EXCLUSIVE — A pair of U.S. nonprofit groups tied to the Global Disinformation Index, a British entity covertly blacklisting conservative media, are being slapped with an IRS complaint for allegedly violating federal law.
The charity Disinformation Index Inc., and its affiliated private AN Foundation, also known as the Disinformation Index Foundation, cited an obscure federal "harassment" exemption law in providing the Washington Examiner in late March with heavily redacted copies of its 2021 tax forms. The National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative watchdog, is now accusing both State Department-funded groups of running afoul of several federal rules and regulations, calling on the IRS to "revoke their tax-exempt status," according to a complaint filed Thursday with the agency.
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"This complaint is based on information regarding the questionable activities of these two organizations by investigative reporter Gabe Kaminsky in a series of recent news stories in the Washington Examiner and information found in their respective Form 990s and other public reports," the watchdog wrote in its complaint. "As will be demonstrated herein, both the Disinformation Index, Inc. and its related AN Foundation (formerly Disinformation Index Foundation) have violated a number of IRS rules and regulations."
GDI pocketed roughly $960,000 combined between 2020 and 2022 from both the State Department's Global Engagement Center, an interagency under fire from House Republicans for funding purported disinformation tracking initiatives, and the National Endowment for Democracy, a nonprofit group authorized by the government that is funded almost entirely through congressional appropriations. This revelation has resulted in lawmakers, including House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), launching investigations into GDI to uncover government records.
In mid-April, the Washington Examiner reported on how the AN Foundation and its charity affiliate redacted or omitted key details from public disclosure copies of their 2021 tax forms, including the names of board members, officers, and in the case of the private group, the source of a $115,000 donation. Multiple experienced tax experts claimed this maneuver fails to comply with federal disclosure laws despite GDI alleging that it is "withholding" information due to regulations on "harassment campaigns" against tax-exempt groups.
But it remains unclear whether GDI has been approved by the government for the exemption, which tax experts say does not allow groups to redact their financial disclosures from public view. GDI has not replied to numerous Washington Examiner requests for a ruling on receiving the exemption it cited.
In its Thursday complaint, the NLPC alleged that the two GDI U.S. groups are skirting IRS disclosure rules by not listing their relationship to the British group on federal tax forms. Upon receiving complaints, the IRS mails acknowledgments to referral groups but does not provide them with updates due to confidentiality laws, according to the agency, which occasionally assesses financial penalties.
Among a swath of other demands, the watchdog seeks an investigation into whether the British group's executive director, Danny Rogers, who is listed interchangeably in Delaware corporate records with GDI CEO Clare Melford as a board member and officer for the two U.S. groups, received "excessive and unreasonable compensation."
NLPC is referring to the fact that the U.S. charity disclosed on 2021 federal disclosures paying its unnamed president, who, according to 2020 forms, is Rogers, almost $60,000, plus over $8,100 in additional compensation “from the organization and related organizations." However, the forms also say the president worked two hours per week, which, according to the watchdog, amounts to a whopping $651 per hour.
"It is hypocritical that a group whose mission is to censor conservative media for alleged 'disinformation' is itself guilty of hiding its funding sources and redacting the names of its officers from public view," said Paul Kamenar, counsel to the watchdog, which filed several a complaint in April 2022 against the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation for allegedly misusing donor funds.
Moreover, the watchdog took aim in the IRS complaint at the AN Foundation for not reporting the entity that gave it $115,000 in 2021. Private foundations, unlike charities, are ordinarily required to disclose their contributors, according to the IRS.
With regard to the tax form redactions, the NLPC called on the IRS to fine both the AN Foundation and Disinformation Index for not handing over an "exact copy" of their federal disclosures as filed with the IRS. Tax-exempt groups are supposed to provide the public with copies mirroring those provided to the federal government, according to the agency.
Marcus Owens, a lawyer representing GDI, claimed in an April 6 letter to the Washington Examiner that "families" of the groups, and its "personnel," have been targeted with "multiple threats and hacking attacks, including threats of violence against their children." Owens added that GDI is "working [with] appropriate law enforcement authorities, telecommunications and Internet organizations" and "has appropriately withheld information that could lead to furtherance of this behavior."
However, the watchdog's complaint further noted that GDI's stated reason for these tax form omissions "has nothing to do with the inundation of Form 990 requests in a coordinated harassment campaign, but rather the claim that its officers and children are being threatened and subject to hacking attacks."
The regulation GDI cited as evidence of a purported harassment campaign typically pertains to an instance in which hundreds, if not thousands, of parties are requesting tax forms from a group and making it difficult for the entity to stay afloat, according to tax experts. The Washington Examiner is not aware of whether other entities have also requested GDI's tax forms.
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"But if that were truly the reason to redact the officers' and accountants' names, that information is publicly available in their prior disclosure reports and on GDI’s website," the complaint read. "In any event, in order to obtain the exemption, the group has to document the harassment campaign and get approval for withholding the forms, information which Mr. Owens has yet to provide."
GDI and the IRS did not return a request for comment.