The Shell Game Donors Use to Hide Their Identities Party leaders’ super PACs are increasingly routing contributions through nonprofits first, so donor names disappear before the money shows up in public filings.

New: $44 million in secret-donor money flowed into the super PACs aligned with congressional leaders in Q1 from their affiliated "dark money" groups.

Senate Dems' super PAC raised the highest amount, and highest share, of dark money during that period.

Spouse of Intel Committee Member Makes Timely Quantum Stock Purchase MAGA Rep. Greg Steube’s spouse bought stock last month in a quantum computing company whose share price boomed when it reached a technical milestone and was awarded a defense contract.

House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Greg Steube's spouse bought her first tech stock soon before the quantum computing company announced it had won a defense contract. No household in Congress had ever bought $IONQ before. The stock surged.

Spouse of Intel Committee Member Makes Timely Quantum Stock Purchase MAGA Rep. Greg Steube’s spouse bought stock last month in a quantum computing company whose share price boomed when it reached a technical milestone and was awarded a defense contract.

New: The spouse of House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) made an unusual stock purchase in quantum computing company IonQ just weeks before it announced a technical milestone and a defense contract, sending its price soaring.

FEC filing from Q1 2026 for Win for America, showing super PAC donations from FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics

Here comes the daily fantasy sports (DFS) super PAC.

Win for America PAC was funded by $41 million last quarter from FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics, per new FEC filing. The new group says it will bankroll PACs in more than a dozen states.

NEW: AI Super PACs Are Unleashing Millions to Tilt Primaries in Their Favor readsludge.com/2026/04/09/a...

How Trump’s Former Digital Guru Is Shaping AI Narratives About Iran for Israel After the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, a network run by Trump’s former digital chief Brad Parscale began publishing AI-optimized content aimed at shaping how the conflict would be underst...

NEW: Under contract with Israel, a network run by Trump's former digital chief Brad Parscale has been pumping out AI-optimized content to shape narratives about the Iran War. readsludge.com/2026/04/03/h...

Important story about how our taxes fund Palantir. The two big California pensions alone, CalPERS and CalSTERS, hold well over $1 billion in the company's stock.

These State Pension Funds Invest in Palantir Public pension funds from California to New York hold a combined billions of dollars in Palantir stock, while teachers and other public employees protest their retirement savings funding the tech powe...

States like California and New York have a combined billions of dollars invested in Palantir as it powers ICE raids and AI weapons systems—sparking protests from public employees over their retirement savings tied up in the company.

These State Pension Funds Invest in Palantir Public pension funds from California to New York hold a combined billions of dollars in Palantir stock, while teachers and other public employees protest their retirement savings funding the tech powe...

Latest: State pension funds are profiting from ~$4.6 billion worth of Palantir stock holdings as the company powers ICE raids and builds surveillance platforms.

These State Pension Funds Invest in Palantir Public pension funds from California to New York hold a combined billions of dollars in Palantir stock, while teachers and other public employees protest their retirement savings funding the tech powe...

Public pension funds from California to New York hold billions of dollars in Palantir stock, while public employees protest their retirement savings funding the tech powering ICE.

New list of 30 state pension fund investments in Palantir:

DCCC Sets Lobbyist Cash Record as Dems Campaign on Affordability The campaign arm pulled in $4.1 million from lobbyist bundlers in February, including firms representing pharmaceutical, insurance, and corporate landlords.

NEW: While campaigning on “affordability,” House Democrats just set a single-month record for lobbyist cash, with bundled contributions from lobbyists representing pharmaceutical giants, health insurers, and the nation’s largest corporate landlord. readsludge.com/2026/03/25/d...

Sludge headline February 2026: Here Is How Much AIPAC Has Funneled to Every Member of Congress - link: https://readsludge.com/2026/03/01/here-is-how-much-aipac-has-funneled-to-every-member-of-congress/

Our in-depth coverage of AIPAC's PAC donations, and its wider political spending, is made possible by our subscribers.

Through the end of March, a Sludge reader will match the annual value of up to 25 new subscriptions. Keep us on this beat in 2026 by joining now:

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Sludge headline October 2025: While Some Democrats Ditch AIPAC, Cory Booker Cashes In - link: https://readsludge.com/2025/10/16/while-some-democrats-ditch-aipac-cory-booker-cashes-in/

Sen. Cory Booker said he will no longer accept contributions from AIPAC PAC—though we'll be watching to see how his donor patterns change.

Booker quickly became the number one recipient among Senate Dems of AIPAC donations, raking in over $700,000 last year...

DOGE Operative Behind Nuclear Safety Rollbacks Sat on Industry-Backed VC Board A key architect of Trump’s nuclear safety rollbacks simultaneously served on the board of a venture firm backed by nuclear industry investors.

NEW: DOGE Operative Behind Nuclear Safety Rollbacks Sat on Industry-Backed VC Board readsludge.com/2026/03/23/d...

These Cities and States Hold Contracts With ICE More than a dozen governments, many with “welcoming city” policies, still hold active contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

While the Hudson River Park Trust decided it would not end its ICE contract early, the city of Hartford, CT went the other direction.

Sludge viewed a letter from Mayor Arunan Arulampalam requesting a Hartford agency terminate its ICE contract "immediately."

Hudson River Park Trust Refuses to Cancel ICE Contract Dozens of New York City residents crashed a trust meeting last night to protest the news. And more links for your Wednesday.

More info via the great Hell Gate — thanks for the shout: "Under the contract, which was initially reported by Sludge and which began June 30, 2021, the trust received..."

Paragraphs two and three from Hell Gate newsletter Morning Spew, on ICE contracts with the Hudson River Park Trust in New York: https://hellgatenyc.com/hudson-river-park-trust-not-canceling-ice-contract/

Follow-up: @hellgatenyc.com reports that despite community protests, the Hudson River Park Trust will not cancel its ICE contract earlier than June 30, when the deal is set to expire.

The Trust said that it will not renew its parking for ICE vehicles at Pier 40.

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Democrats Criticizing ICE Are Paying Consultants Tied to Palantir Two prominent Democratic consulting firms, Wavelength Strategy and SKDK, are owned by Stagwell, a marketing company that partnered with major ICE contractor Palantir to build an AI-driven advertising ...

NEW: The corporate parent of Democratic consulting firms SKDK and Wavelength Strategy is partnering with ICE contractor Palantir on an AI-powered campaign targeting system. readsludge.com/2026/03/12/d...

AI Lobbyists Are Flying Congressional Staffers Around the Country on Luxury Trips The Innovative Future Collective, packed with corporate lobbyists for AI industry giants like OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz, has been paying for House and Senate staff trips to San Francisco, Los Ang...

New: A little-known group formed by Senate Dem fundraisers and a slew of AI industry lobbyists has been sending congressional staffers on junkets to S.F., London, and elsewhere to tour MAGA-aligned companies like Palantir.

AI Lobbyists Are Flying Congressional Staffers Around the Country on Luxury Trips The Innovative Future Collective, packed with corporate lobbyists for AI industry giants like OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz, has been paying for House and Senate staff trips to San Francisco, Los Ang...

Senate Democratic fundraisers, and AI industry lobbyists, are flying congressional staffers to visit the MAGA-aligned contractors Palantir and Anduril. Our latest:

AI Lobbyists Are Flying Congressional Staffers Around the Country on Luxury Trips The Innovative Future Collective, packed with corporate lobbyists for AI industry giants like OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz, has been paying for House and Senate staff trips to San Francisco, Los Ang...

New: A little-known group packed with AI industry lobbyists—the Innovative Future Collective—has been sending congressional staffers on upscale trips to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London, according to gift travel disclosures.

Here Is How Much AIPAC Has Funneled to Every Member of Congress Sludge analyzed FEC data to create a searchable list of AIPAC’s donations this cycle to every member of Congress.

As AIPAC cheers the Trump admin's war in Iran, here are the lobby group's tens of millions in PAC donations to every member of Congress so far this cycle.

Roll call information on the Iran war powers resolution vote held in the U.S. House on March 5, 2025: https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202685 - if the two GOP members had stayed with the yeas, and the Republican member not voting did not vote, and the four Democratic members voted yea with their party, the measure would have narrowly passed the House.

Four House Dems voted last week against the Iran war powers resolution, which was shot down 219–212.

AIPAC is the top contributor to three of them: Reps. Jared Golden, Greg Landsman, and Juan Vargas, giving them $1.9 million in career PAC donations through January, per our latest analysis.

Here Are the Members of Congress Invested in War More than 50 members of Congress own stock in defense contractors whose profits are soaring from giant Pentagon budgets and supplemental weapons packages.

We found more than 50 members of Congress invested in the stocks of defense contractors they fund (September 2024). Names, companies, and amounts:

Defense Contractor–Funded Think Tank Warns of Weapons Shortage After Iran Strikes NPR listeners weren’t told the think tank receives millions from Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Northrop Grumman.

NEW: As Trump prepares $50 billion supplemental for munitions depleted by Iran strikes, experts from defense contractor-funded think tanks are amplifying shortage warnings to reporters. readsludge.com/2026/03/05/d...

Here Is How Much AIPAC Has Funneled to Every Member of Congress Sludge analyzed FEC data to create a searchable list of AIPAC’s donations this cycle to every member of Congress.

Senate Republicans who voted down the Iran war powers resolution have received more than $6.1 million from AIPAC's PAC this cycle. The top two recipients in Congress are both GOP members up for re-election in 2026.

See latest AIPAC donations to every member of Congress:

Trump Quietly Invested Millions in Bank Securities, Late Ethics Filing Shows The President recently disclosed more than a hundred late trades made since May of last year, nearly all in banks and financial institutions.

SCOOP: Trump quietly invested as much as $20 million in bank securities last year and violated the STOCK Act by failing to publicly disclose the transactions. readsludge.com/2026/03/04/t...

Here Is How Much AIPAC Has Funneled to Every Member of Congress Sludge analyzed FEC data to create a searchable list of AIPAC’s donations this cycle to every member of Congress.

AIPAC is the top career contributor to Reps. Gottheimer, Landsman, and Moskowitz. The lobbying group is cheering lawmakers who supported the Trump admin's strikes on Iran.

We dove into FEC data to get the latest totals for everyone in Congress, ahead of war powers votes this week:

Four House Dems publicly oppose the Iran war powers resolution: Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Greg Landsman, Jared Moskowitz, and Tom Suozzi.

The four have received $1.5 million in donations from AIPAC PAC this cycle alone, and more than $1.8 million from the group before...