Every story in this article is documented in federal filings, court records, or ethics commission rulings. The receipts exist. Someone typed them up and submitted them to the government. The government filed them away and, mostly, did nothing.
Don't worry, it's not bribery. Bribery is when someone hands a politician money so they'll use their office to benefit the donor. A PAC is when someone hands a politician money so they'll use their office to benefit the donor, but with a permit.
Here are five stories about fraud, theft, illegal donations, and slush funds with permits.
First. The Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission is a lobbying organization dedicated to the noble cause of cockfighting. In 2022, they formed a PAC and started writing checks: $5,000 to the Republican State House Committee, $2,500 to Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, and $2,000 each to Governor Kevin Stitt and House Speaker Charles McCall.¹ Governor Stitt appeared in a prerecorded video at their 2023 annual meeting praising Oklahoma's "long and storied history with gamefowl."¹
Cockfighting has been illegal in Oklahoma since 2002.² It's a felony.
In September 2025, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission ordered the PAC dissolved after discovering a list of violations that included accepting anonymous donations, taking contributions above legal limits, accepting prohibited corporate money, concealing funds, spending outside the PAC's stated purpose, and using cash withdrawals for political expenditures.³ The commission fined them $10,000 and banned them from forming a new affiliated PAC for two entire years.³ Brutal, justice had to be dispensed.
But that's not why you're reading this paragraph. You're reading it because prosecutors criminally charged PAC President Anthony DeVore and Treasurer Blake Pearce after undercover video surfaced showing them as spectators at illegal cockfights in McIntosh County and on Cherokee tribal land.⁴ ⁵ The cockfighting lobbyists got busted at a cockfight.
Here's what that tells us: the accountability came from a camera, not from regulators. The system didn't catch them. Someone filming them did. If we want more of these stories to end with consequences, we need more people pointing cameras at politicians and the industries loading their coffers. Light creates heat.
Second, Matthew Nelson Tunstall understood something important about American campaign finance: the system is built to be bad at its job. During the 2016 election, he and his partner Robert Reyes Jr. ran two PACs simultaneously.⁶ Liberty Action Group PAC claimed to support Donald Trump. Progressive Priorities PAC claimed to support Hillary Clinton. They raised approximately $3.5 million through robocalls and TV ads promising to help "dueling presidential nominees."⁶
The amount they donated to political causes was $19.⁷
They instructed vendors to withdraw $353,000 more than owed for services, then deposit the excess into shell company accounts.⁷ Reyes personally pocketed $714,000 while running additional scam PACs on the side.⁷ When the feds finally caught Tunstall, he was living in Los Angeles under the name "Matte Nox," claiming to be an "award-winning writer" and flaunting crystal-encrusted Gucci rings on Instagram.⁹
Here's where it gets particularly interesting: after his arrest, Tunstall kept running PAC scams while out on bail. He sent 128,000 more robocalls and offered "Trump Christmas cards" for $35 donations.¹⁰ He received ten years in federal prison. Reyes got seven.⁸
Third, California Congressman Duncan Hunter's 60-count federal indictment contains the phrase "flights for a pet rabbit."¹¹ Specifically, $625 in campaign funds for five United Airlines "pet in cabin" flights for his family's rabbits, named Eggburt and Cadbury, between 2014 and 2015.¹² That's $125 per flight. The Department of Justice itemized this.
Hunter and his wife Margaret stole approximately $250,000 in campaign funds.¹³ When Margaret wanted to buy Hawaiian shorts, she suggested purchasing them at a golf club and listing them in FEC filings as "balls for wounded warriors."¹¹ When their campaign card got declined at Caesars Palace after a $600 minibar tab, it turned out Hunter had overdrawn his personal checking account more than 1,100 times in seven years, racking up $37,761 in fees, while simultaneously stealing from donors.¹¹
The indictment also documents $1,528.68 spent on Steam video games across 82 separate purchases in 2015 alone.¹⁴ Hunter blamed his teenage son, claiming the kid used his credit card without permission.¹⁵ When that excuse wore thin, Margaret Hunter told their bank the charges were "fraudulent" and got $1,302 refunded. The indictment notes this was a lie to conceal personal spending.¹¹
A judge sentenced him to 11 months in federal prison. He never served a day. Trump pardoned him in December 2020 before he reported to custody.¹⁶ The rabbits' current status is undocumented.
Fourth, federal law prohibits defense contractors from making political contributions.¹⁷ Navatek, a military technology company, wanted to donate to a super PAC supporting Senator Susan Collins anyway.¹⁸ Collins had "strongly advocated" for a multimillion-dollar Navy contract benefiting Navatek.¹⁹ The company's CEO, Martin Kao, needed a workaround.
His solution was to create a shell company. He named it the Society of Young Women Scientists and Engineers.¹⁹
The company funneled $150,000 to support Collins.²⁰ Its only listed officer was Jennifer Lam, Kao's wife. An additional $52,000 moved through family members acting as straw donors; Kao reimbursed them with company funds.²⁰ The Society of Young Women Scientists and Engineers never held a meeting, funded a scholarship, or encouraged a single young woman to pursue science. It transferred $150,000 to a senator's super PAC and dissolved.
The system requires paperwork. Kao filed that paperwork. He created a fake women-in-STEM nonprofit, put his wife's name on it, and wrote it all down in emails that prosecutors later read aloud in court.²¹
Everything above was illegal. People went to prison, paid fines, or got their PACs dissolved. The system, slowly and inconsistently, held them accountable.
Leadership PACs are different. Leadership PACs are fully legal.
A leadership PAC is a committee that lets politicians raise money ostensibly to support other candidates. In practice, they function as personal slush funds. In 2023, the Federal Election Commission voted 4-2 that personal use prohibitions simply don't apply to leadership PAC spending.²²
Since 2013, leadership PACs have spent more money on things that aren't politics than on things that are.²³ The Campaign Legal Center documented that only 45% of leadership PAC expenditures go toward actual political contributions.²³ The rest goes to steakhouses, resorts, and, in one documented case, a 14th-century Gothic castle.²³
Senator Rand Paul's leadership PAC spent $390 on a "miscellaneous" expense at Karlštejn Castle in the Czech Republic.²³ His PAC also covered $11,000 at restaurants in Italy and Malta, and approximately $800 on clothing, which is prohibited even for regular campaign funds.²³
Senator Ted Cruz's leadership PAC dedicated 18% of its spending to politics.²³ The rest went to $59,000 in airfare, $20,000 in five-star hotels, and over $12,000 on Houston Astros games and facilities.²³
Representative George Holding spent 2% of his leadership PAC's $202,000 on politics.²³ He dropped $18,000 at the East India Club, a men-only private establishment in London, and $9,000 at the Union Club in New York.²³
Senator Roy Blunt's "Rely On Your Beliefs Fund" has spent $117,083 at Disney's Yacht Club Resort since 2013.²⁴ That's nineteen times the average Disney vacation. It's documented in FEC filings. It's completely legal.
The Department of Justice, for all its inconsistency, used to be in the business of prosecuting the illegal parts. Tunstall got ten years. Hunter got sentenced before his pardon. Kao's emails became evidence. The system moved slowly and selectively, but it moved.
That's over now.
The DOJ's Public Integrity Section, the unit responsible for prosecuting political corruption since 1976, had 36 full-time attorneys in January 2025. By September, it had two.²⁵ The FBI shut down its public corruption squad at the Washington Field Office, the unit that investigated fraud involving members of Congress, in May.²⁶ The Foreign Agents Registration Act enforcement unit dissolved within 24 hours of the new Attorney General's confirmation.²⁷
New York City Mayor Eric Adams faced federal bribery charges until Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered them dismissed in February; nearly a dozen DOJ personnel departed over the case.²⁸ Border czar Tom Homan faced investigation for allegedly accepting $50,000 cash from undercover FBI agents in late 2024; the DOJ closed the probe in early 2025.²⁹ Prosecutors said they had a "strong felony case" against former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced on federal bribery conspiracy charges; they let her plead to a misdemeanor campaign finance violation after her attorney, a former Trump defense lawyer, met with top DOJ officials.²⁵
The DOJ reassigned the Public Integrity Section chief to a "Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group."³⁰ Career prosecutors who spent decades building corruption cases resigned, several stating publicly they'd been asked to act unethically.²⁵ In June, the DOJ suspended the requirement for prosecutors to even consult the Public Integrity Section on campaign finance cases.²⁵
The FEC currently has only two commissioners and lacks the quorum required to take any enforcement action at all. The Roberts Court has struck down every major attempt to limit political spending since 2006. The federal path is closed.
But state attorneys general can still prosecute; the FEC can't stop them, and neither can the Supreme Court. Call your state representative. Tell them to make it a state felony to route donations through shell companies, to reimburse straw donors with corporate funds, or to solicit contributions for a PAC that exists only to enrich its operators. Your AG can prosecute all of it as fraud, money laundering, or theft by deception.
Let them know, we are watching.
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References
1. NonDoc. (2023, November 15). Video of Stitt's 'cheer' for cockfighting organization draws criticism. https://nondoc.com/2023/11/15/video-of-stitts-cheer-for-cockfighting-organization-draws-criticism/
2. Oklahoma State Question 687. (2002). Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma_State_Question_687_(2002)
3. Oklahoma Voice. (2025, September 18). Gamefowl Commission to pay $10,000 in settlement with Oklahoma Ethics Commission. https://oklahomavoice.com/briefs/gamefowl-commission-to-pay-10000-in-settlement-with-oklahoma-ethics-commission/
4. NonDoc. (2025, September 18). Gamefowl PAC ordered to dissolve, Chairman Anthony DeVore charged with cockfighting crime. https://nondoc.com/2025/09/18/gamefowl-pac-ordered-to-dissolve-chairman-anthony-devore-charged-with-cockfighting-crime/
5. NonDoc. (2025, June 18). Video shows Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission leaders at illegal cockfights. https://nondoc.com/2025/06/18/video-shows-oklahoma-gamefowl-commission-leaders-at-illegal-cockfights/
6. U.S. Department of Justice. (2021, November 9). Three individuals charged with $3.5 million scheme to collect contributions for fraudulent political action committees. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/three-individuals-charged-35-million-scheme-collect-contributions-fraudulent-political-action
7. U.S. Department of Justice. (2022, December 20). California man pleads guilty to $3.5 million scam-PAC fraud. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-pleads-guilty-35-million-scam-pac-fraud
8. U.S. Department of Justice. (2023, April 25). Three individuals sentenced for soliciting millions of dollars in contributions to scam PACs. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/three-individuals-sentenced-soliciting-millions-dollars-contributions-scam-pacs
9. Kaczynski, A., & Steck, E. (2022, December 20). Scam PAC operator uncovered by CNN's KFile pleads guilty in federal court. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/politics/kfile-scam-pac-operator-pleads-guilty/index.html
10. Kaczynski, A., & Steck, E. (2021, December 22). Alleged scam PAC operator indicted by the Justice Department still ran robocalls after his arrest. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/22/politics/scam-pac-trump-robocalls-kfile/index.html
11. U.S. Department of Justice. (2018, August 21). Rep. Duncan D. Hunter and wife indicted for converting hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/rep-duncan-d-hunter-and-wife-indicted-converting-hundreds-thousands-dollars-campaign
12. Escondido Grapevine. (2019, December 4). Wait, what? Hunter plea shows two pet bunnies flown on campaign fraud dollars. https://www.escondidograpevine.com/2019/12/04/wait-what-hunter-plea-shows-two-pet-bunnies-flown-on-campaign-fraud-dollars/
13. U.S. Department of Justice. (2019, December 3). Congressman Duncan D. Hunter pleads guilty to stealing campaign funds. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/congressman-duncan-d-hunter-pleads-guilty-stealing-campaign-funds
14. Vary, A. B. (2018, August 22). Congressman's misuse of campaign funds includes $1,500 in Steam games. Variety. https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/duncan-hunter-steam-games-1202914036/
15. San Diego Union-Tribune. (2018, August 21). Rep. Duncan Hunter, do the honorable thing. Resign. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2018/08/21/rep-duncan-hunter-do-the-honorable-thing-resign/
16. The White House. (2020, December 22). Statement from the Press Secretary regarding executive grants of clemency. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-regarding-executive-grants-clemency-122220/
17. 52 U.S.C. § 30119. Contributions by Government contractors. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/30119
18. The Seattle Times. (2020, February 7). Defense contractor's Senate campaign donations investigated. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/defense-contractors-senate-campaign-donations-investigated/
19. The Washington Post. (2022, February 10). Hawaii defense contractors charged with illegal campaign contributions to Susan Collins. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/02/10/hawaii-contractors-charged-contributions-collins/
20. Campaign Legal Center. (2022, February 10). CLC investigation leads to criminal charges over a straw donor scheme. https://campaignlegal.org/update/clc-investigation-leads-criminal-charges-over-straw-donor-scheme
21. Lewiston Sun Journal. (2023, May 15). Former defense contractor executives plead guilty to illegal donations to Collins' campaign. https://www.sunjournal.com/2023/05/15/former-defense-contractor-executives-plead-guilty-to-illegal-donations-to-collins-campaign/
22. Campaign Legal Center. (2023). FEC deadlocks on leadership PAC personal use. https://campaignlegal.org/update/report-how-leadership-pacs-became-politicians-preferred-ticket-luxury-living
23. Campaign Legal Center. (2018). All expenses paid: How leadership PACs became politicians' preferred ticket to luxury living. https://campaignlegal.org/sites/default/files/2018-07/All%20Expenses%20Paid%20-%20How%20Leadership%20PACs%20Became%20Politicians%27%20Preferred%20Ticket%20to%20Luxury%20Living_0.pdf
24. Issue One. (2021). Funneled: How leadership PACs became politicians' favorite way to spend campaign cash on themselves. https://issueone.org/articles/funneled/
25. NOTUS. (2025, September 22). The Justice Department had 36 lawyers fighting corruption full-time. Under Trump, it's down to two. https://www.notus.org/courts/doj-public-integrity
26. NBC News. (2025, May 15). FBI folds the public corruption squad that aided Jack Smith's Trump investigations. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-folds-public-corruption-squad-aided-jack-smiths-trump-investigatio-rcna207029
27. White & Case LLP. (2025, February). DOJ implements major changes to national security priorities. https://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/doj-implements-major-changes-national-security-priorities
28. NBC News. (2025, February 13). Justice Department office that prosecutes public corruption slashed in size, sources say. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/justice-department-office-prosecutes-public-corruption-slashed-size-so-rcna195928
29. ABC News. (2025, January 28). DOJ ended probe of 'border czar' Tom Homan for allegedly accepting $50K in FBI sting: Sources. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/doj-ended-probe-border-czar-tom-homan-allegedly/story?id=125781386
30. NBC News. (2025, January 27). Second DOJ official who investigated Trump reassigned to immigration crackdown. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/second-doj-official-investigated-trump-reassigned-immigration-crackdow-rcna189233
Chris, please message me? I’m an experienced activist and I’m willing to do research and create scripts and resource lists to help you amplify your messaging. I’m not interested in credit or payment; I prefer to be anonymous.
First resources I’d create are DA, AG and Governor contact lists based on which state you live in, a script encouraging the arrest of ICE agents and on what charges, and a script asking Dem DAs and AGs to consult with Larry Krasner.
Another masterpiece, sir😉