecy, making it challenging to trace the original donors.

One dark money group, the Impetus Fund, which had remained largely unnoticed, sent a significant sum of undisclosed cash ($55.8 million) to Future Forward USA Action during the last presidential cycle, according to tax documents.

Since the 2020 election, Future Forward USA Action has transferred $77 million to the Future Forward PAC, making up more than 40% of the PAC's $181 million raised during this period. Senior White House adviser Anita Dunn praised Future Forward for its effectiveness and rigorous testing of advertising during the previous cycle, which led to its selection as the primary super PAC supporting Biden this time around.