September 17, 2015
The Obama IRS (click here) revoked the nonprofit status of a veterans group after the organization sold tickets to a Trump event to raise money for US veterans....
Political PACs became popular after Citizens' United. You could almost say they are a dime a dozen.
501(c)(4) organizations (click here) can engage in unlimited lobbying so long as it pertains to the organization's mission. 501(c)(3) organizations are not permitted to engage in political activity, endorse or oppose political candidates, or donate money or time to political campaigns, but 501(c)(4) organizations can do all of the above.
I am not a lawyer or a Certified Public Account, so I cannot say for sure if the PACs are required to file a tax return if they don't take in monies. But, this organization did not have any revenue, except, what might be perhaps $30 for stamps by the organizer. According to "Open Secrets" this was the reporting of the organization called "Veteran's for a Strong America." (click here) This issue has not made it's way into the mainstream press because there simply is not much to know about this organization without filing a demand for information.
Joel Arends is the organizer. It is reported that Mr. Arends is a decorated veteran. At least this organization has a veteran organizing it.
The Associated Press has one article about the organization and the article appeared in Newsweek. Best I can tell the IRS revoked it's non-profit status and not California.
September 16, 2015
By Jeff Horwitz
Washington (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service (click here) revoked the nonprofit status of the veterans benefit organization that hosted and sold tickets to a foreign policy speech by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump aboard a retired U.S. battleship, The Associated Press has learned. The group's endorsement of Trump at the event also could raise legal problems under campaign finance laws.
Trump's campaign did not respond to questions from the AP about whether it was aware that the IRS had revoked the nonprofit status of the Veterans for a Strong America, which sold tickets to Trump's event for up to $1,000 as a fundraiser. The IRS issued its decision Aug. 10, citing the group's failure to file any tax returns for three consecutive years, according to IRS records reviewed by the AP.
The group's chairman, Joel Arends of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said the organization was appealing the IRS decision. He would not provide AP with copies of any tax returns, which would show how much money the group has collected over the years and how it spends its money. By law, such records are supposed to be available to the general public for inspection.
"We disagree with the IRS determination letter," Arends told the AP in an interview. He appeared alongside Trump on Tuesday night on the ship....
This is one of those PACs that stated they were victimized by the IRS when filing for non-profit status.
...Rachel Maddow points out, (click here) in the video below, it appears as if Arends is the only member of Veterans for a Strong America, and it is actually not possible to join this organization. Making matters worse, Arends was not only involved with a fake U.S. Senate candidate in South Dakota, he was also involved a phony super PAC scam in Texas, and he is currently under investigation in Arizona....
The PAC has a website (click here). Benghazi is listed, so it is obviously a political organization with right wing preferences. It also lists Donald Trump's speech and provides tickets. Advertising on a website and providing tickets are legitimate functions of a PAC.
Staff Report
Southern Arizona News-Examiner
This week Veterans for a Strong America and Harper Polling (click here) conducted a poll of likely Republican primary voters in Arizona.
The poll results were released before the organization mounted a massive ad campaign claiming Jones lied about her military service.
The nation’s leading organization of conservative veterans announced the release of its second ad against Christine Jones, a candidate for governor in the Republican primary in Arizona by releasing a television spot entitled Air Farce about Jones’ lying to Arizona voters when she falsely claimed she served in the Air Force. Veterans for a Strong America is exposing Jones’ exceptionally poor character and her poor judgment when she claimed to have left the Air Force – which in actuality she was never a member of. The Department of Defense has no record of Christine Jones ever serving in the Air Force.
VSA Chairman Joel Arends said, “Christine Jones lied to Arizona when she said she got out of the Air Force – she led voters to believe that she had served in our nation’s military when in actuality she never served – her military record is non-existent. GOP primary voters deserve to know the facts about her non-existent military record.”....
Okay, I am not going to spend anymore time on this because there is all kind of conflicting information on the web about it. There may be lawsuits or investigations, but, something is going on. If Donald Trump appeared at a fund raiser, then he attended a fund raiser. It is not a fund raiser for his campaign and maybe he has been scammed.
If this organization is actually legitimate, it stands to be an example of the PACs the IRS moved against. If it is as poorly run as it appears there may be more problems ahead for Mr. Arends. If this activity on a battleship with Donald Trump means an 'in kind' donation to Donald Trump I am not sure how the value is determined.
At this point with so much conflicting information who knowa what is actually going on. If Mr. Arends carried out a successful fund raiser with Donald Trump appearing then he needs a business manager. Besides members and volunteers a paid business manager is a legitimate expense for a PAC.
I will say this. Ted Cruz has a billionaire backing his run for office. To the best of my knowledge, there are no members to the billionaire's PAC. So, why would this PAC be any different than the one the billionaire runs, except, for the amount of money in it's treasury. I don't know the answers to that, but, there must be answers somewhere. I hesitate to condemn anyone without obvious indications they are involved with criminal content.
The Obama IRS (click here) revoked the nonprofit status of a veterans group after the organization sold tickets to a Trump event to raise money for US veterans....
Political PACs became popular after Citizens' United. You could almost say they are a dime a dozen.
501(c)(4) organizations (click here) can engage in unlimited lobbying so long as it pertains to the organization's mission. 501(c)(3) organizations are not permitted to engage in political activity, endorse or oppose political candidates, or donate money or time to political campaigns, but 501(c)(4) organizations can do all of the above.
Joel Arends is the organizer. It is reported that Mr. Arends is a decorated veteran. At least this organization has a veteran organizing it.
The Associated Press has one article about the organization and the article appeared in Newsweek. Best I can tell the IRS revoked it's non-profit status and not California.
September 16, 2015
By Jeff Horwitz
Washington (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service (click here) revoked the nonprofit status of the veterans benefit organization that hosted and sold tickets to a foreign policy speech by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump aboard a retired U.S. battleship, The Associated Press has learned. The group's endorsement of Trump at the event also could raise legal problems under campaign finance laws.
Trump's campaign did not respond to questions from the AP about whether it was aware that the IRS had revoked the nonprofit status of the Veterans for a Strong America, which sold tickets to Trump's event for up to $1,000 as a fundraiser. The IRS issued its decision Aug. 10, citing the group's failure to file any tax returns for three consecutive years, according to IRS records reviewed by the AP.
The group's chairman, Joel Arends of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said the organization was appealing the IRS decision. He would not provide AP with copies of any tax returns, which would show how much money the group has collected over the years and how it spends its money. By law, such records are supposed to be available to the general public for inspection.
"We disagree with the IRS determination letter," Arends told the AP in an interview. He appeared alongside Trump on Tuesday night on the ship....
This is one of those PACs that stated they were victimized by the IRS when filing for non-profit status.
...Rachel Maddow points out, (click here) in the video below, it appears as if Arends is the only member of Veterans for a Strong America, and it is actually not possible to join this organization. Making matters worse, Arends was not only involved with a fake U.S. Senate candidate in South Dakota, he was also involved a phony super PAC scam in Texas, and he is currently under investigation in Arizona....
The PAC has a website (click here). Benghazi is listed, so it is obviously a political organization with right wing preferences. It also lists Donald Trump's speech and provides tickets. Advertising on a website and providing tickets are legitimate functions of a PAC.
Staff Report
Southern Arizona News-Examiner
This week Veterans for a Strong America and Harper Polling (click here) conducted a poll of likely Republican primary voters in Arizona.
The poll results were released before the organization mounted a massive ad campaign claiming Jones lied about her military service.
The nation’s leading organization of conservative veterans announced the release of its second ad against Christine Jones, a candidate for governor in the Republican primary in Arizona by releasing a television spot entitled Air Farce about Jones’ lying to Arizona voters when she falsely claimed she served in the Air Force. Veterans for a Strong America is exposing Jones’ exceptionally poor character and her poor judgment when she claimed to have left the Air Force – which in actuality she was never a member of. The Department of Defense has no record of Christine Jones ever serving in the Air Force.
VSA Chairman Joel Arends said, “Christine Jones lied to Arizona when she said she got out of the Air Force – she led voters to believe that she had served in our nation’s military when in actuality she never served – her military record is non-existent. GOP primary voters deserve to know the facts about her non-existent military record.”....
Okay, I am not going to spend anymore time on this because there is all kind of conflicting information on the web about it. There may be lawsuits or investigations, but, something is going on. If Donald Trump appeared at a fund raiser, then he attended a fund raiser. It is not a fund raiser for his campaign and maybe he has been scammed.
If this organization is actually legitimate, it stands to be an example of the PACs the IRS moved against. If it is as poorly run as it appears there may be more problems ahead for Mr. Arends. If this activity on a battleship with Donald Trump means an 'in kind' donation to Donald Trump I am not sure how the value is determined.
At this point with so much conflicting information who knowa what is actually going on. If Mr. Arends carried out a successful fund raiser with Donald Trump appearing then he needs a business manager. Besides members and volunteers a paid business manager is a legitimate expense for a PAC.
I will say this. Ted Cruz has a billionaire backing his run for office. To the best of my knowledge, there are no members to the billionaire's PAC. So, why would this PAC be any different than the one the billionaire runs, except, for the amount of money in it's treasury. I don't know the answers to that, but, there must be answers somewhere. I hesitate to condemn anyone without obvious indications they are involved with criminal content.
About Us
Veterans for a Strong America is a grassroots
action organization committed to ensuring that America remains a strong
nation by advancing liberty, safeguarding freedom and opposing tyranny.
- See more at: http://www.veteransforastrongamerica.org/#sthash.3Fgl5ljT.dpucontinued... 
