The tech non-profit sending most of its money to the consultancy that created it
Political consultancy Targeted Victory established a non-profit called American Resolve — which appears to be a channel for funding Targeted Victory itself
In his role as executive director of the Digital First Project, Nathan Leamer has been a prominent voice on technology policy. He has been quoted by Congressional committees and the White House, endorsed Cabinet nominations, submitted a comment on the AI Action Plan, and written numerous op-eds. His more recent appointment as executive director of Build American AI, the non-profit advocacy arm of the industry-backed Leading the Future super-PAC, in many ways seems like a natural progression of that work.
Yet a closer look at Digital First, which bills itself as a non-profit which “works on closing the digital divide and advocating for market-friendly policies” reveals that it does not exist in any legal sense. Instead, it appears to be a channel for funding the activities carried out by the Republican consulting firm that created it — a firm to which Leamer has longstanding ties.
In response to questions about Digital First’s status, Leamer told Transformer that it is in fact “a project within American Resolve,” a registered 501(c)(4) set up in 2022. American Resolve was established by Stephen DeMaura, who was, at the time of its founding, a vice president at Targeted Victory. (DeMaura is now deputy executive director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.) Leamer himself was vice president of public affairs at Targeted Victory at the time.
Filings reviewed by Transformer on ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer show that in 2022 and 2023, over 75% of American Resolve’s expenditures went directly to Targeted Victory. That first year, the organization received $505,000 in donations from undisclosed sources, and had expenses of $266,405. Of that, $200,405 was spent with Targeted Victory on “media consulting placement.” Zero was recorded as spent on payroll.
2023 showed a similar pattern: revenue of $547,000 and expenses of $399,473, of which $344,038 went to Targeted Victory for “media and field services.”
American Resolve’s most recent filing discloses 2024 spending of $157,500, but does not break down where the money went. The filing does, however, confirm that the organizational links to Targeted Victory remain intact. American Resolve is now run by Tad Rupp, a partner at Targeted Victory. Its secretary, meanwhile, is Jill Barclay — a former Targeted Victory managing director who is now the president of Leamer’s new organization, Build American AI.
The relationship between Targeted Victory and Leamer’s work raises questions about the independence of Digital First Project’s advocacy.
In 2022, the Washington Post reported that Targeted Victory had been hired by Meta to “orchestrate a nationwide campaign seeking to turn the public against TikTok.” In early 2023, Leamer’s Digital First Project ran anti-TikTok ads that discussed the “risks TikTok poses to the United States” and claiming that “TikTok admits to spying on U.S. users.”
The tax filings reveal another potential conflict of interest, too. In 2022, American Resolve gave a grant of $20,000 to the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, an advocacy group. Leamer has been on the board of directors for the Taxpayers Protection Alliance since 2020, while DeMaura has been an officer of the organization since 2014.
Leamer did not comment on the grant, instead directing Transformer to contact the Taxpayers Protection Alliance and American Resolve’s leadership. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance said it did not comment on grants. DeMaura, Rupp, and Targeted Victory did not respond to a request for comment.
Build American AI is now part of the AI industry’s escalating campaign against state-level regulation. Leamer was reportedly at the White House shortly before President Trump publicly endorsed federal preemption of state AI laws last November, and he oversaw a $10m ad campaign to push for preemption.
Leading the Future, the super PAC network with which Building American AI is affiliated, has spent $444,352 opposing New York assembly member Alex Bores, sponsor of the state’s RAISE Act. The network is run by Zac Moffatt, co-founder of Targeted Victory, and Josh Vlasto, who also serves as a spokesperson for the crypto super PAC Fairshake.
The tactics mirror those used in crypto’s successful campaign to capture Washington — a campaign in which Targeted Victory also played a central role. Stand With Crypto, a crypto advocacy group run by Targeted Victory vice president Logan Dobson, scored candidates based on their “support” for the industry. A “candidate questionnaire” from Build American AI asks similar questions about AI policy, suggesting it may be planning to adopt the same approach.
AI safety advocates are planning to retaliate with a super PAC network of their own: a 501(c)(4) named Public First, and two accompanying PACs (“Defending Our Values” and “Jobs and Democracy”). All the PACs are expected to file their first fundraising disclosures at the end of the month.
When asked for comment, Leamer provided the following statement: “Transformer, its editor, and staff are funded by and have worked for organizations, including Open Philanthropy, the Center for Effective Altruism, and the Tarbell Center, all of which are committed to an ideological crusade to stop American leadership in AI.” (A full list of donors to Transformer and our publisher, the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism, can be found here.)
“These groups are determined to undermine bipartisan efforts to pass a regulatory framework that ensures American leadership in innovation, creates jobs for American workers, wins the race against China, and protects kids, families and communities.”
When asked, Leamer did not provide a list of donors to Digital First Project, American Resolve, and Build American AI.
In other words, power protects power. That was always the prime mandate of the Republican Party. What icky bedfellows.