Avenatti and ‘Skeezy’ Others Try to Make Their Own Money Off Beto O’Rourke

Rep. Beto O’Rourke just shattered fundraising records, and with millions of dollars pouring into Texas amid a surprisingly competitive Senate contest, the candidates themselves aren’t the only ones trying to cash in.

Fundraisers of all political persuasion are hoping to capture a chunk of the unprecedented sums pouring into the Lone Star State for O’Rourke’s challenge to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. And some are relying on shady means to do so.

Outspoken Democratic lawyer and potential 2020 presidential candidate Michael Avenatti on Thursday tweeted a link to Democratic donation platform ActBlue that appeared to be an O’Rourke donation page, but the fine print on the page noted that, by default, half of the money donated would go to Avenatti’s Fight PAC.

“It is pretty skeezy,” said Brendan Fischer, the director of federal and FEC reform programs at the Campaign Legal Center, of the fundraising tactic. “If Avenatti wanted to raise funds for Beto O’Rourke’s campaign, he could just share a link to the Beto for Senate donation page. But he didn’t. Avenatti’s tweet gave viewers the impression their donation would support Beto for Senate, and given how easy it is to make a one-click donation through ActBlue, some viewers could miss the fine print disclosing that their donation would be split with Avenatti’s PAC.”

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