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SPLC donors reject DOJ 'fraud' claims tied to informants

newsApr 25, 202647

Twenty donors to the Southern Poverty Law Center told The Intercept that payments to confidential informants the Trump Justice Department labeled 'fraud' were intentional and matched donors' expectations. Donors said those payments funded undercover sources and long-running intelligence sharing with the FBI to monitor violent extremist and hate groups. Donor Maya Lenox said investigators need 'spies' to gather the detailed information the SPLC provided about how hate groups move. Those donor statements undercut the Trump DOJ's criminal theory and raise questions about whether standard nonprofit law-enforcement cooperation could be treated as fraud.

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