Not-for-profit with ties to Greitens campaign raised $6M in 2017

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A not-for-profit connected to former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens raised more than $6 million from secret donors in 2017, new tax filings show.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the IRS Form 990 for filing year 2017 was first reported Wednesday by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. It offers a detailed look at the not-for-profit called A New Missouri.

Greitens, a Republican, was elected in 2016. He resigned June 1 while facing potential impeachment proceedings in the Missouri House over allegations of sexual and political misconduct.

The new filing shows money flowed to firms tied to Greitens and his campaign. Unlike a traditional state campaign committee, A New Missouri was able to accept unlimited campaign donations and shield its donors from disclosure.

In July, after a lengthy House investigation, Republican Rep. Jay Barnes wrote in a complaint to the Missouri Ethics Commission that A New Missouri was formed to evade state campaign contribution limits and donor disclosure requirements.

The 67 donations recorded in the tax filing all exceed $2,600 -- the cap voters placed on individual donations to candidates in the 2016 election. A New Missouri received two donations of $1 million each. The rest ranged from $5,000 to $600,000, the Post-Dispatch reported. The dates of the donations and identities of the donors were not disclosed.

The filing also shows Target Enterprises, a firm tied to White House official Nick Ayers, received more than $1.7 million from A New Missouri last year. Ayers' political consulting firm, C5 Creative Consulting, was paid $184,143 last year. The firm closed in April.

Ayers was President Donald Trump's first choice to replace outgoing White House chief of staff John Kelly before taking himself out of the running earlier this month.