Meet The ‘intel Operation’ Behind The Gop’s Renewed Attacks On Nonprofits

A Trump administration effort to dial up scrutiny on philanthropies and other nonprofit organizations is creating a breakout moment for one of Washington’s many watchdog groups and think tanks.

While President Donald Trump has directed his ire at state attorneys general, law firms and elected officials, a steady number of tax-exempt groups are also landing in legal trouble for alleged partisanship. The campaign has been a boon for the Capital Research Center, whose nondescript name fits neatly into the city’s cottage industry of policy analysis and opposition deep-dives.

But the conservative watchdog stands out for its particular specialty: studying nonprofits, particularly those it suspects of having connections with Democratic donors and advocacy networks. That alignment has positioned CRC to be a go-to source for information on nonprofits Republicans hope to investigate, a unique role even its competitors acknowledge.

Some of CRC’s critics say its work is biased and superficial, and many of its targets, like the Southern Poverty Law Center, are well-worn bogeymen for the right. Yet its lengthy dossiers about pro-Palestinian groups and climate advocacy organizations have recently been cited in the footnotes of at least half a dozen congressional committee documents and a letter the Justice Department used in going after Democratic megadonor George Soros.

“We’re the intel operation for the conservative movement as a whole,” CRC President Scott Walter, a former George W. Bush adviser, said in an interview. “This is not a sexy collusion story. We are simply educating them, and they decide what to do with our public research.”

CRC, which was founded in 1984 and has just over 30 staffers, is far less influential than conservative titans like the Heritage Foundation or even newer players like the America First Policy Institute that are jockeying to sway Trump administration policy. But its recent popularity shows how much of a free-for-all the world of Washington influence has become under an administration that widely surveys the conservative media ecosystem for investigation targets, especially if a group has a niche that aligns with White House priorities.

Walter has increasingly become a sought-after witness for House Republicans, testifying before four congressional committees in the past year — and Senate Democrats asked the IRS in October to divulge whether it has used CRC’s research to identify “targets” for possible investigations. Some groups that do similar work aren’t surprised CRC is gaining traction.

“I think their stuff is trusted” among the right, said Peter Flaherty, chair and CEO of conservative advocacy group National Legal and Policy Center, which focuses on government and corporate ethics. “People look to them when it comes down to the granular information about particular left-wing groups.”

Walter has been briefing Trump administration officials on the group’s research about specific nonprofits with suspected ties to the Democratic Party for months, as The New York Times first reported. He told POLITICO he’s met with senior officials from the White House and federal agencies as recently as last month and said he has distributed materials on ActBlue and the Southern Poverty Law Center — two groups that have attracted renewed attention from Republicans. 

Conservatives have long expressed interest in targeting left-leaning groups and donors, but vows to investigate prominent organizations and individuals took on new fervor after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last summer. A range of administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, promised to “go after” groups like Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation that they accused, without evidence, of helping foment violence.

A spokesperson for the Ford Foundation did not respond to requests for comment.

A week after Kirk’s killing, CRC staffer Ryan Mauro said the group’s research into Open Society, the nonprofit funded by Soros’ family, was designed to “equip the Trump administration with what they need in order to take action.” Days after his comments, a senior Justice Department official reportedly directed a group of federal prosecutors to investigate Soros, linking to CRC’s report in their letter.

Walter later admitted the report did not prove Soros or his nonprofit network had committed any crimes, as suggested by the DOJ.

“The claims in the Capital Research Center report are false and politically motivated attacks meant to enable the Trump Administration to target those it disagrees with and silence constitutionally protected free speech,” Open Society said in a statement. “When the government abuses its power to take away rights from some, it puts everyone’s rights at risk.”

The statement added that Open Society unequivocally condemns “all forms of violence” and requires its grantees “to agree to comply with the law in order to receive funding.”

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. The White House said in a statement that “the administration regularly meets with a variety of organizations on important topics” but did not answer questions about whether CRC had met or shared materials with specific administration officials.

Walter insists his input is solicited, saying administration officials regularly text and email him asking for briefings and information about CRC’s research. One former Trump official granted anonymity to discuss private dynamics told POLITICO that CRC is “one of the first places you would turn if you wanted outside help” digging into nonprofits.

“When I talk to Hill committees, I always ask if they know InfluenceWatch,” Walter said, referencing his group’s online database. “One Senate committee staffer laughed and said, ‘Scott, when I open my browser, a tab with InfluenceWatch opens.’”

The site, which boasts that it provides “information on more than 15,500 public policy influencers on demand,” features Wikipedia-style dossiers on prominent political donors and nonprofit groups, detailing their controversies and political connections.

One group of mutual interest is ActBlue, the fundraising platform for Democratic candidates. Three Republican House committee chairs issued subpoenas to the organization in April, while House Administration Committee Republicans grilled its CEO, Regina Wallace-Jones, last week about how the platform vets for foreign donations.

Spokespeople for House Administration and Oversight committees did not respond to requests for comment. The House Judiciary Committee didn’t comment on whether CRC played a role in its probes of nonprofits, including ActBlue, which have Democrats threatening to investigate its GOP counterpart, WinRed. ActBlue declined to comment on the record.

“Republicans in Congress keep relying on this organization for ‘expert’ advice and testimony, but CRC’s record of spreading lies in service of the Trump Justice Department’s retribution campaign should disqualify them from being treated as anything more than a partisan disinformation shop,” said Kyle Herrig, senior adviser at the Congressional Integrity Project, one of many watchdog groups that’s landed on CRC’s InfluenceWatch.

Another longtime target of CRC’s is voter registration groups it accuses of abusing their tax-exempt status. The administration has taken note.

Just days after Walter suggested to POLITICO that those groups were likely to attract scrutiny for presenting themselves as nonpartisan organizations, one in Ohio said their offices were raided by the FBI as part of an active fraud-related investigation.

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative — which called the raid a “a full-out assault” on civil rights groups — has attracted scrutiny for its ties to the Voter Registration Project, a nonprofit group focused on mobilizing under-represented voters. OOC has denied any wrongdoing.

A group of Republican lawmakers from Michigan specifically cited CRC’s research into groups like VRP in a March letter to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi asking the DOJ to investigate VRP and similar groups for potential tax fraud.

The FBI, OOC and VRP did not respond to requests for comment about the raid.

Like many of the nonprofits it criticizes, CRC doesn’t disclose its donors. But publicly available documents show the group has received money through DonorsTrust and the Bradley Foundation, two funds that help clients direct charitable giving to conservative causes. Walter said he’s consistently opposed mandatory donor disclosure, arguing it would chill free speech by opening donors to harassment.

DonorsTrust spokesperson Lawson Bader told POLITICO in a statement that “DonorsTrust accountholders have recommended grants to Capital Research Center for many years, and they will likely continue to make grants into the foreseeable future.” A spokesperson for the Bradley Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

CRC drew scrutiny in 2023 when The Washington Post reported that the group allegedlychanneled nearly $600,000 in anonymous donations to a group controlled by Ginni Thomas — the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Walter insists the arrangement was above board, noting that CRC chose to disclose the donations. Thomas’ attorney told The Post at the time that there was “no plausible conflict of interest issue with respect to Justice Thomas.”

“It's clear that the role CRC has been playing is as a sort of information-gathering arm to supply the administration with rationales to go after certain groups,” said Michael Clauw of the watchdog group Campaign for Accountability, another nonprofit targeted by CRC. “And many times it’s been revealed that those stated rationales don’t really hold any water and don’t stand up to scrutiny.”

CRC scored another major win in April when the IRS announced plans to revise its 990 form, the primary reporting mechanism for tax-exempt organizations. The IRS has not yet specified what the changes will entail, but it said in an initial announcement the changes were intended to “provide clearer reporting” on nonprofits’ fiscal sponsorship arrangements and government funding. It’s something the group has championed for years, including in an article published by CRC staffer Robert Stilson shortly after Trump returned to office last year. The Treasury Department said at the time the forthcoming changes are “intended to detect misconduct and hold wrongdoers accountable.”

Bob Carlstrom, executive director of the conservative Prosperity for Us Foundation, said he doesn’t view CRC as the main driver of the GOP’s efforts to go after certain nonprofits. But he’s not surprised Republican officials seek out Walter’s counsel.

“When you deal with people that you know and that you respect, you reach out to them,” Carlstrom said.

He said while some other groups pursue similar work, CRC is “the most intense” with regard to scrutinizing nonprofits.

“They’re very much appreciated by the conservative [movement],” Carlstrom said.

Alex Gangitano contributed to this report.