A non-partisan, independent news outlet exposing the moneyed interests that control U.S. politics.

Ashfield MA
Joined December 2017
Sludge retweeted
New Dems (@NewDemCoalition) are grabbing corporate cash, and having staffers fly to meetings with companies like Amazon and Oracle, through fundraiser Helen Milby's network. Wonder who they'll be listening to next year. readsludge.com/2026/10/21/th…
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Sludge retweeted
NEW: Helen Milby raises money for House Democrats’ largest ideological bloc. She also runs a nonprofit bringing Big Tech executives into private meetings with congressional staff and advises a tech industry group seeking to shape the party’s AI agenda. readsludge.com/2026/10/21/th…
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What's going to happen in the next House on AI regulation, tech platforms, data centers? Through New Democrat fundraiser Helen Milby, large corporations have direct access to business-favoring Democrats. Report on how she links Amazon etc. w/ lawmakers: readsludge.com/2026/10/21/th…
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The New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, where Milby is treasurer, has endorsed 36 of the 46 candidates in the DCCC’s Red to Blue program. Its chair says he expects the bloc to swell next Congress. Full story: readsludge.com/2026/10/21/th…
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Anthropic, OpenAI, Nvidia, Google, and Meta are partners of GlobalWIN, a nonprofit that hosts trips and private dinners for congressional staff and executives. It’s run by the treasurer and top paid fundraising adviser to the New Democrats Coalition.
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Sludge retweeted
NEW: John Doerr, the tech billionaire whose VC firm Kleiner Perkins is heavily invested in AI companies, set up a dark money nonprofit that has sent millions to Democratic Party dark money groups.
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New from us: megabillionaire VC John Doerr, whose firm is putting billions more into AI companies, set up a new dark money arm funneling millions to Dem groups, per a tax filing. His lobby group TechNet is pushing Congress to preempt state AI regulations. readsludge.com/2026/10/20/te…
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John Doerr's new nonprofit was funded with $12.8 million worth of stock in 2025; it then donated over $10 million to Democratic Party dark money groups. Giving stock to a c4 nonprofit avoids capital gains taxes, vs. appreciated assets given to a PAC. Flows to Schumer's group.
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NEW: Kleiner Perkins chair and AI investor John Doerr set up a dark money group that gave $10 million last year to Dem network groups, including $7.5M to Senate & House leadership nonprofits. His lobby group TechNet is pushing to preempt state AI laws. readsludge.com/2026/10/20/te…
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Sludge retweeted
Flock Safety just hired Invariant, the DCCC’s biggest source of lobbyist-bundled money. Three of the firm’s top Democratic fundraisers are on the Flock account. readsludge.com/2026/10/16/th…
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"Gray money" has been the trend this cycle, super PACs funded by dark money groups. The Dems are rocking it too, like in #AKSen. Who knows what phone calls and text messages the likely billionaires behind it will be sending to Schumer in a couple months. readsludge.com/2026/10/15/po…
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Sludge retweeted
NEW: Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the Senate's top investor in data center companies, is one of two Democrats leading the push for a permitting deal that would make it easier to build the energy infrastructure the industry needs to expand. readsludge.com/2026/10/14/se…
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NEWS: DNC Chair Ken Martin says the DNC will release its plan to rein in corporate and "dark money" spending in the 2028 presidential primary. The plan, expected in the coming months, would set new rules for Democratic candidates for the White House...
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New: Democratic polling firms including John Anzalone's Impact Research @JohnAnzo, Global Strategy Group @GSG, and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner @GQRResearch are working for AIPAC as it spends to defeat Abdul El-Sayed in #MISen. AIPAC is paying them millions. readsludge.com/2026/10/12/th…
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Bit of a sad morning for Josh Vlasto, ex-Schumer press secretary who co-leads AI industry super PAC Leading the Future. Democratic megadonor Ron Conway had Jay Carney tell Politico that he regrets his $500k donation to help form the a16z / OpenAI group. readsludge.com/2025/08/26/ai…
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New: actual gas pipeline CEO Sen. Alan Armstrong (R-OK) says his legislation weakening environmental reviews for pipelines will be in the permitting reform bill, to be taken up after the midterms. He stands to make a fortune more if Williams Companies' stock rises.
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When Alan Armstrong left Williams for the Senate, the company board preserved $2.8 million of his stock so he “would not be financially penalized for his public service.” Then he introduced a bill limiting states’ power to block pipelines. New at @sludge: readsludge.com/2026/10/09/pi…
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Rep. McCaul's wife owns stock in a company that's won contracts with the government, including a spot on a $1.5 billion DHS program operating under a 2018 law her husband helped pass. It's time to ban congressional stock trading, including spouses. readsludge.com/2026/10/06/re…
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