This Famous Election Denier Was Thrown in Jail Yesterday

 

Catherine Engelbrecht, election denier
and fraud conspiracist, is currently in jail

Wilmington pharmaceutical billionaire Fred Eshelman, whose money has been the juice used to slime Democratic lawmakers in the NC General Assembly (he funded "Real Jobs NC" in 2010, which launched outrageous attacks on the late Senator Steve Goss and Rep. Cullie Tarleton), was himself taken to the cleaners immediately after the 2020 election by an election denier and conspiracy theorist out of Texas -- one Catherine E. Engelbrecht of Houston, whose 501(c)(3) "True the Vote" raised millions by promising rich Trumpists that she could prove massive fraud in that election. Immediately after Nov. 3, 2020, Eshelman handed over a donation of $2.5 million to True the Vote. By the end of that same November, Eshelman was suing in Federal court to get that money back.

Engelbrecht had promised Eshelman that she had a sure-fire plan to expose the fraud behind Trump's losses in seven swing states. Turns out Engelbrecht was spouting nonsense, and she never explained what she did with all the money. She apparently filed trifling lawsuits in four states, which she voluntarily withdrew, and she consistently offered no answers, or only vague answers, to Eshelman's nagging questions. Short answer to all his questions: You might have gotten scammed!

Eshelman's lawsuit against True the Vote alleged his donation was "conditional" on the production of certain results, like proving actual fraud. When Eshelman appeared to have no prospects for winning in Federal court, he voluntarily dismissed the suit and refiled an identical suit in Texas state courts. That one was eventually thrown out because of Eshelman's lack of standing. You can read about that here.

Now for the update -- not on Eshelman and the sting in the adage "a fool and his money, etc." -- but news on Catherine Engelbrecht, who is currently sitting in jail in Houston (along with another True the Vote exec) for defying a judge's order in another Federal lawsuit against her:

Engelbrecht is being sued by Michigan-based election management software company Konnech Inc. for claiming that Konnech and its founder, Eugene Yu, transferred sensitive poll worker information to China.

Konnech filed a federal lawsuit in September alleging that True the Vote's viral social media campaign targeting Yu led to personal threats made against him and his family and damaged his company's business.

Engelbrecht had apparently claimed she got her information against Konnech from an FBI agent but has refused to reveal his name. (More details here.)

She's earned her jail-time. Thoughts and prayers! 

Is Fred Eshelman the Biggest Rich Dope in North Carolina?

 

If you were around in 2010 and watched a dark money group calling itself "Real Jobs NC" trash the reputations of our two representatives in Raleigh, the late Steve Goss and Cullie Tarleton, you probably don't remember that a major donor behind that trashing was Wilmington gajillionaire Fred Eshelman, a pharmaceuticals industry mogul.

Eshelman has made the news this week because immediately after the November 3rd election he gave $2.5 million to True the Vote, a Texas outfit run by Catherine E. Engelbrecht of Houston, who just knows -- has always known -- that when Republicans lose elections it's all because of massive fraud. Engelbrecht told Eshelman that she had a sure-fire plan to expose the fraud behind Trump's losses in seven swing states, so he immediately wired her all that money to fund her plan to expose election fraud.

Now he's suing to get it back because it turns out Engelbrecht was spouting nonsense and she can't/won't explain what she did with the money. She apparently filed trifling lawsuits in four states, which she voluntarily withdrew, and she's consistently offered no answers, or vague answers, to Eshelman's nagging questions. Short answer to all his questions: You might have gotten scammed! (The suit itself, linked above, makes for fun reading.)

I'm indebted to Juanita Jean over at The World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc. in Texas for putting me onto poor dumb Eshelman's squandering of big money to help salvage Twitterman's reputation as a "winner." Juanita Jean knows Engelbrecht because they used to be neighbors and opposing political warriors, so she's especially enjoying the spectacle of one rich Republican suing another Republican over the failure to prove massive fraud in the recent election.

Two "Yeah, Right!" Moments from the Morning's Papers

Full steam ahead with fracking in North Carolina. The new Mining & Energy Commission, which is supposed to oversee the controversial practice (and protect NC's water?), elected its own chair, the most unabashedly pro-fracking person on the new commission. Protect NC's water? Uh-huh.

Meanwhile, Big Pharma Dude Fred Eshelman, a principal funder of RightChange which smeared dozens of good men and women running for the NC General Assembly in 2010 (including our own Cullie Tarleton and Steve Goss), tells the Wilmington Star-News that politics will have no place in his deliberations on two key University of North Carolina system committees. Uh-huh.

The Worms in the NC Higher Education Apple

Chris Fitzsimon actually attended the first meeting of the UNC Advisory Committee on Strategic Directions and wrote this report.

Nothing much happened yesterday, but I'm so glad that Chris Fitzsimon is on the case and will presumably be watch-dogging this particular bunch.

The Outlook for Higher Education in NC

A group of 30 Big Heads with the portentous title "UNC Advisory Committee on Strategic Directions" is meeting for the first time today, and a student group has formed to protest the makeup of the committee, which is apparently charged with setting goals and directions for the 16-member University of North Carolina system.

The protesting student group, calling itself N.C. Student Power Union, is upset about the old, rich, white man  lack of diversity on the committee. There's only one student representative. There's only one faculty member representative. There's only one staff employee representative.

The N.C. Student Power Union didn't tell the half of what's wrong with that committee, seeing as how it also includes the power base of the NC Republican Party, particularly the ultra-right, Tea Party wing, the very people primarily responsible for the major, crippling budget cuts to the university system in the last two state budgets (both vetoed by Gov. Perdue, whose vetoes were overridden) and for the general weakening of all public education in the state.

Thom Tillis, Republican Speaker of the NC House, is on the committee.

Phil Berger, Republican NC Senate President Pro Tem, is on the committee.

Lew Ebert, President of the NC Chamber of Commerce, who is very actively supporting Tea Party darling Paul Newby for the NC Supreme Court, is on the committee.

Robert Ingram, former president & chief operating officer of GlaxoSmithKline, who according to OpenSecrets has given some $96,000 to Republican causes, is on the committee.

Fred Eshelman, a  Big Pharma mogul who principally funded RightChange in 2010 and who was therefore directly responsible for much of the sleaze that was directed at Cullie Tarleton and Steve Goss, is on the committee.

Art Pope, the prelate of predatory conservatism, the Death Star of the NC political universe, the Big Boss who bosses around Tillis and Berger (see above) and got his own puppets on the Tillis and Berger payroll, is on the committee.

The very people who have been most consistently and tenaciously critical of a Liberal Arts education in North Carolina are going to be setting priorities for our best institutions of higher education. Students ought to be organizing to call attention to the radical tilt of this crucial advisory committee.

And incidentally, ASU Chancellor Ken Peacock is also on the committee.

Dear UNC: Don't Raise Tuition

Under the Dome is reporting that a split has developed on the UNC Board of Governors over whether to raise tuition next year to deal with the budget losses imposed by the new Republican regime in Raleigh. Some on the BOG are against raising tuition and telling the NC General Assembly, "Now you deal with it."

We applaud that stand.

What's somewhat eyebrow-raising is the prime mover, according to Dome, of that viewpoint ... Fred Eshelman, a Big Pharma executive, nationally recognized hater of Obama, and one of the chief funders who put the Republican regime in place in Raleigh last year. The 527 group Right Change is largely his creature.

Eshelman wanted the Tea Party in charge in Raleigh to cut the budget, thoroughly and ruthlessly. Wouldn't that be a safe assumption? Now, having been appointed to the Board of Governors as a reward for funding the Republican revolution, he's prepared to tell the budget-whackers to stuff it, as far as the University of North Carolina is concerned (and it IS concerned).

Ain't human nature wonderful?

Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword

This is rich. Fred Eshelman, one of the millionaires funding the attacks on Steve Goss and Cullie Tarleton, also happens to be on the Board of Trustees at UNC-Wilmington, and he's quoted in the Wilmington Star News now worrying that a new General Assembly in Raleigh might "slash and burn" their way through the state budget next year. (Hattip: Chris Fitzsimon)

'Course, having lots of money and plenty of influence with the projected new Republican members of the General Assembly gives Mr. Eshelman ideas about that: "He said the period between the election and the new session may be the time for trustees to make in-roads to convince decision makers about UNCW's importance."

Riiight. If you can buy an election, Mr. Eshelman, you can certainly buy a little special treatment for UNCW.

Hope you Tea Partiers are paying good attention to the kind of crack addicts you're helping put into power.

Tea Party to NC: "Let's Give the Government to These Guys!"

"Monday numbers," from Chris Fitzsimon, or, How to Buy an Election:

$1,853,000 -- amount in the third quarter of 2010 by PPD CEO Fred Eshelman of Wilmington to 527 group RightChange.com, which is running attack ads against Democratic congressional candidates across the country. (IRS Political Organization Disclosure Form 8872, filed 10/15/2010)

1 -- rank of PPD CEO Fred Eshelman among top contributors in the nation to 527 groups in the third quarter of 2010 (IRS Political Organization Database, Irregular Times.com)

9 -- number of top ten individual donations in the third quarter of 2010 that went to a conservative or explicitly Republican group (Ibid.)

$200,000 -- amount given in the third quarter of 2010 by Art Pope's Variety Stores to 527 group Real Jobs NC that is running ads against Democratic legislative candidates across North Carolina, particularly against Steve Goss and Cullie Tarleton. (IRS Political Organization Disclosure Form 8872, filed 10/13/2010)

$100,000 -- amount given in the third quarter of 2010 by RightChange.com to 527 group Real Jobs NC for running ads against Democratic legislative candidates across North Carolina (Ibid.)

$550,000 -- amount given in the third quarter of 2010 by the Republican State Leadership Committee to 527 group Real Jobs NC that is running ads against Democratic legislative candidates across North Carolina (Ibid.)

8 -- number of top ten individual donations in the second quarter of 2010 that went to a conservative or explicitly Republican group (Open Secrets, Center for Responsive Politics)

$264,889 -- amount of contributions reported so far to the State Board of Elections by Civitas Action, the explicitly political arm of the right-wing advocacy group Civitas Institute, for ads against Democratic candidates (North Carolina State Board of Elections)

$190,000 -- amount given to Civitas Action by Art Pope's Variety Stores (Ibid.)

$74,889 -- amount given to Civitas Action by Americans for Prosperity, of which Art Pope is a director (Ibid.)

4 -- number of directors of Americans for Prosperity (Americans for Prosperity website)

$95,000 -- amount Americans for Prosperity has reported that it has raised for ads attacking Democratic legislative candidates in North Carolina (North Carolina State Board of Elections)

$80,000 -- amount given to Americans for Prosperity by Art Pope's Variety Stores to fund attack ads on legislative candidates in North Carolina (Ibid.)

$7,229,000 -- amount of the income of the Civitas Institute from 2005-2009. ("Blessed to Have a Pope," Facing South, the Institute for Southern Studies, October 14, 2010)

$7,074,000 -- amount of contributions to the Civitas Institute from the John William Pope Foundation from 2005-2009 (Ibid.)

About That Half-Mil

Anonymous, in "The Rotten Fruit of Dan Soucek" thread below, asks where the $500,000 figure came from that's being pumped into NC House & Senate races this year. Real Jobs NC is a "527" group, which does not have to abide by the rules of the Federal Elections Commission because they operate under an official fiction that they are not advocating explicitly for or against particular candidates. Several weeks ago Real Jobs NC reportedly had $500,000. (They have likely raised more since then.) Here's AP reporter Gary Robertson's complete article on the subject, and although it doesn't mention the Cullie Tarleton and Steve Goss races, the anti Tarleton & Goss TV ads and mailers do say they were paid for by Real Jobs NC:

New NC committee has $500,000 to talk 'real jobs'
New political committee talking 'real jobs' may lay groundwork for NC GOP candidates

Monday August 16, 2010

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- An image of the Legislative Building provides a backdrop of a television commercial after a man in a blue shirt and red tie standing in front of what could be a closed plant laments what he calls North Carolina's bad business environment.

"We're losing North Carolina jobs, but double-digit unemployment isn't solved by more government," the unidentified speaker says. "Politicians want more taxes, more regulations -- to expand government, hurt our businesses and our employees."

The commercial, which began running in several TV markets last week, began an effort funded by more than $500,000 from two Republican-leaning groups and a business to raise the alarm about recent actions by the General Assembly, which happens to be controlled by Democrats.

While the political organization "Real Jobs NC" is quick to say it's not working to elect or defeat certain candidates -- in keeping with its federal tax designation -- it's clear the criticisms will help plow the ground for Republican hopefuls in state House and Senate races this fall.

State campaign finance records show the group intends to identify House Democrats in swing districts in future projects. GOP supporters believe the bad economy, higher state taxes and unhappiness with President Barack Obama give them a chance to win one or both chambers. Republicans haven't led the Senate since 1898.

"They are setting the state for a campaign to promote Republican candidates" and target some Democrats, said Bob Hall, executive director of the campaign finance reform group Democracy North Carolina. "They are hitting the key themes that the Republican Party is indicating will be [its] message."

Real Jobs NC was created in May as a so-called "527" group, named after the section of the federal tax code through which it's registered. The political group can receive unlimited contributions from businesses and individual donors and generate commercials and other campaign materials as long as it focuses on issues.

While a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year now allows corporations to spend money to campaign directly on behalf of or against a candidate, 527 groups still have limits on activity. Candidates can be named in "electioneering communications" as long as they don't directly campaign for or against them.

"Real Jobs North Carolina is not partisan. We hope this message reaches all voters," said Art Pope, a Real Jobs NC leader and longtime Republican activist whose family company has given $100,000 to the effort. Personally, Pope said he believes "the Democratic parties at the national level and at the state level have in effect destroyed jobs."

The Republican State Leadership Committee, which works to elect GOP candidates at the state and local levels, gave $$00,000 to the group in June and July, according to a State Board of Elections report filed last week.

Another $100,000 came from Rightchange.com, a Wilmington-based, conservative-leaning 527 political group whose leaders include two Republican lawmakers and Fred Eshelman, chairman of PPD, a contract research company. Eshelman is also listed as a director at Real Jobs NC.

Pope and his Variety Wholesalers Inc., which made the other sizable donation, are no strangers to political activism. Variety Wholesalers or Variety Stores, another Pope family business, gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to a 527 in the 2004 and 2006 election cycles to defeat what he called moderate Republican lawmakers he believed betrayed the party by working with Democrats.

The group's election board filing said it intends to spend $15,000 on materials that identify Democratic Reps. Hugh Holliman of Davidson County and Alice Underhill of Craven County. Both represent what are considered swing districts. Real Jobs NC also will use mailers and radio ads, said Roger Knight, an attorney for the group.

One Democratic leader took note of the corporate executives connected to those giving to the Real Jobs group in criticizing the effort.

"In our system, there will always be wealthy people who will try to buy elections with their money," said House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange. Other 527s have been used to promote Democrats in the past.

"I sure hope Democrats will come forward and hopefully combat things like this," he said.

The Real Jobs effort comes as the state GOP and its legislative candidates have narrowed the gap with Democratic counterparts in fundraising. Although campaign reports through June 30 showed Senate Republican candidates essentially even with Democrats with cash on hand of more than $2 million each, House Democrats report having a more than 2-to-1 cash advantage over Republicans.

Mark Binker in the Greensboro News & Record recently deconstructed the negative claims in the Real Jobs NC mailers and found them wanting. He especially exploded the group's claim (for tax-exempt status under the IRS) that it's "non-partisan." Greg Flynn also did investigative reporting on the group and its principal benefactor Fred Eshelman, who is listed as "Director" and "President" of Real Jobs NC on its IRS filing form.

Real Jobs NC & the Big Lie

"If you tell a lie that's big enough, and you tell it often enough, people will believe you are telling the truth, even when what you are saying is total crap."
--Richard Belzer, "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Believe"

The all-out, big-bucks assault on Sen. Steve Goss and Rep. Cullie Tarleton by the Eshelman-Pope smear machine alleges that Goss and Tarleton are tax-and-spend liberals who are bad for business, among additional total crap.

The Wilmington Star News editorialized yesterday about the Eshelman-Pope Big Lie:

The website for Real Jobs NC, which is seeking to toss out alleged Democratic spendthrifts and replace them with virtuous Republicans, declares that "North Carolina is currently rated as having one of the worst tax environments for business in the Southeast."

You've heard similar statements before. Stated as gospel, they suggest that North Carolina's tax policies practically drive off honest businesses.

If that's so, why has Site Selection magazine -- whose subscribers are corporate executives who make decisions about where to locate plants -- ranked North Carolina at or near the top of the list of states with the best business climate for nine years running? We must be doing something right....

"Purely Coincidental"

Mark Binker in the Greensboro News & Record digs a little deeper into the 527 group, Real Jobs NC, that is targeting Cullie Tarleton. Binker's article focuses on another target of those Art Pope/Fred Eshelman big bucks, Hugh Holliman of Lexington, but the attack on Tarleton is pretty much identical, far as we can tell.

They claim they're "non-partisan," of course, which is just a plain lie on the face of it. They are tools of the North Carolina Republican Party, or to put it a little more accurately, the North Carolina Republican Party is a tool of these fat cats, who intend to return this state to their back pockets.

Who Is Funding Jonathan Jordan?

Jonathan Jordan is the Ashe County lawyer running against Cullie Tarleton in the 93rd NC House District. He's a former staffer at the John Locke Foundation, the extreme right-wing umbrella org. funded by the Pope family to promote bad ideas like using state tax dollars to provide tax credits for home schooling, while calling for the complete abolishing of corporate taxes. They beat the drum for off-shore oil drilling. The John Locke Foundation is consistently hostile to alternative energy research like wind and solar and are part of the brigade that denies global climate change.

Anonymous manipulators have been push-polling for Mr. Jordan, smearing Cullie Tarleton with all sorts of baseless accusations. And now they've started with TV ads, paid for by a group calling itself "Real Jobs NC," which is, in fact, a group of right-wing high-rollers led by one Fred Eshelman, a Wilmington pharmaceutical executive, and including ... Art Pope. Natch!

Art Pope has been at work for some time trying to remake North Carolina in his own image. Now he's joined by Eshelman.

Greg Flynn has been following the money.

Jonathan Jordan is a made man who apparently thinks that Fred Eshelman and Art Pope can buy him a seat in the NC House by smearing the man who's already in that seat and who has served Ashe and Watauga counties well. That's offensive, on the face of it. As is the fact that Jordan's campaign is "stealth" all the way. There's no "Jonathan Jordan for NC House" website with issue positions, and if you go looking for where he stands, you'll be looking in vain.

There's just those anonymous phone calls smearing Cullie Tarleton and that TV spot paid for by Messrs. Eshelman and Pope to give us any insight into Mr. Jordan's character.