Who is veterans for a strong america

Senate candidate who was recently convicted on election-related crimes -- which the candidate blames on advice she received from Joel Arends. Arends' group has also been under investigation by two Arizona agencies for alleged election irregularities.

Arends is also facing allegations in Texas of being involved in a super PAC scam. And just in case that weren't quite enough, the Associated Press published this report Wednesday:. So, taken together, this story raises some questions that deserve answers. A political operative facing some legal scrutiny appears to be the sole official at a group, Veterans for a Strong America, which, according to the IRS, has lost its nonprofit status for failing to file tax returns.

Such a great honor, thank you! Trump realDonaldTrump September 16, We are doing this by partnering supporters with respected economists, military veterans, intelligence community leaders and experienced former law enforcement officials. Arends previously worked with the Bush-Cheney campaign as a field director in , as director of Iowa veterans operations for John McCain in and as the executive director of Vets for Freedom from to Senate seat in The website selling tickets for the event states:.

Veterans for a Strong America is a non-profit organization that educates Americans about the importance of a strong military that is second to none. Have they ever testified on the hill? Thank You, Veterans. Mission: Readiness Podcast - Dr. Aly Goodman and State Directors. Expanding and updating child care tax credit would benefit millions of employers, employees and families. Nutrition and food security are national security issues.

Social-emotional programs have long-term benefits, report finds. Unhealthy and Unprepared. A Mother Jones profile of Arends in describes him as the founder and sole staffer of Veterans for a Strong America, with prior work as the Bush-Cheney field director for South Dakota in and a former consultant to the Koch-affiliated Americans for Prosperity.

He also seems to have run and lost for some political offices, including a race in for a seat in the Iowa state legislature. Mother Jones reported that Veterans for a Strong America was a registered c 4 , but news reports indicate that the organization had its tax-exempt status revoked by the IRS because it failed to submit Form s for three years running. Arends appears as the treasurer of the super PAC. At a minimum, it would appear that Arends and the Veterans for a Strong America, if that is anything more than Arends under a different name, are hardly nonpartisan.

A number of sources suggested that Veterans for a Strong America, unclear whether the PAC or the c 4 , has , members. As embarrassing as it should be to many major press outlets that covered the speech as though there were a full-fledged veterans organization behind the Trump event, just as disconcerting is parading a one-man organization around as though it represents veterans and their concerns about the VA.

In the tax-exempt sector, it is hard to find any category of organizations that has been subjected to more misuse, abuse, manipulation, and misrepresentation than groups that claim to serve or speak for veterans. For the most part, the press is reluctant to go after organizations that say they serve veterans, especially those run by veterans like Arends.