Trial lawyer PACs pump nearly all their money into far-left causes
Breccan F. Thies
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EXCLUSIVE — Political action committees representing trial lawyers funnel millions of dollars to far-left causes and groups, according to a consumer protection report.
The firms, which are known for representing large groups of clients in class-action lawsuits ranging from opioids to asbestos, have an overwhelmingly leftward orientation, represented by the money given by the political wings of their trade associations, according to federal filings.
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Groups such as AAJ PAC, affiliated with the American Association for Justice trade association, only accepts money from its individual or law firm members and affiliated state trial organizations, many of which access cash through public contracts with state governments, setting up a cycle in which taxpayer dollars are redirected to political causes.
The Alliance For Consumers’s report, obtained exclusively by the Washington Examiner, shows these PACs donating $24 million to Democratic candidates and aligned committees and causes from 2017 to 2023, accounting for 99% of their political spending. In 2022 alone, $6.5 million was spent on such support.
However, support for Democratic candidates is not the most notable revelation, Executive Director O.H. Skinner told the Washington Examiner, explaining that the money flows are far more political.
While it is “pretty well known” that trial lawyers give substantial sums to Democrats, Skinner said, “what’s interesting here is that you see organizations that are to the left of even your average Democratic politician running for office. These are beyond the partisanship or the ideology of just the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.”
AAJ PAC, which the report calls the “centerpiece” of the funding “web,” has spent over $18 million on liberal causes. The rest of the $24 million was distributed by Truth & Justice Fund Company, which also receives funding from AAJ, and Justice PAC.
Two of the top five recipients in 2022 were America Votes and EMILY’s List, both of which advocate the kind of left-wing causes that “reveal a much deeper level of partisan commitment” from trial lawyers, putting them “in the hardcore, progressive activist camp,” Skinner said.
The other three were Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley, who was trying to unseat Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) in 2022, Senate Majority PAC, and House Majority PAC.
America Votes, which calls itself the “coordination hub of the progressive community,” received about $750,000 from the trial lawyer PACs in 2022 and have secured $1.2 million since 2017.
The group pushes many liberal social policies, such as anti-gun legislation, expansive abortion laws, and transgender causes. As such, the group partners with left-wing groups such as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety, EMILY’s List, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the Human Rights Campaign.
EMILY’s List, which works to elect pro-abortion women “up and down the ballot,” received $300,000 from the trial lawyer PACs in 2022 and $650,000 since 2017.
Left-wing activist and Media Matters for America founder David Brock’s American Bridge 21st Century, “the largest research, tracking, and rapid response operation in the Democratic Party,” according to its website, received $125,000 in 2022 and over $500,000 since 2017 from the trial lawyer PACs.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Democratic Redistricting Committee, the “centralized hub for executing comprehensive redistricting strategy,” was paid $100,000 in 2022 and over $500,000 since 2017.
Skinner is sending the report to every Republican attorney general in the country, accompanied by a letter exclusively obtained by the Washington Examiner.
“This partisan giving is particularly relevant for you because these PACs have ties to law firms that have slid their way into state contracts in states like yours, contracts that often lack basic protections,” the letter states. “Unbeknownst to you, these PACs are often fueling their progressive campaigns thanks to your public money and the imprimatur of your offices.”
The letter calls on the attorneys general to review the contracts the trial lawyers have with their offices and how those firms were selected in the first place.
Skinner argued the political activities are fueling the “modern progressive movement” as well as a “progressive worldview” in litigation tactics.
Some of this is done through “public nuisance litigation,” which Skinner told Republican governors in March is used by trial lawyers to “weaponize the judicial system against conservatives and impose key policy priorities.”
Common areas in which public nuisance claims have been made are on climate change, firearms, tobacco, and opioids, and while some claims get dismissed, others create a precedent, and trial lawyers spend time testing theories in all kinds of issue areas across the country to see what can stick, according to the Alliance For Consumers.
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Skinner warned that similar claims regarding abortion and transgender procedures for children are on the horizon, especially in light of the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the growing number of states banning genital mutilation surgeries for minors.
AAJ PAC did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
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