Whitaker Was Paid Over $1.2 Million While Working at ‘Dark Money’ Group

Acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker was paid more than $1.2 million in the past few years while he was president of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, a “dark money” group that does not reveal its donors. The Washington Post reports Whitaker was paid $1,219,000 in total by FACT, and he received $55,000 a month last year. This total pay between 2014 and 2017 was reportedly “more than a third of the donations” the group collected. The New York Times reports that income from FACT was Whitaker’s largest source of income, with a law firm salary and pay from being a CNN contributor coming in second and third. The Times also reported Whitaker’s campaign committee for his unsuccessful 2014 run for a U.S. Senate seat in Iowa received four donations totaling $8,800 this year, a few months after he left FACT to join in the Justice Department. Officials of the executive branch are reportedly prohibited from “knowingly soliciting or accepting” campaign donations under the Hatch Act. Whitaker’s law partner and 2014 campaign treasurer, William Gustoff, reportedly signed off on the donations and said the “donations were not solicited by [him] or by Matt.”