June 2023

A cabal of Political Action Committees is funneling money overwhelmingly to left-wing political causes using funds secured by affiliated groups through “sweetheart contracts” with the public sector, a watchdog group has warned.

A recent report from Alliance for Consumers describes a “shady trial lawyer pipeline” in which the PACs make nearly all of their donations in support of Democratic candidates using money channeled from the beneficiaries of open-ended, ambiguous contracts intended to provide “consumer protection.”

“While the Shady Trial Lawyer Pipeline helps politicians funnel public money toward left-wing politics, it leaves everyday consumers and taxpayers with a horrible deal,” the report reads.

These contracts, the report states, often include no expiration date, lack appropriate conflicts protection, and are often just pages long. Much of the money stemming from these contracts, AFC asserts, ultimately makes it into the hands of a handful of groups the organization terms the “Shady Trial Lawyer PACs.”

The groups include the Truth and Justice Fund Company, AAJ PAC, and a handful of Justice PACs established for each two year election cycle since 2018. AAJ PAC is affiliated with trade group American Association for Justice, formerly known as the Trial Lawyers of America. Each group, however, “is closely tied to plaintiff-side trial firms and power by money flowing out of firms that have contracts with state or local governments,” AFC asserts.

Their report documents the expenditures from the PACs from the 2017-2023 timeframe and showcases the lopsided nature of political giving in which the groups engaged. AJJ PAC, for instance, made nearly $19 million in such donations and expenditures, 98% of which went to Democrats or the party’s allied organizations.

The Justice PACs collectively gave nearly $3.2 million, 100% of which went to Democratic causes. Truth and Justice gave $2.6 million during the same period, all of