17 Times Jane Mayer Cites Unnamed Sources In “Dark Money”

 
In her book “Dark Money,” Jane Mayer frequently cites anonymous, unaccountable sources to
make sensational claims about her subjects.
 
Mayer Used An Anonymous Former Koch “Insider” As A Source. “One former insider in the
Kochs' realm, who declined to be named because he feared retribution, described the early
donor summits as a clever means devised by Charles Koch to enlist others to pay for political
fights that helped his company's bottom line.” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 7)
 
Mayer Quoted An Anonymous “Operative Who Still Works For The Kochs.” “‘Getting an
invitation means you've arrived,’ one operative who still works for the Kochs explained. ‘People
want to be in the room.’” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 8)
 
Mayer Quoted An Anonymous “Republican Campaign Consultant Who Has Worked For The
Kochs In The Past.” “As one Republican campaign consultant who has worked for the Kochs in
the past said of the family's political activities, ‘To call them under he radar is an
understatement. They are underground!’” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 8)
 
Mayer Quoted An Anonymous “Longtime Family Employee.” “‘The fact that the judge was
bribed completely altered their view of justice,’ one longtime family employee suggests. ‘They
believe justice can be bought, and the rules are for chumps.’” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 28)

Mayer: Charles Koch’s Nanny Was A “Fervent Nazi Sympathizer.” “It is unclear what Fred
Koch's views of Hitler were during the 1930s, beyond his preference for the country's work
ethic in comparison with the nascent welfare state in America. But he was enamored enough of
the German way of life and thinking that he employed a German governess for his first two
sons, Freddie and Charles. At the time, Freddie was a small boy, and Charles still in diapers. The
nanny's iron rule terrified the little boys, according to a family acquaintance. In addition to
being overbearing, she was a fervent Nazi sympathizer, who frequently touted Hitler's virtues.”
(Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 32)

Mayer Cited An Anonymous Family Acquaintance To Assert That Charles Koch Was Forced To
Produce A Morning Bowel Movement Or Be Subjected To Enemas And Castor Oil. “The
acquaintance recalled that the nurse had a commensurately harsh and dictatorial approach to
child rearing. She enforced a rigid toilet-training regimen requiring the boys to produce
morning bowel movements precisely on schedule or be force-fed castor oil and subjected to
enemas.” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 32)

Mayer Cited An Anonymous “Confidant” To Claim That Charles Koch Maneuvered For His
Brothers To Miss Their Mother’s Funeral. “A confidant claimed later that Charles, who lived in
Wichita, where their mother had died, hadn't given him early enough notice about the funeral
arrangements for him to be able to attend. There had been an ice storm in Chicago, which
complicated his travel arrangements. In the end, Frederick was only able to arrive in Kansas in
time to attend a reception after the service. ‘He was heartbroken,’ the confidant said. Bill, too,
nearly missed the funeral. He was given such short notice he had to charter a private plane to
make it in time and then was seated not with the immediate family but with cousins. In
addition, both he and Frederick believed they were excluded from a private memorial at their
father's ranch, arranged and attended by Charles and David.” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 50-
51)
 
Mayer Quoted An Anonymous “Longtime Family Insider,” Who Called David Koch “Socially
Awkward.” “To one longtime family insider, however, he often seemed ‘a bit lost’ and ‘socially
awkward. People don't really register with him that much,’ she said.” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money,
2016, p. 52)
 
Mayer Cited An Anonymous “Republican Political Operative Who Signed A Confidentiality
Agreement” About Opposition Research On Bill Koch. “A Republican political operative who
signed a confidentiality agreement, and so asked not to have his name disclosed, admits that
Charles and David Koch hired him, through a law firm, to trek across the country for months,
scouring for anything he could find in the way of damaging personal, business, or legal
information on their brother Bill. He recalled, ‘It was to find anything that would cause trouble,
that could be used like a sharp stick to poke in his eye.’” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 135)

Mayer Cited Anonymous Sources Who Estimate David Koch’s Wealth And Philanthropy, And
Downplay His Generosity As A Function Of His Desire For “Respectability.” “One associate said
Koch had confided that he gave away approximately 40 percent of his income each year, which
he estimated at about $1 billion. This of course left him with an annual income of some $600
million and considerably helped ease his tax burden, but he enjoyed the role, a family member
said, in part because it bought him respectability.” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 227)
 
Mayer Cited Unnamed Sources To Cast The Koch Brothers As “Obsessed” With Press Leaks
And Sensitive To Critical Media Coverage.  “Confidants described the brothers as obsessed
with leaks and stung by the critical press coverage. They seemed surprised and resentful that
their growing political influence had resulted in heightened scrutiny. They were accustomed to
thinking of themselves as private citizens, and public-spirited ones at that. A golf partner said
David ‘spumed and sputtered’ about The New Yorker and other publications that had
scrutinized the brothers, blaming the media for spurring death threats and forcing his family to
hire personal bodyguards.” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 279)
 
Mayer Cited An Anonymous Source To Accuse The Koch’s Of Being Behind An Effort To Dig
Dirt On Her And To “Create It” If They Couldn’t Find It. “Beginning in the summer of 2010, as
the Kochs were ramping up spending on the midterm elections, half a dozen or so highly paid
operatives labored secretly in borrowed office space in the back of the lobbying firm run by the
former congressman J. C. Watts. Their aim, according to a well-informed source, was to
counteract The New Yorker's story on the Koch brothers by undermining me. ‘Dirt, dirt, dirt’ is
what the source later told me they were digging for in my life. ‘If they couldn't find it, they'd
create it.’” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 282)
 
• Mayer Cited More Unnamed Sources To Link The Kochs To The Effort. “However, clues
leading back to the Kochs were everywhere. Sources described Goldfarb, Ellender, and
other Koch Industries personnel as deeply involved in the project. Leading it, one source
said, was Nancy Pfotenhauer, a longtime member of the Kochs' inner circle who has
served as a Koch Industries spokesperson, as the head of its Washington office, and as
the president of Americans for Prosperity.” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 282)
 
• Mayer Cited An Unnamed Reporter To Suggest The Kochs Were Behind The Alleged Dirt
Digging. “At a Christmas party that winter, I was equally nonchalant when a former
reporter pulled me aside with an odd warning. ‘This may be nothing,’ she said, but a
private investigator she knew had mentioned there were a couple of conservative
billionaires who wanted help digging up dirt on a Washington reporter. The reporter had
written a story they disliked. ‘It occurred to me afterward that the reporter they wanted
to investigate might be you.’” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 282)

Mayer Cited An Unnamed Source Claiming That The Operatives Responsible For The Research
Operation Against Her “Thought They Were Going To Be Knighted By The Kochs” For Their
Efforts Which Included Searching For Dirt In Her Personal Life. “I was later told that by cooking
up these charges, the boiler room operatives felt close to victory. ‘They thought they had you.
They thought they were going to be knighted by the Kochs,’ said one source. Their search for
dirt had started with my personal life, I was told, but when that turned up nothing truly
incriminating, they moved on to plagiarism.” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 283)
 
Mayer Quoted An Anonymous Source Who “Feared Retribution” To Accuse The Kochs Of
Running An “Illegal Enterprise.”  “As the investigation grew in California, the Koch world
expertly distanced itself. ‘They've spun it really well,’ said one of Noble's friends, who spoke on
condition that he not be identified because he, too, feared retribution. ‘They've worked it hard.
The truth? The guy who the billionaires hire to direct the money got caught breaking the law. Is
he guilty? It's not Sean who is the problem-it's the enterprise-it's an illegal enterprise!’”  (Jane
Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 327-328)
 
Mayer Relied On An Unnamed “Longtime Associate” To Refute Charles Koch’s 2014 Wall
Street Journal Op-Ed In Which He Wrote That He Became Involved In Politics Only Reluctantly
And Recently.  “As the Kochs' donor network poured a record amount of money into the 2014
midterm elections, Charles continued to portray him-self, and probably to think of himself, as a
disinterested patriot. In an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal that spring, he described him-
self as involved in politics only reluctantly and recently…. A longtime associate who declined to
be named, exclaimed, ‘He has been trying since the 1970s to get his Libertarian Revolution
going!’” (Jane Mayer, Dark Money, 2016, p. 367-368)