YIKES

Trump 2020 Campaign Using Shell Company to Buy Ads in Coordination With NRA: Report

Harris Sikes Media LLC is reportedly employing the same individuals that bought ads for Trump's 2016 campaign in apparent coordination with the NRA.

The Trump 2020 campaign is reportedly using a shell company to buy ads in coordination with the National Rifle Association, using the same potentially illegal techniques as the 2016 campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Citing FCC records, the center reports that the 2020 campaign has “continued to deploy the same individuals” who ran their 2016 ad buys in coordination with the NRA. However, the 2020 campaign is also reportedly making payments to Harris Sikes Media LLC—which is said to have “no website or public-facing facade whatsoever.” Individuals listed in the 2020 ad buys through Harris Sikes Media reportedly include Ben Angle, Megan Burns, and Jonathan Ferrell. All three individuals’ names and signatures also reportedly appear in filings from National Media and its other affiliates, Red Eagle Media. and American Media & Advocacy Group (AMAG), which were all reportedly handling similar coordinated ad buys for the 2016 campaign and the NRA. In October 2018, the 2020 campaign and the NRA are said to have made ad buys at the “same local radio station within days of each other.” The filings reportedly list the same individual, but the 2020 campaign lists Harris Sikes Media as their firm while the NRA lists Red Eagle. Red Eagle is reportedly a “fictitious” name for National Media, and a lawyer for AMAG told The Daily Beast the two entities were linked.

SUSPICIOUS

Report: Trump, NRA Coordinated Ad Campaigns in 2016 Election