Swift Boat Veterans contributers

SBVT characterized itself as a non-partisan group both in the legal sense and in spirit. But critics have alleged

partisanship, pointing out that several prominent individuals who assisted the SBVT also had close ties to the
"/wiki/United_States_Republican_Party" title="United States Republican Party">Republican Party. For example, SBVT's chief

financiers, according to the group's last quarterly IRS filing, are Houston builder



Bob J. Perry and the Crow family, both major

Republican donors from Texas. Perry is a long time Bush supporter who has donated $200,000 to fund the SBVT ads.
'http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2747923' class='external' title=

"http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2747923">[22]
'urlexpansion'>(http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2747923)
'http://www.tpj.org/page_view.jsp?pageid=667&pubid=422' class='external' title=

"http://www.tpj.org/page view.jsp?pageid=667&pubid=422">[23]
'urlexpansion'>(http://www.tpj.org/page_view.jsp?pageid=667&pubid=422) SBVT's media representative,
"/wiki/Merrie_Spaeth" title="Merrie Spaeth">Merrie Spaeth, was a
"Ronald Reagan">Reagan administration press officer and an advisor to Ken

Starr in the Clinton impeachment. Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar, ran

for Texas lieutenant governor on George W. Bush's ticket in 1994. John

E. O'Neill — the primary author of Unfit for Command and a key player in the formation of SBVT — donated

over $14,000 to Republican candidates, was a partner in Lezar's law firm, and co-operated with the Nixon White House in opposing

Kerry in 1971.
"http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4534274/">[24] (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4534274/) Adm.

Schachte, upon whose account many of the SBVT allegations are based, has donated to both of Bush’s presidential campaigns.


"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47542-2004Aug30.html">[25]
'urlexpansion'>(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47542-2004Aug30.html) Chris LaCivita, director of

the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2002, works as a private contractor

providing media advice for SBVT.
'http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/25/politics/campaign/25CND-SWIF.html?hp=&pagewanted=all&position' class='external' title=

"http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/25/politics/campaign/25CND-SWIF.html?hp=&pagewanted=all&position">[26]
'urlexpansion'>(http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/25/politics/campaign/25CND-SWIF.html?hp=&pagewanted=all&position)

The SBVT postal address was registered to Susan Arceneaux, treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund, a
"PAC">PAC closely tied to the archconservative former Congressional leader Dick

Armey.
"http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2004/08/28/swift bush/index.html">[27]
'urlexpansion'>(http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2004/08/28/swift_bush/index.html)

These ties, along with others (see below), have led to accusations that SBVT is a front group for Republicans and has caused

SBVT to take considerable heat from some observers in the popular press.
"Slate (magazine)">Slate's editor Jacob Weisberg, wrote that SBVT is part of the "right-wing slime machine."
'http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2105353&' class='external' title=

"http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2105353&">[28]
'urlexpansion'>(http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2105353&)

A return filed with the Internal Revenue Service by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth states that between April 23, when it was formed, and June 30 it had raised $158,750. [1] (http://www.publicintegrity.org/527/search.aspx?act=com&orgid=707) Dowload pdf of return here (http://www.disinfopedia.org/upload/9/9f/SBVTreturn.pdf)

Of this amount Bob Perry, described by the Houston Chronicle last year as the single largest Texas donor to the Republican Party, contributed $100,000. John E. O'Neill and Harlan Crow, the owner of Crow Realty Investors, both contributed $25,000. [2] (http://www.alternet.org/story/19532/)

Perry is described in media reports as a close friend of both Republican Karl Rove and John E. O'Neill. [3] (http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/election2004/9462212.htm)

The three contributors thus accounted for over 94% of the income reported to the IRS. (Another eight donors accounted for the remainder of the groups income). [4] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/politics/campaign/05veterans.html)

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.." [5] (http://www.alternet.org/story/19532/)

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 -a Texas oilman, corporate take-over specialist and Republican contributor donated $500,000;
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  Aubry [Aubrey] McClendon of Oklahoma City, also in the oil industry, contributed $250,000;
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  Albert D. Huddleston, a Dallas real estate developer, gave $100,000; and
  
  
• Sam Wyly and
  
  
  
  Charles J. Wyly Jr. of Dallas, who funded Republicans for Clean Air to attack John McCain in the 2000 campaign, contributed $10,000 each.