Morgan Ortagus, a disqualified candidate in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat, announced to German-owned Politico her participation in an organization called Polaris National Security.
Politico reported, “Morgan Ortagus, the State Department’s chief spokesperson during the Trump administration, has launched a new group called Polaris National Security. The organization, chock-full of former Trump administration and campaign aides on staff and other Republicans on the advisory team, will have a 501(c)(4) and PAC arm.”
Politico additionally reported that, according to Ortagus, Polaris will be mainly focused on China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, supporting Israel and “holding the Biden administration accountable for their national security failures.”
“My goal is to make national security issues relevant to the American voters by linking those issues to everyday concerns like the price of energy/gas and immigration/drug/border/crime crises,” she texted Politico, and mentioned that there will be a bus tour in the fall. “We’re all Trump appointees mostly and candidates will want our checks and to work with us.”
NBC News previously reported, “Morgan Ortagus, the former State Department spokeswoman who entered the race with former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, was also removed from the ballot and has said she will not challenge the decision.”
While Polaris has been styled as a new organization, its Twitter account says it has been active since 2012. Ortagus herself retweeted one of its posts in July of 2021.
FEC filings show that the PAC statement of organization for Polaris National Security was filed on January 10 more than three months prior to Ortagus’ disqualification from the TN-5 race by the Tennessee Republican Party.
The WinRed donation page for Polaris National Security PAC says:
We need your help to keep America safe.
In just seven months we lost Afghanistan to the Taliban. Now we’re on the verge of losing Ukraine to Vladimir Putin. The threats to Americans are rising every day, but our leaders are asleep at the wheel.
We desperately need new fighters in Congress who will stand up against the misguided and dangerously weak national security policies that are leaving American strength in tatters.
Every dollar you give helps us fight to elect new national security leaders in Congress!
The PAC treasurer of the record is Charles Gantt of Bulldog Compliance, the same treasurer with Tennessee Conservatives PAC, which spent a significant amount of money to support Ortagus’s disqualified bid for TN-5.
Previously reported, Bulldog Compliance is a subsidiary of Red Curve Solutions, which handles the books for a variety of dark-money clients as well as normal PACs and Maverick PAC, which employed Ortagus during the 2016 election cycle and supported Jeb Bush for president.
The FEC April quarterly financial report for Polaris National Security PAC shows a single donation in the amount of $25,000 that was made on March 30.
The source of Polaris National Security PAC’s donation is the U.S. Immigration Fund-NY, LLC. The address for the LLC is listed as 115 Front St., Suite 300, Jupiter, Florida 33477.
Located at the same address is The U.S. Immigration Fund, an EB-5 organization. The U.S. Immigration Fund-NY, LLC, is listed as a subsidiary on that website.
EB-5, according to the same website, “is a United States visa program, created in 1990, that enables foreign investors to obtain a U.S. visa by investing in a business that will benefit the U.S. economy and create jobs.”
The EB-5 program enables a foreign individual to invest capital in a project in order to receive a visa and entry into the United States.
“After approximately 5 years from the investor’s initial entry to the United States, the investor and eligible family members are then able to apply for U.S. citizenship, if the investor chooses,” the USIF says.
The website further says, “USIF provides outstanding EB-5 project opportunities, supported by 30+ years of collective real-estate development, finance and banking executive team experience.”
It adds, “USIF became an established EB-5 Regional Center in 2010. Since then, USIF has formed and sponsored highly successful regional centers throughout the United States that have collectively assisted over 5,000 EB-5 investors and their families.”
The U.S. Immigration Fund’s website additionally states, “Upon satisfaction of UCIS requirements and the successful completion of the selected EB-5 project, the investor should anticipate his/her permanent Green Card and ultimately the repayment of their $800,000 EB-5 investment.”
The U.S. Immigration Fund describes the role of a regional center. “U.S. Immigration Fund organizes and manages new commercial business into which sophisticated foreign individuals (‘Foreign Investors’) invest for the purpose of obtaining a U.S. visa under the EB-5 program.”
There are regional centers listed in New York, New Jersey, Florida, and California.
The founder and chair of USIF is Nicholas Mastroianni II, and its president and chief marketing officer is Nicholas Mastroianni III.
Nicholas Mastroianni II’s biography says that “USIF has successfully and predictably raised capital for a who’s who of developers including the Witkoff Group, Kushner Companies, the Durst Organization, HFZ Capital Group, KABR, Fisher Brothers, and Forest City Ratner, among others.”
In addition to its operations in the United States, the EB-5 organization lists operations in Asia-Pacific and China. There are seven named employees of the organization under the heading “China Operations.”
U.S. Immigration Fund-NY, LLC, a subsidiary of U.S. Immigration Fund that enables foreign investors to gain entry into the United States, appears to have donated $25,000 to a national security PAC now headed by Morgan Ortagus that purports to focus on China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, supporting Israel and “everyday concerns like the price of energy/gas and immigration/drug/border/crime crises.”
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR, Twitter, and Parler.
