The false allegation that Putin funds a California environmental charity is bogus

LetterSigned by every GOP member on the House Energy Committee. Written to several environmental groups March 10

This letter has a passive voice. The four-page missive contains just enough smoke to suggest that there is a raging fire. Fox News’s story was the result. HeadlineHouse Republicans demand answers by environmental groups about the allegation that they colluded with Russia.

The letter asked three environmental groups, the League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club, to respond by March 25. They were asked if they had received funding from Russia and China, and if any funding from Sea Change (an environmental philanthropy) was used for anti-fracking advocacy. Sea Change contributes between $40 million and $50 millions a year to various environmental organizations.

The letter stated that we are writing today to investigate your connections to Sea Change because of the public reporting about Putin’s dark money influence over Europe and the concerns around similar efforts in the United States. Any action taken by President Putin, Russia’s government, or Putin’s allies to compromise American energy security should be addressed.

The allegations are crumbling upon closer inspection. It takes only the simplest of connections to make a case. It is even more amazing that Republicans continue to make these false claims over and over again, despite credible explanations. It’s no surprise that they continue to receive favorable headlines from right-leaning media.

All of this began in 2014 when the Senate Environment Committee’s Republican staff published the first issue. A reportIt is claimed that a group made up of billionaires and millionaires of left-leaning scions directs and controls the far left environmental movement. This in turn controls major policy decisions, and lobbies for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The report centered on Sea Change FoundationCalifornia-based company, which said it relies on funding from a foreign firm with unidentified donors.

Nat Simons is the president of Sea Change, a son and billionaire hedge fund investor. James SimonsWho is it? One of the richest people in the worldHis net worth is almost $29 million. The committee report revealed that Nat and Laura Baxter Simons primarily funded Sea Change with their personal wealth. This was mainly due to their connections to Renaissance Technologies, which is a highly profitable hedge fund.

The report also pointed out that the Simons funded the Simons but that the only other source of its funding comes from Klein Ltd, a Bermuda-based business. Klein contributed $13 million in 2010 to Sea Change. This was approximately half of Sea Changes contributions. Klein also contributed $10 millions to Sea Change in 2011. About one-third of the contributions were made by Klein in 2011. The report criticized the lack of transparency regarding Klein’s funding and stated that it appeared to have been created solely for anonymous donations to Sea Change.

The report didn’t mention Russian money. In December 2015, however, a group called Environmental Policy Alliance issued a report. Six-page paperIs this titled From Russia with Love?

The question mark is important. It was meant to raise allegations but also provide plausible deniability. It is too thin to be called a “report”. The paper claimed that it was building upon the Senate report by looking at the law firm that created Klein.

This law firm Wakefield Quin, is one the top law firms in Bermuda. The paper’s most notable discovery was that some of its lawyers held directorship positions in companies owned by some of their clients. This included one linked to Russia’s energy sector. One 2008 court caseFor example, in the British Virgin Islands, a money laundering conviction was made against a client that was connected to a Putin advisor. Although it is not clear who is funding Klein’s legal fees, the law firm that controls this offshore funder for the U.S. environmental movement is linked to Russian money laundering, a friend, advisor of Vladimir Putin, Russian oil production and many other matters, according to the paper.

Law firms are often able to serve multiple clients, sometimes sharing common interests. This does not necessarily mean that the law firms are coordinating between their clients or funneling money between them. The dots are so disjointed that it is almost impossible to connect them.

There is also a certain irony to the Environmental Policy AllianceThe paper is being issued. It is one of many AstroTurf organizations. faux think tanksBerman and Company’s offices are where the group is based, and Richard Rick Berman, a GOP lobbyist, is its leader. According to the groups website, it is dedicated to uncovering the hidden agenda and funding behind environmental activist organizations.

2014 was a record year for the New York Times RecordingBerman gave a closed-door speech to a group oil industry executives in which he talked about how he kept corporate donations hidden behind a wall that included nonprofit groups that support major advertising campaigns. He said that there is complete anonymity. People don’t know who supports them.

Bermans group continues to circulate claims despite their dubious provenances and flimsy reasoning.

In 2017, Russian interference in 2016’s election was the topic of the news. Two Texas Republican lawmakers, Lamar Smith and Rep. Randy Weber, issued an announcement. open letterAsk the Treasury Department for information on possible money flows from Putin and Sea Change.

The letter began by citing concerns about Russia’s opposition to fracking raised by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and former secretary-of-state Hillary Clinton.

Rasmussen in 2014 QuotedAccording to him, Russia was actively involved with nongovernmental organizations that work against shale gas in order to maintain European dependence on Russian gas. He did not provide any proof and said nothing more, stating that this was his interpretation.

In 2014, Clinton made a private speech in Edmonton (Alberta) in which she alluded to Russian disinformation efforts. We stood up against Russia’s push to oligarchs, and other people, to buy media. She said. We even fought against fake environmental groups. I am a big environmentalist. But these were funded by Russia to oppose any effort. Oh that pipeline, that Fracking, that whatever will cause you problems. A lot of the money supporting this message came from Russia.

Russia hacked John Podesta’s account and gave his emails to WikiLeaks. However, Nick Merrill, a Clinton spokesperson, claimed that she was not referring to Russia funding groups in the United States. He said that he remembered the speech in an email. She was referring about proposed pipelines to Europe that would have posed a threat to Russian supply.

One of the most frequently cited statistics is that Russia invested $95million in nongovernmental organizations to persuade European government to stop shale oil exploration. The 2018 Senate committee report cited this number, which was sourced from the Wilfried Martens Center for European Studies. However, the Wilfried Martens Center’s report does not explain how this figure was calculated. It merely attributes it to an anonymous interview in 2015. The report also is unclear about how much of this funding came from what are known as GONGOs (government-organized nongovernment organizations) or Russian oil companies themselves, as opposed to secret conduits of Russian money.

Finally, the referenced letter is a national intelligence reportPublished Jan. 6, 2017, on Russia’s attempts to influence the American political debate. This report pointed out that RT (Russian news channel) broadcasts anti-fracking programming. These programs highlight environmental issues as well as the effects on public health.

In other words: Concerns about Russian attempts to use nongovernmental organizations in Europe to stop fracking were used to suggest that the same problem existed here. However, the only direct intervention in the United States has been identified as a Russian news network.

Smith and Weber’s letter was received by the Bermuda law office. a blistering statementIt denied any suggestion that it served as a conduit for Russian cash. According to the firm, these allegations are false and irresponsible. Since Klein’s inception, our firm has represented Klein. We can confirm categorically the fact that Klein has never received or expended funds from Russian sources.

Politico ZitatSea Change spokesperson said that no money from Russia was received and that all donations to environmental groups were not earmarked for opposition against fracking. This was apparently the point of the subterfugee. Our study of Sea Changes tax filingsIts contributions have been primarily focused on climate mitigation, energy efficiency, clean energy policies, and energy efficiency.

A year later, the Sea Change Foundation finally revealed the source of Kleins’ funding of the Simons family wealth. It turned out that it was just another trust for billionaires in the Simons family.

Nat Simons stated in a 2018 statement that speculations that Klein received funding from outside sources is incorrect. Inside Philanthropy. Sea Change Foundation and Klein have never solicited or received contributions from outside the family. Simons explained that the Bermuda funding vehicle’s name has been changed from Klein Ltd. into Sea Change Foundation International.

We are here, however, with a new mail. The new missive contains the same items as the previous letter, including quotes from Clinton, Rasmussen and the national intelligence report. It also includes a 2019 quote by Fiona Hill (ex-aide to Trump). During the first impeachment investigationPutin believed that American fracking was a threat to Russian interests. Then it claims that Putin is using Sea Change for his own purposes. Sea Changes 2018 does not mention the family wealth that was the source of the money.

The letter is so stuck in the past that it is no longer relevant. Rod ForrestA Wakefield Quin senior counsel and director, stated to The Fact Checker that the firm no longer represents Sea Change or Klein and has not done so in a while. He added that Wakefield Quin has no directorship positions with any investment group or other group related in any way to any Russian minister.

In a statement to The Fact Checker, Nat Simons and Laura Baxter–Simons stated that they were disappointed to see false accusations of foreign influence through Sea Change Foundation return after this false assertion was fully disproved in a 2018 statement. To be clear, neither Klein nor Sea Change Foundation had any connection to Russia.

Statements by environmental groups denied any links to Russian funds.

Bob Deans, director of strategic engagement at the Natural Resources Defense Councils, stated that we do not receive any funding from Russia. We answer to our independent leadership and do not accept any foreign government funding in our advocacy for common-sense environmental protections in public interest. These accusations are rooted in a smear operation nearly a decade old by fossil fuel interests and right-wing think tanks. They are a distraction and serve no purpose.

This false conspiracy theory, which was invented by the same front groups paid to do polluters’ dirty work and Big Tobaccos dirty work has been repeatedly debunked throughout its nearly 10-year history, stated Melinda Pierce, Sierra Club Legislative director. The Sierra Club is not connected to Russia and China. It proudly supports clean energy and climate action because it is what our planet, our families, and the overwhelming majority of Americans want.

This story is false and has been discredited for many years, according to David Willett, spokesperson for the League of Conservation Voters. We have no links to Russia or China and have been an effective advocate of environmental protection for more than 50 years. These false and poorly researched claims are rooted in a nearly ten-year-old right-wing think-tank and fossil fuel industry funded smear campaign, which is revived every few decades to distract.

Jack Heretik, a spokesperson of the House Energy Committees GOP Members, stated: If the League of Conservation Voters (Natural Resources Defense Council) and the Sierra Club have no to hide, then we look to see the evidence by March 25,

Will CogginBerman and Company Research Analyst, who is associated with entities like the Center for Consumer Freedom or the Environmental Policy Alliance, issued a statement in defense of the 2015 report. NATO Secretary General stated that Russians were conspiring with environmentalists to stop fracking in other countries, as a way to boost Russian energy. Our report revealed how a shadowy Caribbean-based group gave $23 million for Sea Change and how the firm that housed that group had connections to Russian clients. These questions remain unanswered and warrant an independent investigation.

Sea Change Foundation has been openly denying any connection to secret Russian money for many years. The foundation is associated with one the richest families in the world. We also cannot find any evidence that money donated to Sea Change was used in anti-fracking campaigns. Although the foundation may have been quicker to disclose that Kleins funds were less of Simonses’ money, it is known that this has been known for at least four years.

Although they may pretend they are asking questions, in reality they are rehashing claims which have been thoroughly disproven. It is a clever way for Russia to gain publicity during its invasion of Ukraine. They are awarded Four Pinocchios.

By filling out, send us facts to verify This form