So what I’m hearing is, “Don’t ever give money to a SuperPAC.”
Even the way Colbert describes it may be giving away too much information.
So you’ve got SuperPAC “A” that gives money to 501©4 “B” that gives money to Colbert.
Here’s what it looks like from the outside. You know you donated to A. You can see, upon request, the donation from A to B. It’s possible that an audit of Colbert’s taxes by the IRS, or a lawsuit, or something else entirely will reveal the donation made from B to Colbert. It’s pretty easy at that point to connect the dots.
If it were me, I’d add a third level to this ridiculous shell game. Call it the third 501©4 or “C”
Now here’s what it looks like.
You give to A.
A gives to B.
C gives to Colbert.
And there’s absolutely no link whatsoever between B and C. No reason for anyone to get upset over that, right? And the money comes out clean as a whistle.
Rove yes. But Colbert made it very clear that money donated to his super PAC would be used for whatever he wanted to use it for.
I think Colbert should get a Pulitzer for this. It makes a very confusing subject concrete as we saw him do all sorts of stuff - legally - that seems totally absurd. This last little bit of magic, making the money vanish, wraps it up nicely.