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Political Party/527

Justice Unites Us PAC

Location:

Washington, DC
Type:

Super PAC
Parent Organization:

Family First Action Fund
Classification:

527

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The Justice Unites Us PAC is a super PAC that drew scrutiny during the 2022 election cycle for its tactics of spending nearly $1 million in a closely contested Democratic congressional primary in Oregon and allegedly legally manipulating its filing schedule to avoid revealing the organization’s donors until after the conclusion of a primary election. The group supported Carrick Flynn, a Democrat running in Oregon’s sixth congressional district. 1

Its website is a joint project of the PAC and Justice Unites Us, which is a project of Family Friendly Action Fund, a lobbying organization. 2 Family Friendly Action Fund received funding from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a left-of-center funding group that spent $410 million during the 2020 elections. 3 4 According to a May 2022 filing, Justice Unites Us PAC’s sole known donor is the organization Protect Our Care, which is associated with the Sixteen Thirty Fund. 5 6

Background

The Justice Unites Us PAC describes itself as a data-driven organization that targets Asian American voters. The organization drew scrutiny from mainstream media when Politico reported that the group has utilized a “quirk” in federal campaign finance filing requirements to conceal its donors. 7

The PAC was formed in late March 2022 and filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission just before the end of the first quarter. The only spending that the PAC disclosed as of April 2022 was over $840,000 in field work and advertisements to support Carrick Flynn a candidate running in the Democratic primary for Oregon’s sixth congressional district. The PAC’s filings stated that the field work began in April after the start of the second quarter. The PAC reported no spending or fundraising activity for the first quarter and immediately switched itself to monthly filing status to avoid disclosing its donors ahead of the May 17, 2022 primary since monthly filers do not have to file “pre-primary” reports that are required of quarterly filers. 8

The PAC’s support of Flynn came after the House Majority PAC, which is tied to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D), spent $1 million supporting Flynn’s campaign as well, a move that angered left-of-center Latino advocacy groups and labor unions in the state who endorsed state Rep. Andrea Salinas (D), Flynn’s opponent in the race. 9 10

The support of the House Majority PAC and the Justice Unites Us PAC for Flynn has been joined by Protect Our Future, a super PAC tied to cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, which has spent over $10 million boosting Flynn’s campaign via independent expenditures. 11

Associated Groups

The Justice Unites Us PAC website is a joint project of the committee and Justice Unites Us, which is described as a project of the Family Friendly Action Fund, a nonprofit lobbying organization. 12 It has reported making over $40,000 in payments to Civix Strategy Group, 13 a for-profit consulting firm that works for a variety of left-of-center advocacy groups and Democratic-aligned political action committees including Somos Votantes, the ACLU, Virginia Plus, and the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy. 14

Family Friendly Action Fund received $1.1 million from the left-of-center “dark money” group Sixteen Thirty Fund according to tax records. Sixteen Thirty Fund spent $410 million during the 2020 elections, according to reporting by Politico. 15 16

Laura Thibault, the chief finance officer and director of special programs for the Civix Strategy Group, is listed as the custodian of records for the Justice Unites Us PAC per its FEC filing. 17 18

References

  1. Montellaro, Zach and Sutton, Sam. “This super PAC is spending almost $1 million in a contentious Democratic Primary. They don’t want you to know who is funding them.” Politico. April 18, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2022. https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/04-18-2022/super-pac-mystery/
  2. “Justice Unites Us.” Justice Unites Us. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.justiceunites.us/.
  3. Montellaro, Zach and Sutton, Sam. “This super PAC is spending almost $1 million in a contentious Democratic Primary. They don’t want you to know who is funding them.” Politico. April 18, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2022. https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/04-18-2022/super-pac-mystery/
  4. Sixteen Thirty Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020, Schedule I https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017d-2e2b-df97-a9ff-be7fdd190000
  5. Justice Unites Us PAC (FEC Identification Number C00810606), Federal Election Commission Form 3X Report of Receipts and Disbursements for Other Than an Authorized Committee, May Monthly 2022, Schedule A https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/016/202205209512615016/202205209512615016.pdf
  6. “Sixteen Thirty Fund Profile: Summary.” OpenSecrets. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/sixteen-thirty-fund/summary?id=D000070975.
  7. Montellaro, Zach and Sutton, Sam. “This super PAC is spending almost $1 million in a contentious Democratic Primary. They don’t want you to know who is funding them.” Politico. April 18, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2022. https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/04-18-2022/super-pac-mystery/
  8. [1] Montellaro, Zach and Sutton, Sam. “This super PAC is spending almost $1 million in a contentious Democratic Primary. They don’t want you to know who is funding them.” Politico. April 18, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2022. https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/04-18-2022/super-pac-mystery/
  9. Rodriguez, Sabrina. “‘A slap in the face’: House Dems’ super PAC sparks Latino backlash.” Politico. April 17, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/17/house-dems-super-pac-latino-00025694
  10. Montellaro, Zach and Sutton, Sam. “This super PAC is spending almost $1 million in a contentious Democratic Primary. They don’t want you to know who is funding them.” Politico. April 18, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2022. https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/04-18-2022/super-pac-mystery/
  11. “Protect Our Future: 2022 Independent Expenditures.” Open Secrets. Accessed May 13, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/protect-our-future-pac/C00801514/independent-expenditures/2022
  12. “Justice Unites Us.” Justice Unites Us. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.justiceunites.us/.
  13. Justice Unites Us PAC (FEC Identification Number C00810606), Federal Election Commission Form 3X Report of Receipts and Disbursements for Other Than an Authorized Committee, May Monthly 2022, Schedule B https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/016/202205209512615016/202205209512615016.pdf
  14. “Clients.” Civix Strategy Group. Accessed May 13, 2022. https://civixstrategygroup.com/content/clients
  15. Bland, Scott. “Liberal ‘dark-money’ behemoth funneled more than $400M in 2020.” Politico. November 17, 2021. Accessed November 21, 2021.  https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/17/dark-money-sixteen-thirty-fund-522781
  16. “Sixteen Thirty Fund IRS Form 990.” Politico. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017d-2e2b-df97-a9ff-be7fdd190000
  17. “Our Team.” Civix Strategy Group. Accessed May 13, 2022. https://civixstrategygroup.com/our-team
  18. “Justice Unites Us Statement of Organization.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed May 13, 2022. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00810606/1576645/
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Justice Unites Us PAC


Washington, DC