Swift Boat Veterans for Truth/Funding

A return filed with the Internal Revenue Service by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth states that between April 23, 2004, when it was formed, and June 30, 2004, it had raised $158,750. Dowload pdf of return here The final tally exceeded 20 million dollars.

Of this amount Bob Perry, described by the Houston Chronicle last year as the single largest Texas donor to the Republican Party, contributed 4.5 million dollars. T. Boone Pickens and Harold Simmons each contributed 2 million dollars. The top donors, derived from FEC records, are listed here.

Perry is described in media reports as a close friend of both Republican Karl Rove and John E. O'Neill. 

Writing in the Dallas Observer, John Gonzalez, noted that between its formation and reporting its financial data to June 30, SBVT spent $60,403 "for research, Web design, a private investigator, political compliance and to pay Spaeth Communications, Inc.." 

In the second of its reports filed to the FEC, covering the period from April through to September 9, SBVT disclosed that they had raised a total of $6.7 million. Its latest statement - which runs to 146 pages - reveals that bulk of the donations were from small and medium sized contributors.

The largest contributors were:
 * Bob Perry, who has contributed a total of $200,000 - another $100,000 added since the June 30 statement;
 * T. Boone Pickens of Dallas. Pickens is a Texas oilman, corporate take-over specialist, major Republican donor, and the face of the PickensPlan.  He gave $500,000;
 * Aubrey McClendon of Oklahoma City. CEO, chairman, co-founder of Chesapeake Energy, major supporter of PickensPlan. He contributed $250,000;
 * Albert D. Huddleston, a Dallas real estate developer, gave $100,000;
 * Sam Fox of Missouri, gave $50,000;
 * John E. O'Neill of Houston, Texas. A lawyer and former Vietnam veteran who lied repeatedly about Kerry's service.  He provided $25,000


 * Charles Wyly and Sam Wyly of Dallas, old friends of George H.W. Bush, contributed $10,000 each. They'd previously funded the conservative 527 Republicans for Clean Air to attack John McCain's environmental votes in the 2000 Republican primary against George W. Bush.  But in 2006, they donated the same amount to McCain's PAC, and the Senator has publicly forgiven them.

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
 * Swift Boat Veterans for Truth/Membership
 * Swift Boat Veterans for Truth/Researchers

Data

 * Center for Public Integrity, "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth", Silent Partners, accessed August 27, 2004.

2004

 * John Gonzalez, "Swift Boat Folks Are Kerry's Nemeses of Old," Dallas Observer, August 11, 2004.
 * Tod J. Gillman, "Public relations woman has central role in Kerry ad controversy", Dallas Morning News, August 21, 2004.
 * Jodi Wilgoren, "Vietnam Veterans Buy Ads to Attack Kerry," New York Times, August 5, 2004.
 * Glenn Justice and Eric Lictblau, "Bush's Backers Donate Heavily to Veteran Ads", New York Times, September 11, 2004.
 * Thomas B. Edsall, "Swift Boat Group Raises $6.7 Million", Washington Post, September 11, 2004.

2005

 * Albert L. May, "Swift Boat Vets in 2004: Press Coverage of an Independent Campaign," George Washington University, December 5, 2005 (revised).

2006

 * Katie Fairbank and Sudeep Reddy, "Billionaire brothers under a microscope. They're known for gifts to charities, politics, but tax shelters scrutinized," Dallas Morning News, August 27, 2006. See Charles Wyly and Sam Wyly
 * Trish, "Bankrollers of Swiftboat Vets and McCain Smear in Trouble With the Feds," Pensito Review, August 27, 2006.