08/20/12 08/20/12 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" >> i asked president obama to do the right thing. the united states must renounce its witch hunt against wikileaks. the united states must dissolve its fbi investigation >> wikileaks founder julian assange speaks from the ecuadorean embassy in london as dozens of

british police officers looked on. we will hear his full address and comments from his supporters, tariq ali and former british ambassador craig murray. then to russia where members of the puck and pussy riot have been sentenced to two years in prison for staging an anti-putin protest inside a church. >> i think it is an absolute disgrace to russia and to the entire region government that women can be sentenced for speaking against a country that is, quite frankly, [unintelligible] >> finally, dark money. how nonprofits can spend millions on elections and call it public welfare. propublica looks at how karl rove and. >> brothers have formed non profits to spend record amounts of unlimited campaign donations on attack ads. all that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

wikileaks founder julian assange emerged from inside the ecuadorean embassy london on sunday with a different speech from the embassy's balcony. he spoke days after ecuador granted him political asylum, prompting bernton to deny him safe passage out of the country. in a nine-minute address to supporters of wikileaks in the media, julian assange, president obama to abandon what he described as a "war on whistleblowers." >> i ask president obama to do the right thing. the united states must renounce its witch hunt against wikileaks. the united states must dissolve its fbi investigation. the united states must vow it will not seek to prosecute us or our supporters.

the united states must pledge before the world that it will not pursue journalists for shining a light on the secret crimes of the powerful. >> we will play the full address of joined assange after the headlines. at least 13 people were killed over the weekend in three separate u.s. drone attacks inside pakistan. the attacks, as pakistani celebrated the end of the holy muslim month of ramadan. the u.s. says its drone strikes target militants, but the open administration's policy is to deem all adult male victims as militants unless exculpatory evidence emerges after their death. the last u.n. monitors have withdrawn from syria, marking the end of a four-month mission. the mission announced its dissolution last week amidst unrelenting violence between government and rebel forces. earlier today, the syrian regime launched an assault to retake the damascus suburb from the opposition. on sunday, syrian president

bashar al-assad attended services at a damascus mosque, his first public appearance since a bomb attack killed top members of his cabinet last month. the u.n. has confirmed veteran country in diplomat lakhdar brahimi as the new international mediator for syria, replacing kofi annan. a u.n. spokesperson announced brahimi's appointment. >> the violence and suffering must come to an end. the secretary general appreciates him to bring his experience to this crucial task for which he will need, and rightly expects, a strong, clear, unified support of the international community, including the security council. >> president obama continues to invoke the record of newly announced republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan on the campaign trail. on saturday, obama compared his signature healthcare law to ryan's proposal to turn medicare into a voucher program.

>> my money cuts down on waste, fraud [applause] and their plan makes you pay more so they can give another tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires. >> you think that would avoid talking about medicare given the fact both of them have proposed to voucherize the medicare plan. >> republicans have accused obama of billion from medicare even though the cuts actually come from insurers and providers. ryan rejected charges he seeks to gut medicare. >> when i think about medicare, it is not just a program, not just a bunch of numbers. it is what my mom relies on. medicare was there for our family, for my grandmother, when

we needed it then. and medicare is there for my mom, while she needs it now. and we have to keep that guarantee. >> as paul ryan seeks to distance himself from his previous proposals on medicare, new videos emerged showing another apparent reversal on a major policy issue. in a 2002 speech on the house floor during a debate on economic stimulus, ryan forcefully backed government intervention to stimulate the economy and help the unemployed. the video was unearthed by msnbc's chris hayes. >> what we're trying to accomplish is to pass the kind of legislation that when they passed in the past, have grown the economy and got people back to work. we want to make it easier for employers to keep people employed. we want to make it easier for employers to invest in their businesses, to invest in their employees, and to hire people back to work. and for those who have lost

their jobs, we want to help them with their unemployment insurance and with health insurance. what we're trying to accomplish is the fact that in recessions, the unemployment lags on, even well after recovery has taken place. >> republican legislator running for the senate in missouri has sparked national outrage for comments on rape and abortion reid asked by reporter why he opposes abortion, even in cases of rape, a can said in instances of what it called tictac legitimate rape" women can somehow block a pregnancy from taking place. >> what about in the case of rape? >> people want to try to make that as one of those things, how do you slice this particularly tough ethical question? first of all, from what i understand from doctors, that is really rare. if it is a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

>> let's assume maybe that did not work. >> i think there should be some punishment, but the punishment should be for the rapist and not attacking the child. >> taught taken as a six-term congressmember tea party backing. he later issued a statement saying he misspoke. a last year he supported a republican measure that called for permanently barring federal abortion funding, allowing exceptions only in the case of "forcible rape." prosecutors in kansas have dropped the nation's first criminal prosecution of the reproductive health services group planned parenthood, ending a five-year ordeal. planned parenthood's affiliate in kansas and missouri had faced charges of failing to assess the viability of fetuses before abortions. although most of the charges had already been dismissed, prosecutors announced on friday they were dropping the entire case. striking workers of the south african mine where police shot dead 34 people last week face a

deadline to return to work today or face the loss of their jobs. the victims were killed more than a week after walking out of the marikana platinum mine, owned by lonmin, the world's third largest producer of platinum. police say they shot after workers armed with machetes ignored calls to disperse, but the worker's union says the police committed a massacre. in response, the of -- south african president zuma announced a week of a commission of inquiry. >> i've decided [unintelligible] inquiry will enable us to get as to the real cause of the incident. and to derive the necessary lessons, too. however, today is not an occasion for blame, finger-

pointing, or recrimination. today, challenges asked to restore calm and to share the pain of the affected families and communities. >> the shooting marked the worst mass killing in south africa since the end of apartheid. the head of south africa's association of mineworkers and construction unions said it evoked memories of the sharp fall massacre of 1960. >> i thought the history i read about sharpville massacre was [unintelligible] i never thought in 2012 we would experience the same massacre and a democratically elected government. this is a shame. >> two u.s. soldiers were killed in afghanistan friday when a

member of the afghan police force opened fire. it was the latest in a spate of shootings by members of the afghan forces against the u.s.- led occupation. and nato spokesperson announced the attack. >> this morning, a member of the local police shot to american soldiers, killed them, and the shooter has been killed as well. the investigation is ongoing. >> protests against u.s.-backed monarchy in bahrain continued over the weekend, leading to at least one death. a 16-a demonstrator was killed on friday in what activists called a brutal attack by the rain police. the victim was reportedly shot before being assaulted by police in civilian clothes. his death came days after the prominent human rights activist nabeel or job was sentenced to

three years in prison. to see our interview with nabeel rajab, go to democracynow.org. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show with a road julian assange. on sunday, he made his first public appearance since he took refuge two months ago inside ecuador's embassy in london just days after he was granted asylum. he is attempting to avoid extradition to sweden for questioning over sex crime accusations because he fears sweden will extradite him to the united states to face charges over the leaking of secret u.s. military and diplomatic files. chilean assange spoke from a window on a small balcony and the second floor of the ecuadorean embassy, careful not to step onto the balcony, which is considered outside the legal boundaries of the embassy. dozens of police officers looked on. british authorities have

threatened to raid the embassy and are refusing to allow julian assange safe passage out of the country to ecuador. in his nine-minute address, julian assange called on president obama to abandon what he described as "war on whistleblowers." >> i am here today because i cannot be there with you today. but think you for coming. thank you for your resolve, your generosity of spirit. on wednesday night, after a threat was sent to this embassy and police descended on this building, you came out in the middle of the night to watch over and you brought the world's eyes with you. inside this embassy, after dark, i could hear teams of police swarming up into the building

through its internal fire escapes. but i knew there were the witnesses. and that is because of you. if the u.k. did not throw away the vienna conventions the other night, it is because the world was watching. and the world was watching because you were watching. so the next time somebody tells you that it is pointless to defend those rights that we hold dear, remind them of your vigil in the dark before the embassy of ecuador. [applause] remind them how, in the morning, the sun came up on a different world and a courageous latin-american nation took a stand for justice. [applause]

and so to those brave people, i think president correa for the courage he has shown in considering and in granting political asylum. and i also thank the government, in particular, foreign minister ricardo patino who upheld the ecuadorean constitution and its notion of universal citizenship in the consideration of my asylum. into the ecuadorean people for supporting and defending the constitution. and i also have a debt of gratitude to the staff of this embassy, whose families live in london and a show me hospitality and kindness despite the threats we all received. [applause]

this friday, there will be an emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of latin america in washington, d.c. to address this very situation. and so i am grateful to those people and governments of argentina, bolivia, brazil, chile, colombia, el salvador, honduras, mexico, nicaragua, argentina, peru, venezuela, and to all the other latin american countries who have come out to defend the right to asylum. [applause] and to the people of the united states, the united kingdom,

sweden, and australia who have supported me in strength, even when their governments have not. [applause] and to those wiser heads in government who are still fighting for justice, your day will come. [applause] to the staff, supporters, and sources of wikileaks, whose courage and commitment and loyalty has seen no equal. to my family and to my children who have been denied their father, forgive me. we will be reunited sen. [applause]

as wikileaks stands under threat, so does the freedom of expression and the help of all our society's. we must use this moment to articulate the choice that is before the government of the united states of america. will it returned to and a firm -- reaffirm the values, the revolutionary values it was founded on, or will it lurched off the presses dragging his all into a dangerous and oppressive world in which journalists fall silent and to the fear of prosecution and citizens must whisper in the dark? i say in must turn back. i ask president obama to do the right thing.

the united states must renounce its witch hunt against wikileaks. the united states must resolve its fbi investigation. the united states must now that it will not seek to prosecute our staff or our supporters. the united states must pledge before the world that it will not pursue journalists for shining a light on the secret crimes of the powerful. [applause] there must be no more foolish talk about prosecuting any media organization, be it wikileaks or "the new york times." the u.s. administration's war on whistleblowers must end.

thomas drake, william binney, john kirakou and the other hero was the bourse must -- they must be pardoned or compensated for their hardships they have endured as servants of the public record. and to the army private who remains in a military prison in fort leavenworth, kansas, who was found by the united nations to have endured months of tortures detention in quantico, virginia, and has yet -- after two years in prison -- to see a trial, he must be released. [applause] bradley manning must be released.

it recommended as he is accused, he is a hero and an example to all of us and one of the world's foremost political prisoners. bradley manning must be released. on wednesday, bradley manning spent his 815th de of detention without trial. the legal maximum is 120 days. on thursday, my friend nabeel rajab, president of the bahrain human rights center, was sentenced to three years in prison for a tweet. on friday, a russian band was sentenced to two years in jail for a political performance.

there is unity in the oppression. there must be absolute unity and determination in the response. [applause] thank you. >> julian assange speaking to hundreds of supporters into the media from a window sill on a small balcony on the second floor of the ecuadorean embassy in london on sunday. he was careful not to step on the the actual bachmann, which is considered outside the legal boundaries of the embassy. when we come back, we will hear from the ecuadorean president rafael korea, craig murray, and writer tariq ali. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we will be back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> a song the artist that has been dedicated to pussy riot. we will go for the latest of the sentencing of the three young women from the band. there have been a number of developments surrounding the julian assange case. the organization of american states has voted to hold a meeting next friday to discuss the diplomatic crisis between ecuador and britain. the vote was 23 to three with five abstentions. the u.s., canada, and trinidad and tobago opposed the resolution read on friday, an ecuadorean president rafael correa defended his decision to grant assange asylum. >> the fundamental fact for granting political asylum to mr. julian assange was because there is no guarantee he would not be extradited to a third country. nothing to do with blocking the swedish criminal investigation. over the supposed crime. nothing. it is not that i agree with

everything that's julian assange has done, but does he deserve the death penalty question mark what is the balance between the crime and punishment. what about to process? i want to point that out because they already misrepresented things. a look for the only thing that julian assange did was use freedom of expression, etc. we're not denying he may have committed an offense, but he should be tried with due process. >> an ecuadoran president speaking friday. a number of his supporters of julian assange to to the microphone and said the embassy in london. among the speakers, writer and tariq ali as well as craig murray, it was a lawyer himself, was removed from office in 2004 after he exposed how the united states and britain supported torture by the uzbek regime read on sunday, he criticized the

british government for threatening to raid the embassy to arrest assange. .> let's begin the convention the vienna convention of 1961 is the single most subscribed international treaty in existence. and it states and article 22, section 1, that the diplomatic to mrs. up an embassy are inviolable. are inviolable. you cannot invade the embassy of another country. there were times when i sheltered uzbek dissidents from their governments within the confines of the british embassy in is pakistan, even during the height of the attention of the cold war, the opposing parties

never entered each other's embassies to abduct a dissident. the fact that william hague has openly threatened the ecuadoreans is one further example of the total abandonment of the very concept of international law by a conservativeists. and i can tell you something else for certain. the petition i just outlined for the invasion of a diplomatic premises is a crime in international law and the crime in his state's the premises are invaded. that is a position which is taken by virtually every country in the world, and it is a crime which is eminently extraditable.

so many policemen who forcibly enters the premises of the embassy of ecuador, will be held as soon as he leaves the united kingdom. ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming here to listen. i thank deeply from my heart, those of you who have come to support julian assange and support his continuing struggle and to support the continuing costs of whistleblowing and revealing that which government does not want you to know. we are here today. thank the ecuadorian government

for their support and we stand with julian assange. >> craig murray, the former british ambassador to use pakistan. he was a whistleblower himself, removed from office in 2004, exposing how the united states and britain supported torture by the uzbek regime. he was speaking outside the ecuadorean mission or embassy in london. we now turn to tariq ali, the famed british pakistani author who also spoke outside the embassy, present ecuador's decision to grant assange political asylum. >> and so the social radical democratic in south america, my opinion, offer more social and human rights to their citizens and the countries of europe and the united states. and that is why julian assange applies for asylum to ecuador.

because this is a country which is determined to be independent. it has asked the american military base to leave the country. and when the united states objected, rafael correa, the president of ecuador, said -- ok, if you want a base here, let's have the quality. why can we have a military base in florida? to even ask the question is considered crazy. there was no agreement. out went the base. a new constitution that defense human-rights from a serious attempt to defend the ecology of the country, social spending has doubled. from may, human rights mean nothing unless there are social rights as well for the ordinary people of the country.

they go hand-in-hand. and it is these changes in south america, which of now come to the forefront in a big way by this one event, but that is why julian assange appeals to ecuador for asylum, and that is why i think in this week that lies ahead, he will receive the backing of a large majority of the south american continent and the europeans -- the european government and european citizens, if they wish to, could learn a lot from south america today. just change your game. [applause] the gaze of europe is constantly fixed in the direction of north america. they should just shift it, and least four years to come to south america and maybe

conditions in the lives of ordinary people who live in europe would be improved as a result. instead, despite its huge social and economic crisis, they go on as if nothing has happened. well, for them, nothing has happened. but ordinary people live in this country, whatever their class, creed, or color, they suffer and react angrily sometimes. south america offers the beginnings of a model against that. >> british, pakistani writer and activist tariq ali speaking outside the ecuadorean embassy in london. you can go to democracynow.org to get the full addresses outside the embassy. during his speech on sunday, from inside the ecuadorean embassy, julian assange talked about oppression around the world. >> on friday, a man was sentenced to two years in jail for a political performance.

>> the russian and he was referencing was pussy riot. on friday, three members of the feminist punk group were sentenced to two years in prison for staging a peaceful protest against russian leader vladimir putin inside an orthodox church. on february 23, several members of pussy riot rushed before the altar of moscow's cathedral of christ the savior wearing brightly colored balaclavas. they genuflected, danced, and issued a punk prayer. three of the members have been jailed since march. on friday, there were sentenced to two years in prison for hooliganism after a judge rejected the argument their act was a form of political protest, instead ruling it was motivated by religious hatred. as the verdict came down on

friday, solidarity protests took place a more than 60 cities around the world, here in new york, the six people were arrested as dozens protested outside the russian consulate, some wearing pussy riot's signature balaclavas. hundreds of supporters also gathered outside the courthouse in moscow on friday. hundreds -- dozens were reportedly arrested, including the opposition leader and chess champion gary kasparov, who says he was brutally beaten by police. the case was seen as a key test of how far russian leader vladimir putin would go to crack down against dissidents in his third stint as president of russia. speaking from inside a glass cage and the courtroom, as the trial wrapped up earlier this month, a jailed pussy riot member condemned putin's administration. >> when we talk about pretend, first and foremost we have

vladimir putin, but the system that is created. all control is carried out effectively by one person. what worries me most is the opinion of the younger generation is not taken into consideration we believe the ineffectiveness of this in ministration is evident and practically everything. >> that was one of the gel could see right members. -- jailed pussy riot members. on friday, just after the guilty verdict was announced, "democracy now!" spoke with jd samson the two bands la tigre and men. we asked her to read some of the lyrics. >> virgin mary, mother of god,

put putin away put putin away, put putin away black robe, golden epaulettes all parishioners crawl to bow the phantom of liberty is in heaven gay-pride sent to siberia in chains the head of the kgb, their chief saint, leads protesters to prison under escort in order not to offend his holiness women must give birth and love virgin mary, mother of god, become a feminist become a feminist, become a feminist. >> that was jd samson friday on "democracy now!" for more, we go to moscow where we are joined by alisa obraztsova, a lawyer's assistant and member of the legal team defending pussy riot. she is in a bit of fallout cafe and moscow. thank you for joining s. can you talk about the

significance of the conviction on friday and the sentencing to two years in prison for these three members of pussy riot? >> thank you very much for your interest in this case we wanted to tell from this process, the russian courts are not independent. sentencing the girls for two years is unjust. we are planning, of course, to appeal the court of appeals in russia, after that, european court of human rights. for us, this is the only way to reach justice. in russia, it is impossible. >> can you tell us about who the

judge was? what her record is? >> the judge, as we understood from the protest, she had not made any decision during the courts. she was always taking breaks, for example, just to decide if we need online streaming of the court or not. she has not heard any arguments from lawyers. i can call her kroll. when the girls asked for a meal or to go to the toilet, she just said, we will do this after an hour. the girls were in court for 12 hours a day. they were coming back to prison

for five hours at night, and there were spending these hours not for sleep but to prepare for the next day of court. the trials were every day for 12 hours. >> i want to bring in a has been of one of the jailed pussy riot band members. it is also a performance artist. welcome. can you talk about what this means for your wife? >> it has been an important step and her life. they were able to bring out important issues in russia's political scene to question. creighton is making them pay this horrible and brutal price

for this -- putin is making them pay this horrible, brutal price for this. >> we're having a little trouble understanding what you are saying. you're seeing a statement clinton is making? -- putin is making? >> the girls have made a stance to make a loud statement a loudputin is doing to russia, and now he is making them pay the price. >> in your closing statement the trial earlier this month, pussy riot member talked about the connection between church and state in russia and described the significance of christ the savior cathedral where the pussy riot protest took place. >> during the closing statement, the defendant is expected to express regrets. in my case, as in the case of my

colleagues, this is unnecessary. i want to express my views about the cause of what has happened with us. the fact the cathedral had become a significant symbol and political strategy of our powers that be was clear to many thinking people when vladimir putin former kgb colleague took over as head of the russian orthodox church. after this, crisis ever cathedral was used openly as a flashy setting for the politics of the security services, which is a main source of power in russia. >> i want to play a clip of a member of the group pussy riot explaining why pussy riot means criticism ever imposed by the name squirrel. >> it means to about women, feminists.

[unintelligible] this means pussy riot. >> they're known for wearing brightly colored balaclavas. this is a clip of the members of the group talking about why they wear these masks. two of the members going by the names squirrel and spero. >> it is the main conception, one of the main ideas to be -- >> anonymous. >> why the bright colors? >> because we are bright! [laughter] >> i feel like a person i can do everything. i am the same person, but this is another part of me, which has more courage and which has

strong feelings that what she is doing is right and she has enough followers to change -- enough powers to change things, enough strength. >> pussy riot drew widespread support, including from madonna. this is her at a recent performance in moscow. >> i know there are many sides to every story, and i have -- and i mean no disrespect to the church or the government -- but i think that these three girls of pussy riot -- [applause] i think that they have done something courageous. i think they have paid the price for this act, and i pray for

their freedom. >> that was the singer madonna. among the other musicians supporting the jailed members is a singer, songwriter patti smith. this is hurting interviewed by a norwegian broadcasting company. >> that is why i'm wearing this t-shirt today. i am very concerned with the young girls and moscow who are on trial for just being free, for expressing themselves they are young people filled with energy, with idealistic and the consequences of idealism don't always occur to a young person. it is a small way to show my solidarity. >> before the verdict was announced, russian president creech and reportedly said he did not think the women should be judged too harshly. this is a clip from al jazeera

of him speaking to reporters about pussy riot. >> i don't think the verdict for what they've done should be very severe. after all, the final decision should be made by the court. >> that was russian president clinton. alisa obraztsova, talk about the significance of the world support for the three women who have now been sentenced to two years and the significance of what vladimir putin is saying right here as the possibilities of appeal. >> from our point of view, vladimir putin's statement does not cost a lot because this was made only for people all around the world, not for russia, not for russian society. his opinion, the opinion he is pronouncing is taken by the courts sensitively, at the

really understand very well with the government wants from them. actually, he can sentence them to seven years or to three years as a prosecutor asked, but sentencing them for two years, she is trying to tell us she has heard what vladimir putin has told and sentenced them to only two years. as for the world wide support, the girls appreciate that a lot. they even told madonna by doing this pussy riot senate, became one of the pussy riot's members. they have already heard about people in more than 60 cities supporting them.

for them, this is more important than the sentence. they estimate trial as nothing. they do not wait for nothing for anything. for them, the trial is the site all around the world. that is why this is much more important to them. >> so what happens now, alisa obraztsova? there were sentenced to two years in jail. does that include the five months they have already served? >> of course, hopefully, it includes the five months they have already spent in prison the next step is to appeal and the court of appeals in russia. unfortunately, we do not think this decision will change anything. maybe they will decide to reduce it to two years and a half, maybe not. we really hope the european

court of human rights will help us, but we only understand this will take a lot of time. the worst thing and all of this story is that after the court of appeals decision, the girls will be sent to the penal colony. we're really afraid about their lives. imagine there are 140 women in one block. it doesn't matter what, have committed -- it doesn't matter what crime they have committed. they're different religion. we are free they cannot understand this action wasn't about -- was about politics and not religion. that is why we need the media, the interest of media in their lives after the court. because this is their defense.

>> alisa obraztsova, thank you very much for being with us, lores assistance with pussy riot's defense team joining us from a cafe in moscow. pussy riot members have been sentenced to two years in prison. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come back, we follow dark money. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> "democracy now!" the presidential election less than three months away, republicans and democrats are blanketing the airwaves with campaign ads. much has been written about the super pacs behind these ads, but

far less is known about social welfare nonprofits that are far outspending super pacs on tv advertising the presidential race. as of august 8th, these nonprofits had spent more than $71 million on ads mentioning a candidate for president, whereas, super pacs have spent an estimated $56 million. unlike super pacs, these organizations enjoy tax-exempt status and don't have to disclose the identity of their donors. they also enjoy a 501c4 tax- exempt status, one of the so- called social look for organizations that was politically active is karl rove's cross for its gps. this is one of the group's ads. >> america spent three years crushing unemployment. >> we will create nearly half a million jobs by investing in clean energy. >> but the ins was wasted on failed investments, thousands

lost jobs will stimulus money went to jobs overseas. tell president obama for real job growth, cut the debt but support the new majority agenda. >> that was an ad from karl rove's cross for its gps, so is- called social welfare group. the documents were filed with the internal revenue service and electorate -- federal election commission to reveal how these nonprofits are exploiting their social -- exploiting their special tax status to mount a secretly funded, permanent campaign. explain why you call a dark money. >> a lot of people call it dark money. it is called that because these groups do not have to disclose where the money is coming from. they do not have to say who

their donors are. you can give $2,500 to a presidential campaign to barack obama or mitt romney in your name and address and profession is disposed on nbc reports, or give $2.5 million to one of these groups and nobody will ever know. >> talk about who these groups are. lay it out. >> there are many. we tried to do a forensic examination of more than 100 groups that spent money in 2010. these groups were empowered much like super pacs were in power after the citizens united ruling. 2010 is the most recent year you can look at because only that year has got irs returns that have been filed. we looked at more than 100 groups that have spent money in 2010 and compare their irs returns and application -- if they even made one -- with their spending to be as easy. we found a lot of aberrations. groups would tell the irs and

their initial application were not honest and money on politics and the same day that would be spending money on politics or had already spent money on politics, or was in spent money on politics. they would tell the irs one thing in their tax returns and they spent no money on politics or much less money than they reported to be as easy. we found a couple of groups so dark they did not report anything to the sec or irs. we wanted to do this story and that it 2010 because it may seem irrelevant at this point, it is a dry run for what is going to be happening this year. we're not just talking about karl rove's group or the koch brothers group. you'll see a lot of liberal groups doing it. >> earlier this year, karl rove appeared on fox news and defended the right of american crossroads to keep secret the names of its donors. >> we've seen this before in the 1940's and 1950's, state

attorney general's attended to force a particular 501c4 to intimidate people into not giving to that organization. the group was the naacp, which is a 5 01c4 it does not disclose its donors. the supreme court and in 1954 upheld the right of organizations like that not to make their donors' names public. let's be honest. this is about a group of people on the left who have used this vehicle to run advertising and run attacks on republicans for years, and i object when republicans begin to duplicate their tactics. they want to intimidate people into not giving to these conservative efforts. i think it is shameful and a sign of their fear of democracy. it goes to show the base of the motions and philosophy behind most of this >> kim barker, that

was karl rove print >> you have fox putting him up there. on the side has all the words "american crossroads. that is not what he was talking about. who is talking about crossers gps as opposed to american crossroads. nobody understands there are these groups that can spend money on ads that do not have to disclose their donors. he was talking about the night in -- 1958 case involving the naacp and alabama. the supreme court said groups do not have to disclose their members because of fear of retribution. it is a defense these groups on both sides of the aisles use as to why they should not have to even say who would pay for ads. >> you begin your case with the jewish coalition. >> i went to a luncheon on the 24th floor of a law firm where

it is essentially was you got your food, sat down, and more listening to about 45 minutes to an hour of why this year is the most important election year. most definitely they were talking about obama was bad for israel and romney would be better, but it was entirely about the election and try to show the ads that have been run and say, give what you can to the $6.5 million plan and your names will not be disclosed. >> how does someone find out where this money is coming from? is any of it illegal? >> it is about loopholes. unless you're not filing your tax return or a chicken demonstrate your done something incredibly willful, it is about loopholes. the fact is nobody out there and forcing it. the irs could be looking at it, but the sec is deadlocked to the point you can go to them and say, "i wanted to x' and do it.

>> in 2006, groups that did not report donors made up less than 2% of the outside spending. by 2010, more than 40%? >> this is true. >> how are these groups consider tax-exempt social welfare groups? >> social welfare groups have always been able to do a limited amount of politics. they have done lobbying, been allowed to do these things and reached a different than 501c3 groups. they are tax deductible. there's been a debate over what does it mean to be primarily involved in social welfare? what does it mean to be able to do a certain amount of politics? >> thank you, kim barker. we willing to your report. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning.

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