Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Person

Erica Payne

Born:

1969 in Chapel Hill, NC
Full Name:

Erica Catherine Payne
Occupation:

Founder, Agenda Project

President, Patriotic Millionaires

Former Democratic Party Operative

Former Campaign Strategist
Political Party:

Democratic Party
Spouse:

Eugene “Gene” Haigh
Residence:

Chevy Chase, Maryland

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Erica Payne is a left-of-center political operative who started a number of organizations aimed at influencing the news and public policy through media campaigns featuring influential liberal donors and activists and publicity stunts. She began her career in politics working for former U.S. Senator Terry Sanford (D-NC) and later worked as a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee during the 1996 campaign to re-elect President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.

She left electoral politics after the 1996 election; simultaneously, investigators were looking into possible campaign finance violations by the DNC involving “call sheets” that Payne had written. 1 She later returned to the political arena as a consultant, first as an independent contractor working for a number of left-leaning policy groups, then as the founder of a string of nonprofit organizations aimed at attracting funds from wealthy liberals and public attention. Throughout her career, Payne has leveraged influential people within her personal and professional networks to support her organizations which include The Agenda Project and Patriotic Millionaires. In 2008, Payne published a book, The Practical Progressive: How to Build a 21st Century Political Movement.

Personal Life

Erica Payne was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on October 8, 1969. She grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Erica Payne received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1991. She received an MBA in 2000 from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. 2

In October 2013, Payne moved to the Brookdale neighborhood in Chevy Chase, MD with Eugene “Gene” Haigh. 3 Haigh is a registered lobbyist4 and a senior vice president of Patriotic Millionaires. 5 The couple married on July 23, 2014. 6

Early Career

Democratic Party Work

Erica began her political career after graduating from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1992, working for Senator Terry Sanford (D-NC). 7 After Sanford lost his 1992 reelection bid to Republican Lauch Faircloth,8 Payne spent the next four and a half years as a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee. She worked as a regional finance director then was a deputy national finance director for the 1996 Clinton re-election campaign. 9 In an article for Salon.com in September 2000, then-ABC News senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper wrote that DNC colleagues described Payne “a lovely person” but “careless and clueless.” 10

Payne left the DNC in 1997 but stayed involved in Democratic Party politics as a consultant to the DNC and political campaigns including the re-elections of U.S. Representatives Joe Kennedy (D-MA) and New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen. 11

Payne spent 1998-2000 in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by two years working for Dragonfly Wireless and Marquis Jet Partners. 12

The Tesseract Group

Starting in 2003, Payne became increasingly involved with a number of intertwined left-of-center political organizations and campaigns. She joined a consulting firm based in New York City called The Tesseract Group, leveraging her connections with the Democratic Party and wealthy liberal donors.

According to the New York Department of State business entity database, The Tesseract Group, LLC was registered in New York City on November 11, 2003, under the name, The Catalyst Group, LLC. 13 Described as a “boutique consulting firm,” Payne lists her past liberal clients as America Votes, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Center for Independent Media (now called the American Independent Institute), the Roosevelt Institute, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. 14

Roosevelt Institute is a New York City-headquartered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is a left-leaning think tank that is closely aligned with the progressive funder network Democracy Alliance. 15 Payne lists Roosevelt Institute as a client of her progressive consulting firm, The Tesseract Group. 16 Payne spent 18 months working with the Roosevelt Institute during which she edited a volume on welfare reform that included Sen. Elizabeth Warren among its contributors. 17

Payne also edited The Tesseract Effect, a monthly e-newsletter for progressive influencers. 18

Later Career

New Democrat Network and Democracy Alliance

Also see New Democrat Network and Democracy Alliance

Payne joined the New Democrat Network (NDN), a liberal think tank based in Washington, D.C., as a consultant and fundraiser from the organization’s office in New York City. 19 The New Democrat Network was founded in 1996 by former Democratic National Committee member and Clinton-family political strategist Simon Rosenberg. 20 Documents obtained by the Federal Elections Commission report NDN paid Payne $18,000 per month for consulting services in the fourth quarter of 2004. 21 In 2002 and 2003, Payne helped the NDN develop a strategy and infrastructure for the progressive movement. 22 Payne takes credit for naming the effort “Phoenix Group,” because she was reading a Harry Potter book at the time. 23

The Phoenix Group struggled to gain traction and funding until the NDN began showing wealthy liberals a power point presentation created by former Clinton administration official Rob Stein. “The Conservative Message Machine Money Matrix” purported to lay out the 30-year history of conservative donors’ and institutions’ successful influence in elections. 24

In his 2008 book, The Argument: Inside the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics, writer Matt Bai describes Payne as a natural fundraiser who spoke quickly and bluntly, and “had a Southern brunette charm that enabled her to get away with the kind of frontal assault on a person’s wallet that would have seemed ill mannered coming from someone else.” Additionally, Payne “wanted to be a player among the wealthy, not merely a conduit or a functionary. The [Rob Stein] slide show could help get her there.” 25

Payne pitched to wealthy liberal operatives such as Clinton fundraiser Alan Patricof and Jonathan Soros, the son of billionaire George Soros. In December 2003, Payne organized a meeting of New York’s top progressive donors to see the slide show and discuss the next steps in building a wealthy liberal alliance. Meeting attendees included George Soros, Peter Lewis, David Brock, Richard Holbrooke, and Jon Corzine. By 2005, the Phoenix Group had gained enough financial commitment to launch a stand-alone organization which would become the Democracy Alliance. At first the members wanted Payne and Stein to launch the group together; Payne, who assumed she would ultimately run the entire operation, became openly upset, engineered a rebellion among new staff hires, and urged backers to oust Stein. The donors grew tired of the infighting between Payne and Stein, and at their first full meeting in April, 2005, the donors completely severed Payne’s ties to the organization and demoted Stein to a board member. 26 Despite her acrimonious departure from Democracy Alliance, Payne today continues to promote herself as a co-founder. 27

The Agenda Project

After she left Democracy Alliance, Payne spent the next three years working as a political strategist and consultant in New York. One activity included a series of monthly breakfasts for Democratic party operatives and contributors which Payne organized with help from former DNC finance chair Maureen White and Gail Furman, a longtime Democratic fund-raiser. 28 A 2016 article in Bloomberg described these breakfasts as being “where some of New York City’s movers and shakers would gather to hear a politician or elected official to speak.” 29 The invitation-only events known then as the Agenda Project Breakfast Series drew notable left-wing figures including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. 30

Tax documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service show that Payne formalized The Agenda Project, Inc. in March 2009. 31 In an email invitation to March 8, 2010 breakfast forum featuring Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and controversial former Obama administration official Van Jones, Payne announced the Agenda Project’s expanded scope of “several by-invitation-only gatherings around policy and political strategy” over the coming year, ranging from policy breakfasts to salon dinners, book parties and private movie screenings. 32 Payne broadened The Agenda Project’s scope with a number of publicity stunts aimed at stirring up public distaste for conservative ideas in Congress by creating provocative and sometimes graphic political attack ads. 33

One ad that drew notable attention was a 2010 video portraying a person resembling Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair off a cliff. 34 Payne explained the goal of the ad was to drive the news cycle by graphically showing how Ryan’s proposed budget would purportedly leave the country without Medicare. 35 The left-leaning Politifact called the ad “false.” 36

From its founding in 2009 to 2012, The Agenda Project’s three-member board consisted of Payne, Charles Ledley, and Jamie Mai, who were the board secretary and treasurer, respectively. 37 Ledley’s and Mai’s investment strategies turned $110,000 into $130 million and served as the backdrop to the Great Recession-inspired film, The Big Short. 38 Mai remained as the board treasurer and Payne’s only other board member in 2013 and 2014. 39

The Agenda Project, Inc. changed to the Agenda Project Action Fund, Inc. in 2011, when Payne created a 501(c)(3) charitable arm which took the original name. 40 Prior to 2013, the home address for both iterations of the Agenda Project was in New York City. Both relocated to Washington, D.C. in 2013. 41

Payne served as the Agenda Project’s president until December 2015, when she announced that communications director Erik Altieri would be the organization’s next president, while she would stay on as an advisor and a member of the Board of Directors. 42 Also in 2015, Morris Pearl, a former BlackRock director, assumed the position of treasurer of the board of both Agenda Project nonprofits. 43 Tax records show that Payne’s husband, Gene Haigh, joined the Agenda Project Action Fund’s board of directors as secretary. 44

Patriotic Millionaires

The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of Americans who earn more than $1 million per year and advocate for left-wing economic policies created by Payne and major Democratic donor Guy Saperstein in 2010. 45 The Patriotic Millionaires was originally a project of the Agenda Project in New York City. 46 Many of the people Payne recruited to join the Patriotic Millionaires came from connections she made through her Agenda Project breakfast series, including Morris Pearl, a former BlackRock director who is chair of Patriotic Millionaires. 47 Payne’s husband, Gene Haigh, is a registered lobbyist for Patriotic Millionaires. 48

In September 2020, Payne held a conference call with Patriotic Millionaires regarding a potential nominee for the Supreme Court after the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Payne presented a strategy for the Democratic Party. She expressed her desire for the party to combat the nomination by “mak[ing] this an unbelievably painful process for Senate Republicans” and “kick[ing] the f— out of” Democratic senators who do not fight the nomination. Payne stressed that the Democrats should not let the media portray the confirmation process as something routine and normal. “I think I manipulate the media better than anyone else on this phone call,” Payne added. 49

Patriotic Millionaires sent a letter presenting its outline of a proposed strategy to all Democratic senators, comprised of recommendations such as: “Boycott the confirmation hearings entirely;” “Block the typically-proforma ‘Unanimous Consent’ agreements that set the daily schedule and the terms of conduct for Senate business, including any resolutions to adjourn the Senate;” and “Repeatedly force your Republican colleagues to produce the quorum of 51 Senators necessary to conduct Senate business on their own.” 50

Tesseract, Inc.

In 2016, Payne changed the name of the Agenda Project Action Fund to Tesseract, Inc. The entity retained its nonprofit 501(c)(4) “social welfare” status and became the direct controlling entity for the Patriotic Millionaires, LLC; The Agenda Project, LLC; and Mayday America, LLC. 51 She also changed the name of the Agenda Project Research Center, LLC to Tesseract Research Center, Inc., which became the controlling entity for the Patriotic Millionaires Research Center, LLC and The Agenda Project Research Center, LLC. 52

Authored Books

In 2008, Payne wrote a book called The Practical Progressive: How to Build a 21st Century Political Movement. 53 A quote from Jonathan Alter of Newsweek, who called Payne’s book “a blueprint for a progressive conspiracy to help save the country” appears in numerous interview profiles of Payne. 54

An author profile on Payne for HuffPo states that Payne is also the editor of Next Left: The Unofficial, Incomplete and Utterly Biased Guide to the New Progressive Infrastructure, billed as “the first and only guidebook for progressive donors.” 55

Controversies

DNC Campaign Finance

Payne was deposed by the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs as part of its investigation into a DNC fundraising scandal in 1995 and 1996 that resulted in $44 million for the Clinton/Gore campaign in excess of legal spending limits. 56 Payne also submitted an affidavit to the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight as part of its parallel DNC fundraising investigation, Conduit Payments to the Democratic National Committee. 57

Payne’s role in the fundraising scheme involved an alleged quid pro quo in late 1995 between President Bill Clinton’s veto on a tort reform bill and powerful Texas trial lawyers with whom Vice President Al Gore had recently had dinner in Houston. 58 Two days after the dinner, Payne gave memos to Gore, known as call sheets, suggesting the Vice President call some of the lawyers at the dinner and ask each of them to give the party $100,000. 59 Two weeks later, Payne gave a similar call sheet to then-DNC chairman Donald Fowler which included a script for Fowler to use in a call to multimillionaire trial lawyer Walter Umphrey, who was the lead lawyer for the state of Texas. 60 TIME magazine obtained the call sheet and reported the script clearly suggested a quid pro quo between the president’s impending veto and a contribution: “Sorry you missed the Vice President: I know [you] will give $100K when the President vetoes tort reform, but we really need it now. Please send ASAP if possible.” 61

FEC and New Democrat Network

In 2004, the left-leaning Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against the New Democrat Network for making and failing to report excessive contributions to the DNC and to the John Kerry for President Political Action Committee. 62 The FEC investigated, but in 2007 declined to prosecute the NDN or its founder, Simon Rosenberg. 63

Associated People

Eugene “Gene” Haigh is Payne’s husband. Haigh is secretary of the Agenda Project’s board of directors, which was founded by Payne. 64 Haigh is also a registered lobbyist for Patriotic Millionaires, which Payne also founded. 65

Erik Altieri was named president of the Agenda Project in 2015, following seven years as Communications Director. He previously worked as a lobbyist for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). 66

Morris Pearl is a former BlackRock director who now serves as treasurer of both Agenda Project nonprofits. 67 Pearl also chairs the Patriotic Millionaires. 68

References

  1. Novak, Viveca, and Michael Weisskopf. “A Dinner, a Memo and a Gusher of Texas Law Money.” Time. September 13, 2000. Accessed May 27, 2019. http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,54784,00.html.
  2. Kigho, Mazino Oyolo. “Strategist Erica Payne Is No Shrinking Violet.” The Wakeman Agency. November 2, 2017. Accessed May 09, 2019. https://www.thewakemanagency.com/ericapayne/.
  3. Byerly, Dan. The Brookdale Bugle. PDF. Chevy Chase, MD: The Brookdale Citizens’ Association, April 2014. https://brookdalecitizens.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Brookdale-Bugle0414.pdf.
  4. The Patriotic Millionaires LLC, Lobbying Report, Q1 2019, Line 4a https://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=579709ED-2D0C-4E87-9F18-92DEA914199F&filingTypeID=51
  5. “Patriotic Millionaires Staff.” Patriotic Millionaires. Accessed June 7, 2019. https://patrioticmillionaires.org/who-we-are/meet-the-staff/.
  6. “Erica Payne.” Facebook. Accessed May 09, 2019. https://www.facebook.com/ericacpayne/about?lst=1001332775:747251214:1557438393.
  7. Bond, Mindy, and Ralphie Frank. “Erica Payne, Political Strategist.” Gothamist. January 06, 2005. Accessed December 09, 2018. http://gothamist.com/2005/01/06/erica_payne_political_strategist.php.
  8. Guillory, Ferrell. Jim Hunt: Campaigning and Governing. PDF. Raleigh, NC: Institute for Emerging Issues, NC State University, October 4, 2009. https://iei.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Guillory-HUNT-ELECTIONS.pdf.
  9. “Erica Payne, Founder.” December 25, 2007. Accessed December 09, 2018. http://web.archive.org/20071225181528/www.tesseractllc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=9&Itemid=14.
  10. Tapper, Jake. “A Spy in the House of Bush?” Salon. September 23, 2000. Accessed May 27, 2019. https://www.salon.com/2001/01/16/mole/.
  11. “Erica Payne, Founder.” December 25, 2007. Accessed December 09, 2018. http://web.archive.org/20071225181528/www.tesseractllc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=9&Itemid=14.
  12. “Mike Lux and Erica Payne – Contributor.” The Huffington Post. Accessed December 27, 2018. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/mike-lux-and-erica-payne.
  13. “NYS Department of State.” Informational Message. Accessed May 09, 2019. https://appext20.dos.ny.gov/corp_public/CORPSEARCH.SELECT_ENTITY.
  14. “Erica Payne – SheSource Expert – Women’s Media Center.” Women’s Media Center. Accessed January 23, 2019. https://www.womensmediacenter.com/shesource/expert/erica-payne.
  15. “Roosevelt Institute.” Roosevelt Institute. Accessed June 01, 2019. https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/roosevelt-institute/.
  16. “Erica Payne – SheSource Expert – Women’s Media Center.” Women’s Media Center. Accessed January 23, 2019. https://www.womensmediacenter.com/shesource/expert/erica-payne.
  17. “The Practical Progressive: How to Build a 21st Century Political Movement” with Erica Payne.” Vimeo. January/February, 2015. Accessed June 01, 2019. https://vimeo.com/147661327.
  18. “Mike Lux and Erica Payne.” HuffPost. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://www.huffpost.com/author/mike-lux-and-erica-payne.
  19. Bai, Matt. “Wiring the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy.” The New York Times. July 25, 2004. Accessed December 09, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/magazine/wiring-the-vast-left-wing-conspiracy.html.
  20. The Huffington Post. Accessed December 28, 2018. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/simon-rosenberg.
  21. Complaint. PDF. Washington, D.C.: Federal Elections Commission, December 9, 2004. https://campaignlegal.org/sites/default/files/NDN%20Complaint.12.9.04.FINAL_.pdf.
  22. 12. Bai, Matt. “Wiring the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy.” The New York Times. July 25, 2004. Accessed December 09, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/magazine/wiring-the-vast-left-wing-conspiracy.html.
  23. Berman, Ari. “Big $$ for Progressive Politics.” The Nation. June 29, 2015. Accessed December 28, 2018. https://www.thenation.com/article/big-progressive-politics/.
  24. Bai, Matt. The Argument: Inside the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics. New York: Penguin Books, 2008.
  25. Bai, Matt. The Argument: Inside the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics. New York: Penguin Books, 2008.
  26. Bai, Matt. The Argument: Inside the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics. New York: Penguin Books, 2008.
  27. “Erica Payne, Founder.” December 25, 2007. Accessed December 09, 2018. http://web.archive.org/20071225181528/www.tesseractllc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=9&Itemid=14.
  28. Cohen, Patricia. “Democratic Political Adviser.” The New York Times. July 10, 2007. Accessed December 28, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/arts/10west.html.
  29. “Bloomberg: A Millionaire Takes on the Carried Interest Tax Break.” Take Back Our Republic. October 14, 2016. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://takeback.org/bloomberg-millionaire-takes-carried-interest-tax-break/.
  30. Neel, Phoebe. “Why Is This Group of Millionaires Asking Congress to Tax Them More? — New York Magazine – Nymag.” New York Magazine. December 03, 2010. Accessed May 12, 2019. http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/69931/.
  31. “Tesseract – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800378174.
  32. Franke-Ruta, Garance. The Washington Post. February 4, 2010. Accessed May 12, 2019. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/02/van-jones-returns-will-speak-a.html.
  33. “The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour: Erica Payne, The Agenda Project.” KCPW. December 16, 2015. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://kcpw.org/blog/local-programs/hinckley-institute-radio-hour/2015-12-16/99749/.
  34. Stewart, Emily. “A Group of “patriotic Millionaires” Thinks Democrats Can Run – and Win – on Taxes.” Vox.com. July 31, 2018. Accessed February 11, 2019. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/7/31/17634016/patriotic-millionaires-2018-tax-cuts.
  35. “The Practical Progressive: How to Build a 21st Century Political Movement” with Erica Payne.” Vimeo. January/February, 2015. Accessed June 01, 2019. https://vimeo.com/147661327.
  36. Drobnic Holan, Angie, and Louis Jacobson. “Throw-granny-from-the-cliff Ad Asks What the U.S. Would Be “without Medicare.” @politifact. May 25, 2011. Accessed June 01, 2019. https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/may/25/agenda-project/throw-granny-cliff-asks-what-country-would-be-with/.
  37. “Tesseract – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800378174.
  38. “How Did Jamie Mai and Charlie Ledley Turn $110,000 into $12 Million and Then $130 Million by Using Value Investment Method?” Timeless Investor. June 29, 2016. Accessed May 17, 2019. http://www.timelessinvestor.com/2016/06/29/how-did-jamie-mai-and-charlie-ledley-turn-110000-into-12-million-using-value-investment/.
  39. “Tesseract – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800378174.
  40. “Tesseract – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800378174.
  41. “Tesseract Research Center Inc – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/274552853.
  42. Payne, Erica. “Agenda Project Announces New President.” Daily Kos. December 12, 2015. Accessed December 09, 2018. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/11/1459370/-Agenda-Project-Announces-New-President.
  43. “Tesseract – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800378174.
  44. “Tesseract – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800378174.
  45. “The Patriotic Millionaires.” The Patriotic Millionaires. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://www.influencewatch.org/organization/patriotic-millionaires/.
  46. Conason, Joe. “”Patriotic Millionaires” Call for Their Tax Cuts to Expire.” Salon. September 25, 2011. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://www.salon.com/2010/11/18/millionaires/.
  47. “Bloomberg: A Millionaire Takes on the Carried Interest Tax Break.” Take Back Our Republic. October 14, 2016. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://takeback.org/bloomberg-millionaire-takes-carried-interest-tax-break/.
  48. Lobbying Disclosure. Accessed May 17, 2019. http://disclosures.house.gov/ld/ldsearch.aspx.
  49. Hillyer, Quin. “Leftist SCOTUS Plotter: ‘I Manipulate the Media Better than Anyone Else on This Phone Call,’” September 25, 2020. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/leftist-group-plans-a-massively-nasty-campaign-against-trumps-nominee.
  50. Patriotic Millionaires. Letter to Minority Leader Schumer and Members of the Democratic Caucus of the U.S. Senate. “DEMAND DEMOCRATS BOYCOTT THE SCOTUS SCAM.” September 2020. https://patrioticmillionaires.org/scotus-scam/.
  51. [1] “Tesseract – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800378174.
  52. “Tesseract Research Center Inc – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/274552853.
  53. “Mike Lux and Erica Payne.” HuffPost. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://www.huffpost.com/author/mike-lux-and-erica-payne.
  54. Kigho, Mazino Oyolo. “Strategist Erica Payne Is No Shrinking Violet.” The Wakeman Agency. November 2, 2017. Accessed May 09, 2019. https://www.thewakemanagency.com/ericapayne/.
  55. “Mike Lux and Erica Payne.” HuffPost. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://www.huffpost.com/author/mike-lux-and-erica-payne.
  56. “S. Rept. 105-167 – INVESTIGATION OF ILLEGAL OR IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN CONNECTION WITH 1996 FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS.” Congress.gov. March 10, 1998. Accessed May 27, 2019. https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/105th-congress/senate-report/167/1.
  57. “HEARING: CONDUIT PAYMENTS TO THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE.” Conduit Payments to the Democractic National Committee. October 9, 1997. Accessed May 27, 2019. http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/gro/hgo282.000/hgo282_0f.htm.
  58. VAN NATTA, DON, JR., and RICHARD A. OPPEL, JR. “Memo Linking Political Donation And Veto Spurs Federal Inquiry.” The New York Times. September 14, 2000. Accessed May 27, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/14/us/2000-campaign-contributions-memo-linking-political-donation-veto-spurs-federal.html.
  59. Novak, Viveca, and Michael Weisskopf. “A Dinner, a Memo and a Gusher of Texas Law Money.” Time. September 13, 2000. Accessed May 27, 2019. http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,54784,00.html.
  60. Taylor, Stuart, Jr. “Gore’s Shameless About Posing As a Populist.” The Atlantic. September 26, 2000. Accessed May 27, 2019. https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/politics/nj/taylor2000-09-26.htm.
  61. Novak, Viveca, and Michael Weisskopf. “A Dinner, a Memo and a Gusher of Texas Law Money.” Time. September 13, 2000. Accessed May 27, 2019. http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,54784,00.html.
  62. Complaint. PDF. Washington, D.C.: Federal Elections Commission, December 9, 2004. https://campaignlegal.org/sites/default/files/NDN%20Complaint.12.9.04.FINAL_.pdf.
  63. Factual and Legal Analysis. PDF. Washington, D.C.: Federal Elections Commission, November 19, 2007. https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/current/63457.pdf.
  64. “Tesseract – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800378174.
  65. Lobbying Disclosure. Accessed May 17, 2019. http://disclosures.house.gov/ld/ldsearch.aspx.
  66. Payne, Erica. “Agenda Project Announces New President.” Daily Kos. December 12, 2015. Accessed December 09, 2018. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/11/1459370/-Agenda-Project-Announces-New-President.
  67. “Tesseract – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800378174.
  68. “Bloomberg: A Millionaire Takes on the Carried Interest Tax Break.” Take Back Our Republic. October 14, 2016. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://takeback.org/bloomberg-millionaire-takes-carried-interest-tax-break/.
  See an error? Let us know!