The David Brock-founded, liberal activist group Media Matters for America acknowledged it received a federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan of between "$1-2 million" despite regularly criticizing President Trump and his policies at every turn -- including the PPP.
The amount was much larger than the average loan sizes for small businesses, as noted by The Washington Free Beacon.
“Though Trump is set to ask Congress for emergency funds to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak -- after weeks of failing to do so -- some public health officials say he won’t ask for enough to do the job,” Media Matters senior researcher Zachary Pleat wrote on Feb. 24 before listing other issues the far-left group found with Trump’s handling of the pandemic.
The Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration (SBA) on Monday released details about the many PPP recipients, and some eyebrows were raised when Media Matters appeared on the list after the group criticized Trump for asking Congress for the cash.
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Media Matters has billed itself as a watchdog of “conservative misinformation,” and the group’s talking points frequently wind up on liberal-leaning news organizations such as CNN.
American Bridge 21st Century, a far-left super PAC that Brock founded, also argued in a May tweet that the Trump administration had neglected PPP funds for small businesses.
A spokesperson for Media Matters confirmed the group received a loan but dismissed ties to American Bridge 21st Century, despite the groups sharing an address and founder.
“As indicated by the SBA, Media Matters received a PPP loan in the $1-2M range,” Media Matters communications director Laura Keiter told The Free Beacon. “Media Matters and American Bridge are two distinct organizations.”
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Brock, a longtime ally of the Clintons, has dedicated his much of his career to combating conservatives and right-leaning media. Brock actually started his career as a conservative and has used extreme rhetoric to attack both sides throughout his time in the public eye. He once admitted he lied in a book in an attempt to ruin the credibility of Anita Hill, who had accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Brock started Media Matters in 2004.
David Brock, founder of Media Matters for America, has dedicated much of his career to combating conservatives and right-leaning media. (Fox News, File)
Media Matters has been filled with content that bashes Trump, attacks conservative media organizations and praises pundits such as CNN’s Don Lemon and MSNBC’s Chris Hayes when they condemn the president.
Despite the group’s disdain for Trump and members of his administration, the organization has benefited from the PPP loan.
“The loan represents a significant portion of the group’s annual income, which was listed as $11 million in 2017,” The Free Beacon reported, citing tax records.
“Media Matters is bankrolled by the Democracy Alliance, one of the largest progressive donor groups in the country,” Free Beacon reporter Alana Goodman wrote.
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About 4.9 million loans have been made through the PPP, and the government has made disclosures to enhance transparency. Government officials said the program helped support more than 51 million jobs so far.
Fox Business’ Brittany De Lea contributed to this report.