HSUS Tied to Lobby Shop That Housed Accused Fraudster

The Humane Society of the United States has come under scrutiny from Members of Congress for spending an inordinate amount of money on lobbying in possible violation of charity rules. New revelations shine a light on the lobbying apparatus in which HSUS operates.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, lobbyist David H. Miller was recently indicted for embezzlement for allegedly ripping off an autism charity and a Virginia state political campaign. Miller worked for New World Group Public Affairs, a lobbying firm that represents the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF), HSUS’s official lobbying arm. Miller was indicted in September, but it sounds like he was only recently let go; one of the firm’s clients learned about the indictment from the Free Beacon reporter.

This shouldn’t have been hard to notice. Miller’s wife already pleaded guilty in 2015 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to years in prison, and court documents from that case show that “D.M.” was listed as a co-conspirator. (Miller also was the subject of media reports during a previous run for office that he owed $38,000 in back taxes.)

Meanwhile, the managing partner of the firm, former Congressman Jerry Weller—listed on the registration documents for HSLF—has come under scrutiny for ethics issues related to failing to report assets he bought and sold in Nicaragua while in office.

We’d ask if no one at HSUS does their due diligence, but the fact is, they probably don’t care. Welcome to “the swamp.”