The political action committee (PAC) of Republican Representative John James has come under scrutiny for employing consultants linked to a purported illicit arrangement involving President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association (NRA).
This contentious issue had been extensively covered in the media prior to the engagement of these consultants by James’ PAC, which could potentially undermine his campaign promise to address corruption if he wins the Michigan gubernatorial race later this year.
The intricacies of the alleged scheme involve a network of Republican consulting entities, questionable shell companies, and campaign finance documentation.
Recently, Mission Michigan PAC, associated with James, disclosed a payment of $1.3 million to Red Eagle Media Group, a firm based in Virginia specializing in the placement of television and radio advertisements for campaigns.
Back in 2016, Red Eagle Media Group was contracted by the NRA to run advertisements in Norfolk, VA, endorsing Trump’s presidential bid. Concurrently, Trump ran ads targeting the same demographic in the area through American Media & Advocacy Group (AMAG). Both companies focused on reaching adults between the ages of 35 to 65.
According to a report by The Trace in 2018, Red Eagle Media Group and AMAG were subsidiaries of National Media Research, Planning and Placement, with public records indicating shared addresses and staff among the entities.
Additionally, it emerged that the authorization for the 2016 ad campaigns was granted by the same individual for both firms.
The connection between these firms and the simultaneous ad strategies sparked conversations about potential collaboration between Red Eagle Media Group and the Trump campaign to align efforts with the NRA. Such coordination is strictly forbidden under federal law for private political entities like the NRA.
“This is very strong evidence, if not proof, of illegal coordination,” commented Larry Noble, a former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission, in an interview with Mother Jones. “This is the heat of the general election, and the same person is acting as an agent for the NRA and the Trump campaign.”
Despite the controversy, Trump’s 2020 campaign continued its association with AMAG but ceased reporting payments to the firm following the exposure of the potential deal. OpenSecrets later unveiled that the campaign persisted in using AMAG’s services, channeling payments through shell companies to obfuscate them from public and media scrutiny.
John James’ campaign platform prominently features a commitment to eradicating political corruption, pledging to “require ethics clauses to be included in every employment agreement in his administration.”
However, this standard does not seem to extend to his PAC’s activities.
James is among five Republican candidates in the August 4 primary for the gubernatorial position, with the victor likely facing Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in the general election.
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