| TikTok Billionaire Jeff Yass Fortune Threatened by DC
DC PAC that Top TikTok Investor Funds
Seeks to Capitalize on Baseless Claims
Capitol Inside
April 23, 2024
A new Texas TikTok syndicate struck again on Tuesday when a group that's bankrolled by Pennsylvania financier Jeff Yass portrayed GOP State Rep. Gary VanDeaver of New Boston as a "scandal-plagued" lawmaker who'd been ethically remiss when he voted against school vouchers and a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying.
The AFC Victory Fund - a political committee that's based in Alexandria, Virginia since its conception in September - sought to milk a furor that Governor Greg Abbott's team manufactured and sought to fuel on Monday with the touting of Dallas Express story on VanDeaver taking campaign cash from lobbyists who represent public interests.
Abbott branded VanDeaver's actions as "shocking" based on the singular report in
the obscure periodical that caters to conservatives and a social media post by State Senator Mayes Middleton - a Galveston Republican who's tried and failed to pass the tax-funded lobby prohibition in three consecutive regular sessions.
“Gary VanDeaver continues to be mired in scandal for putting the wishes of special interests above the demands of parents and students in his district," AFC Victory Fund CEO Tommy Schultz said on Tuesday in an email. "A majority of voters in House District 1 rejected him in the primary election, and we believe they will see past his excuses which every unethical politician uses. We look forward to reminding voters who he really is.”
Based on Schultz's logic, it would be fair to say that a majority of the voters in HD 1 also rejected challenger Chris Spencer in the primary election in March. VanDeaver led a pack of three contenders with almost 46 percent of the vote. Spencer advanced to a May 28 runoff with 43 percent in round one in the HD 1.
The AFC Victory Fund is the fundraising arm for the American Federation for Children - an organization at the forefront of a nationwide push for school choice. Philadelphia-area investor Jeff Yass, the lead investor in TikTok, contributed $3.5 million to the AFC Victory Fund at the federal level in the final four months of 2023. Yass has spent close to $120 million on contributions at the federal level in the past four years.
Yass gave the AFC Victory Fund $5.7 million between December and April - according to Texas Ethics Commission records. Yass donated $6 million to Abbott in December after a $250,000 contribution two months earlier.
VanDeaver is one of four House Republicans who Abbott is targeting for defeat in runoffs as payback for votes to kill school choice last year. Yass has contributed $62 million or more to the Club for Growth Action PAC since 2020 when he emerged as player in the political money game for the first time. The Club for Growth committee has pumped $4 million into Texas runoffs for spending against House Speaker Dade Phelan and State Reps. DeWayne Burns of Cleburne, Justin Holland of Rockwall, John Kuempel of Seguin and VanDeaver.
The allegations that Abbott and the AFC Victory Fund have peddled this week would have little chance of standing under any real scrutiny. Lawmakers who work in "of counsel" positions for law firms and other entities never recuse themselves from votes as a result of potential conflicts of interest. Most if not all Texas lawmakers have voted at times on bill that would have an impact on professions and other vested personal interests.
Middleton accused VanDeaver as working as an unregistered lobbyist. But neither Abbott or Middleton offered any evidence to support the claims. Abbott's camp shopped the story that the Dallas Express printed before the governor expressed shock and disbelief after it's publication. The AFC Victory Fund waited a day before seizing on the report.
more to come ...
Texas TikTok Timetable
September 19, 2020 - Governor Tells Trump Texas Perfect Place for TikTok
September 21, 2020 - Governor Trying to Lure TikTok Headquarters to Texas
December 7, 2022 - Governor Orders Aggressive Action Against TikTok
February 6, 2023 - Governor Announces Statewide Plan Banning TikTok Use
December 12, 2023 - Judge Upholds Texas TikTok Ban
March 13, 2024 - Governor Backs U.S. House TikTok Ban
March 13, 2024 - Jeff Yass $15 Billion TikTok Fortune at Stake
March 14, 2024 - Governor Refuses to Release TikTok Investor Emails
March 14, 2024 - Jeff Yass May Have Prompted Trump TikTok About-Face
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