Thread: Rove-linked group uses secret donors to fund attacks

He's baaaaaack! Everyone's favorite puppet master:

Rove-linked group uses secret donors to fund attacks

A new political operation conceived by Republican operatives Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie formed a spinoff group last month that - thanks in part to its ability to promise donors anonymity - has brought in more money in its first month than the parent organization has raised since it started in March.

The new group, called American Crossroads GPS, has been telling donors their contributions would be used to dig up dirt on Congressional Democrats’ “expense account abuses” and to frame the BP oil spill as “Obama’s Katrina.”

The GPS group pulled in $5.1 million in June, its first month in operation, while the original American Crossroads, which has spent $600,000 on tough ads blistering Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, has pulled in $4.7 million since its launch.

American Crossroads was incorporated under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Service code, which requires it to disclose its contributions and expenditures on a monthly basis, but also gives it more flexibility in terms of how it can spend its cash, including allowing it to spend most of its money on ads attacking or supporting candidates.

American Crossroads GPS, on the other hand, is incorporated under Section 501(c)4, which requires it to spend the bulk of its cash focusing on issues, but frees it from having to disclose the names of its donors. In fact, it won’t be required to publicly report any of its finances until at least May 2011.

Read more: Rove-linked group uses secret donors to fund attacks - Kenneth P. Vogel - POLITICO.com