A team run by Hillary Clinton's ally David Brock says it is coordinating efforts with "moles" inside the Koch empire to gather information concerning the billionaire brothers' corporate and political activities.
"This is the part I'm trying to keep vague," Eddie Vale, who oversees that anti-Koch unit's investigation team,
told The Hill. "We get information from people in their network."
He described the moles as being both current and former employees of Koch Industries, and said they communicate in "old-fashioned" ways as email and phone calls can be tracked.
"I would say [our sources] have a decent level of fear," Vale said.
However, a spokeswoman for Brock-backed American Bridge would not provide proof about the informants, and The Bridge Project, which is Brock's anti-Koch team, isn't providing many details to protect the identity of the moles, said communications director Regan Page.
The Koch network of donors plans to spend $889 million during the 2016 campaign getting Republicans elected to Congress and the White House, and network spokesman James Davis ridiculed Brock.
"Very few people outside of David Brock believe attacking private citizens and job creators is a good strategy," Davis said.
Meanwhile, Brock's group has not published much of what it says it has found out, except for alerting the New York Times to archival material that led to a story about David Koch's failed Libertarian bid for the presidency in 2008.
The unit has has also published recordings from conservative groups linked to the Kochs, including the Heartland Institute and the Wichita Chamber of Commerce.
Brock has created several several liberal groups, including the American Bridge super-PAC, press watchdog Media Matters, and pro-Clinton super-PAC Correct the Record, employing more than 60 people, 10 of whom are watching the Kochs.
In addition, American Bridge employs 26 people to shadow GOP candidates and Koch-connected people. The head of the tracking unit told The Hill that many of the trackers include middle-aged men who blend in well at wealthy donor events.
The Bridge Project itself has a $4 million budget for the 2016 election cycle alone, and as it is a nonprofit, can hide its donors' identities.
Vale said Brock created the group after talks with Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. and in the 2014 midterms attacked GOP candidates.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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