Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit Wednesday against the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to obtain records of $4.8 million in taxpayer funding for the Open Society Foundation – Macedonia.
The organization is part of liberal billionaire George Soros' Open Society Foundations, which says on its website it works "to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens."
But the conservative watchdog Judicial Watch says its investigation shows the group colluded with the Obama White House to provide U.S. taxpayer dollars to destabilize Macedonia's democratically elected right-of-center government.
According to USAID's website, it gave $4,819,125 in taxpayer money to the group between February 27, 2012, and August 31, 2016 "in partnership with four local civil society organizations."
The project, it says, trained young Macedonians "on topics such as freedom of association, youth policies, citizen initiatives, persuasive argumentation, and use of new media."
But Judicial Watch charges the money was used for such activities as translating Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" — a left-wing activist bible — into Macedonian.
U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia Jess L. Bailey has helped channel the funds, according to Judicial Watch, and though Bailey is an Obama appointee, he has yet to be replaced by President Donald Trump.
"The Obama administration seemed to bust taxpayer budgets in an effort to fund the Soros operation," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. "The Trump State Department and USAID should get their act together and disclose the details of the Obama-Soros spigot."
Judicial Watch said it filed the suit after previous Freedom of Information Act requests were ignored.
A spokesperson for the Open Society Foundations told Fox News the group "spends nearly a billion dollars of its own money a year promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance around the world. Our local foundations administer a miniscule amount of US aid. When USAID chooses an Open Society national foundation to administer USAID funds — which go on to NGOs in the field — it is because we have a reputation for transparency, efficiency and professionalism.
"The work the Macedonia foundation supports has helped the Macedonian people by strengthening healthcare, education, community activism, and journalism in the country -- often in partnership with the European Union, the United States, and the Macedonian government."