Blanche and Patel announce federal fraud charges against Southern Poverty Law Center

Añadido: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]And welcome back everyone here to live now from Fox. I'm your host Mike Pa. I want to take you out right now. Live news conference just popping up on our screens. We have Todd Blanch and the FBI director Cash Patel doing this news conference. Let's listen in.

[00:00:15]In total, according to the indictment, between 2014 and 2023, SPLC paid at least $3 million to eight individuals. At least these individuals were affiliated with the Kulux Clan, United Clans of America, National Socialist Movement, Aryan Nations Affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, the Nationalist Socialist Party of America, Nazis, and the American Front.

[00:00:47]Now, as the indictment lays out, after SPLC paid members of these extremist groups, it created work product that reported on these activities that the members participated in or contributed to. And to that end, it was doing the exact opposite of what it's told its donors it was doing, not dismantling extremism, but funding it. To carry out this scheme, SPLC created bank accounts in the name of at least five completely fictitious organizations that had no bonafide employees or legitimate business purpose.

[00:01:23]The money was passed from SPLC to one sham account to a second sham account and then loaded onto prepaid cards to give to the members of the extremist groups.

[00:01:34]This was designed to shield the source of those funds. And because of this, SPLC is also charged with one count, as I said earlier, of conspiracy to commit money.

[00:01:47]In conclusion, I want to thank the acting US attorney in the middle district of Alabama, Kevin Davidson, who's in his district right now and not able to be with us, for bringing this important case along with the FBI team in Alabama for their hard work during this investigation.

[00:02:05]This investigation is ongoing and I'd like to ask uh Director Patel to say a few words as well.

[00:02:15]>> Thank you, General Blanch.

[00:02:18]What we're here today is to announce what the what the general just told you.

[00:02:23]The Southern Poverty Law Center in a massive sweeping indictment has been charged with allegations of fraud and using the banking system to perpetrate that fraud. I just want to talk about a couple brief things here.

[00:02:36]The Southern Poverty Law Center themselves advertise to raise money to dismantle violent extremist groups for a period of at least a decade. They use their donor network to raise money to purportedly dismantle violent extremist groups. However, the SPLC, the Southern Poverty Law Center, used the money they raised from their donor network to actually pay the leadership of these very groups. I just want to say that again. They used the fraudulently raised money by lying to their donor network, thousands of Americans, to go ahead and actually pay the leadership of these supposed violent extremist groups. The groups as the general um laid out include the Ku Klux Clan, the United Clans of America, Unite to Right, National Alliance, the National Socialist Movement, the Aryan Nation Motorcycle Club, and the National Socialist Party of America, and also the American Front.

[00:03:36]In at least one of these matters, our investigation revealed that funds were used to facilitate the commission of further state and federal offenses totaling over $3 million.

[00:03:49]Furthermore, our investigation revealed that the Southern Poverty Law Center, on top of perpetuating this widespread decadel long multi-million dollar fraud, conducted more criminal activity. They attempted to hide their criminal activity from our financial banking network. They set up shell companies and entities around America so that the financial institutions that we rely on as everyday Americans were deceived in believing that money was not coming from the Southern Poverty Law Center in the perpetration of this scheme and fraud, but rather fictitious entities they stood up to perpetuate this ongoing fraud.

[00:04:28]This is a serious and egregious violation of a group that purported to dismantle violent extremist groups, but in turn actually only fueled the hatred.

[00:04:38]This is an important case brought by the president by President Trump's administration. We're thankful for the president for his leadership and funding of not just the FBI and DOJ, but his commitment to go out there and wipe out fraud and conspiracy and waste and abuse wherever it occurs, including the Southern Poverty Law Center. Even though this money was made to appear to be coming from legitimate people and legitimate entities, we at the FBI with our great partners at the Department of Justice and in the state of Alabama were able to comb through a decade worth of material. A scheme that took a decade to build so that we were able to follow the money because money never lies. And they got caught. As the attorney general said, these charges are varying. um they are widespread and wide ranging and this investigation is very much ongoing.

[00:05:27]Today we're here to announce the charges of the Southern Poverty Law Center and this investigation and the individuals who are responsible will be brought to justice. Thank you, General.

[00:05:37]>> Thank you, Director Patel. Um with any questions, >> I'd like to know why individual people are not mentioned in this indictment. Is that something that's going to come down the pike? Is this just an indictment of the entity? Can you kind of explain could people face charges here or is this the indictment and you're done?

[00:05:55]>> So yes, I mean as we said the indictment this investigation is very much ongoing and today the the grand jury returned indictment against against only one entity, the Southern Poverty Law Law Center and um and and we'll we'll go from there. But as you'll see from from the indictment itself, um the the it should be obvious from the indictment that the investigation is is ongoing.

[00:06:18]And I just want to make sure I understand. You're alleging that the Southern Poverty Law Center was paying the leaders of KKK and and other groups to continue their operations. Is that >> I'm not alleging it. The grand jury returned an indictment that says that.

[00:06:34]And so what what the what the investigation found according to to the indictment that was returned today is that they were paying so so Southern Poverty Law Center is raising money asking folks to to give them money to dismantle racism and over a very long period of time. Um they were using some of the money they raised from donors to pay to they called them field you know the basically to to informants um to for information for access to just pay them for um for certain um to to do certain things and and so yes that's exactly what the indictment charges >> I was wondering if this is uh going to expand perhaps to more groups perhaps there's been a lot of accusations about particular groups like the Patriot Front that get a lot of uh you know traction and more so is the government or is this indictment I should say making the case that some of these matters where they tried uh at great lengths to sort of make connections to uh uh people on the right per san I mean Charlottesville was very much uh associated by uh you know the media with being sort of like uh you know part of a right-wing kind of thing you know they're like good people on both sides type of thing I mean is this are we seeing a uh sort of the Southern Poverty Law Center was trying create narratives uh using these types of groups to uh you know shape American public opinion.

[00:07:54]>> Look, I think what what the Southern Poverty Law Center has has said over the years is available to the for the world to see. It's on their website. It's in other forums. Um the indictment speaks for itself. I'm not going to talk outside the four corners of the indictment. It lays out what the what the grand jury found and and and obviously that there's a whole body of public information around what the s Southern Poverty Law Center has done over the past uh uh you know several decades.

[00:08:21]>> I mean in some of these instances these are groups that have been either their membership has been dismantled or they've definitely fallen out of public view. I'm just wondering the legal theory of how you know these payments allegedly went on to actually benefit the groups. Did you see the money go to the groups themselves rather than just the individuals who were paid informants essentially? And then I have an off topic after >> so the the look I I want to be careful to keep any comments that that we make um inside the indictment. And so what the indictment lays out is is uh payments to individuals who had leadership positions within these organizations. um if if that's what the grand jury found. And so to the extent that that those individuals receiving one received over a million dollars, okay, to the extent over over over several years, to the extent that that there's any link between that individual receiving the money and benefits to that organization, uh that's not in the indictment, but because again, it's not that that individual who's charged with a crime. It's that individual was a informant or what have you. um and and it's Southern Poverty Law Center that made those payments to the individual, but it wasn't the you know, look, the payments were not made to these individuals um in exchange for a service separate and apart from their um work within these organizations. So, you know, that's that's I think speaks for itself.

[00:09:46]>> And just on an off topic, obviously you've read the Atlantic article that's now a subject of a defamation lawsuit.

[00:09:51]>> I absolutely did not read that article, but go ahead with your question. I just, you know, without obviously it's up in litigation now. Have you separately just heard any concerns given your supervision over the FBI director about any uh problems with drinking? I have a lot of I have a lot of concerns and my concerns are completely around the anonymous reporting that comes forth constantly that that you know reporters have an obligation to report and and they have due diligence that they're supposed to do and when an entire article is based on anonymous sources and there's things in the article suggesting for example for example apparently that um senior DOJ personnel were informed of something that's me I wasn't informed no one called me about that. So, like listen, I did not read that that that article. Um, it is the subject of litigation. Um, but but you know, I've already spent too much time talking about it. Next question.

[00:10:45]>> That Todd, I'm sorry. The the FBI director is on camera with the US Olympic hockey team chugging a beer. I mean, do you think that that's appropriate conduct for the FBI director?

[00:10:54]>> That is nothing to do with the article.

[00:10:56]I mean, look, there there's there's there's there's there's complete hit pieces and and you guys are in this business and you know what they look like and the fact that you're act asking repeated questions of about them almost as an admission of such. But when you have a bunch of people who are hiding behind closed curtains, um saying things but not willing to say it publicly, and there are certain parts of the of the article that are blatantly false because apparently I was told something that I wasn't. Uh, it's it's suspicious in the back.

[00:11:25]>> Uh, thank you, Mr. Acting Attorney General. Can you explain again what the fraud is here exactly? Are you saying it's illegal for the SPLC to pay money to people that are in hate groups or something about the way this was done makes it illegal? Because it's not automatically illegal, is it?

[00:11:43]>> No, that's right. It's a good question.

[00:11:45]So, and again, I summarized the indictment and it's now public for everybody to read, but but SP the Southern Poverty Law Center is a 501c3.

[00:11:53]Okay. They're required to um under the laws associated with a nonprofit to to have certain transparency and honesty in what they're telling donors they're going to spend money on and what their mission statement is and what they're raising money doing. And so, as the indictment points out, um there's different ways that they raise money.

[00:12:10]And um in no in no fundraising efforts that that the investigation found did they say, "Oh, and by the way, we're going to give a million bucks to the Ku Klux Clan." So that's so that's fraud.

[00:12:22]So that's wire fraud. So, and then the bank fraud part of it is is you have KYC. You have an obligation to tell your financial institution what what the what the what the corporation or the entity that you're opening an account um for does. And the allegations in the indictment are that these were fictitious companies that were set up.

[00:12:40]And so there are certain information sworn to by SPLC executives about what the entities were doing that that we allege as false.

[00:12:47]>> Can I just follow up on Can I ask one followup, Mr. Go ahead.

[00:12:51]>> On the hiring of Joe Deg Geneva to work for the department, can you just tell us a little bit? I understand you went down to Florida um perhaps to take part in his swearing in or or bring him on board. Can you explain why he's being brought back to the department after 40 years?

[00:13:08]>> So, I mean, look, I think that we everybody in this administration, whether it's department just elsewhere, we're always looking for good people.

[00:13:16]and he's somebody who has a deep bench as you said he's he's been in this business for for decades. Um and and when we had the opportunity to ask him to join the team and help um we readily did >> um I have an on topic and an off topic if you'll allow me. Um are you able to explain a little bit more about what led to this investigation? Were you guys tipped off by a former employee or how did how did you guys discover this?

[00:13:39]>> No, I can't talk about that. But it it's been going on for a long time. There was a time that it was it was shut down for a while during the um the last administration. Um I don't know why and and it was started again over the past year or so and and uh and that brings us to today. I'm >> sorry. You mean the investigation began before this administration and then was shut down during the Biden?

[00:14:04]>> That's my understanding. I don't have information beyond what I just said around that.

[00:14:08]>> Um uh I wanted to ask about the Brennan in the John Brennan investigation. if you can explain why the career prosecutor who who had been leading that investigation um was removed and if you have you have or had concerns that that investigation is not moving quickly enough.

[00:14:22]>> I don't have any concerns about that investigation and again the um reporting around that really is just a source purely from leaks and not actually accurate reporting is not something I'm going to comment on and and never will comment on.

[00:14:36]>> Could I ask you just to clarify one thing? Obviously, the bureau had a long relationship with the SPLC. Is is it your understanding that the previous leaders at the bureau knew this was happening and didn't view it as a crime?

[00:14:49]Or is that the bureau did not know this was happening?

[00:14:53]>> It is it is my understanding that SPLC never told anybody in law enforcement that they were paying off the Klux Clan, and I don't think that should surprise anybody.

[00:15:04]>> Uh, thank you, Mr. Acting Attorney General. I'd like you to both weigh in on a recent memo from the Office of Legal Counsel declaring the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional. So saying that presidents no longer need to preserve their documents or turn them to the government. What do you say to critics who suggest this basically eliminates transparency and accountability around how a White House operates, especially given how much time you guys are spending investigating the previous administration? Well, look, I think there is no dispute that this administration in just 14 months has been a lot more transparent than the last administration or in any administration. So, if critics are suggesting that that somehow we're not being transparent, I I don't find that credible in any way, shape, or form as far as the recent OLC opinion regarding the the the P. Um, that is something that has been heavily litigated in DC and elsewhere. and OLC issuing that is not the first um that's not the first place that you see that that it's unconstitutional. I mean, I think there's a lot of places that you can go to to think through why that is. The memo um speaks for itself and and and uh and I don't have much to say about it beyond that.

[00:16:12]>> Do you want to weigh in on that?

[00:16:13]>> Uh the uh president has this pending billion dollar lawsuit against the IRS.

[00:16:18]Um he sort of said that this is like he's negotiating with himself. How can you assure Can you Is there anything you can do to assure the American people that taxpayer dollars are being protected? How are those negotiations being handled?

[00:16:29]>> I'm I'm most certainly not going to talk about ongoing litigation and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to to comment about about that case given given its status right now >> broadly with the you know the various interests the competing interests there right you have the president in the White House pressing obviously for some personal money and then you have him being your boss. How how do you sort of just broadly speaking, how do you sort of handle that sort of issue? I >> mean, we we handle the Department of Justice handles complicated decisions involving those type of issues every day, all day. And not just this Department of Justice, every Department of Justice handles issues like that. I mean, you have um decisions that an attorney general or or his or her staff have to make that are are difficult and complicated. And we do it, attorney generals before me have done it, and and we'll be able to handle it in a an appropriate and ethical manner.

[00:17:15]Thank you, acting attorney general. A question for you and then a question for the FBI director. You spoke about the timeline of the investigation. I know you said you have not much more to say about that, but I am curious if you can talk about if it started in 2017, 2018, and just given what you said about the Biden administration turning it off. How is the Department of Justice ensuring this investigation remains free from political influence?

[00:17:38]Well, I mean, look, it's free from polit There is nothing political about this indictment or this investigation. SPLC has lawyers, and if they think that I'm wrong about that, they're going to be free to make a motion in front of judge like every other defendant in the country. As far as what I I just don't know information, it wasn't that far ago. It was within the past four or five years, but there was a decision made. I don't have any insight into why it was made the to to to not pursue the investigation. Um and and we we we started it again and and that brings us to where we are today.

[00:18:11]>> I do want to give you an opportunity to respond directly to the allegations in the Atlantic article that your unexplained absences created a national security risk and beyond that can you say definitively that you have not been intoxicated or absent during your tenure as FBI director? I can say unequivocally that I never listen to the fake news mafia. And as when they get louder, it just means I'm doing my job. This FBI director has been on the job twice as many days as every director before me.

[00:18:43]What that means is I've taken half as many days off as those before me. What that means is I've taken a third less vacation than those before me. What that means is that this FBI with this Department of Justice has dropped the murder rate 20 points. What that means is this FBI with this Department of Justice has captured eight of the top 10 most wanted fugitives in the world.

[00:19:04]Twice as many as the Biden administration did in its entire four years. What that means is this FBI has seized enough fentinel off the streets to kill 178 million Americans. A 31% increase. What that means is this FBI and this DOJ has arrested 43% more spies in 14 months than the entirety of the Biden administration. What that means is this FBI has seen a reduction in opioid overdose debts up to 20%.

[00:19:30]Alone. What that means is that we have found 6,300 child victims. 6,300 families have their kids back. That is a 22% increase from the Biden administration. I'm on the job. I'm the first one in. I'm the last one out. I'm like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey. and champions my friends when they raise a gold medal and invite me in to celebrate. I've never been intoxicated on the job. And that is why we filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit. And any one of you that wants to participate, bring it on. I'll see you in court.

[00:20:03]>> Explain the computer login issue. Just explain the computer login issue. You were not able to log into the your lawsuit contends that you were not able to log into the system. What did you think after you were unable to log into the system?

[00:20:15]>> Let's have a survey. How many of you people believe that's true? Hang on. Did you communicate with >> You asked the question. Let me answer it.

[00:20:21]>> No, no, let me I Did you communicate with anyone that you thought you were fired after you you were unable to log into >> The problem with you and your report?

[00:20:29]Don't cut me off. You asked the question.

[00:20:31]>> Straightforward question.

[00:20:32]>> The problem with you and your baseless reporting is that is an absolute lie. It was never said. It never happened. And I will serve in this administration as long as the president and the attorney general want me to do so. And every time you guys report false lies, every time you guys raise baseless questions, when we are here to talk about the Southern Poverty Law C Center's $3 million decadel long scheme to fraudulently fleece Americans, you are off topic.

[00:21:00]>> It's a simple for straightforward question. If you talk to anybody about whether you thought >> the simple answer to your question is you are lying. And every time you do so, >> a direct question, >> I've answered your question. It's simply as follows. I was never locked out of my systems. Anybody who says it >> lawsuit says the opposite. Your lawsuit contains >> anyone that says the opposite is lying.

[00:21:22]>> The lawsuit that you filed says that directly.

[00:21:24]>> Man, stop. You're being extraordinarily rude. And I know maybe that's part of your profession, but please just stop.

[00:21:30]If if you ask a question, he can answer it. And then now you're interrupting me.

[00:21:36]Like just a little bit of respect, man.

[00:21:37]Just a tiny little bit. Try it sometime.

[00:21:40]Go ahead.

[00:21:41]Earlier today, uh, Senate Majority Leader John Thun once again was pleading for an end to the Justice Department's investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Pow. How do you respond to a direct request like this from someone in your own party?

[00:21:56]>> I I haven't received the respon the request, you know, formally yet. I mean, listen, this is an ongoing investigation and and that's something that we can't talk about aside from saying yes, it's an ongoing investigation and and this the senator knows that and other senators know that as well and and and we'll get through it, but but it's it is an ongoing investigation and and we can't we can't really talk about it, especially not not in public, but but we'll try to address any senator, not just a senator from the Republican party's concerns about that.

[00:22:26]Um, Director Patel, you said in an interview over this weekend um, regarding the election into whether the 2020 presidential election was stolen, you said that there were going to be arrests coming and I promise you it's coming soon. Hoping you could just elaborate a little bit on what that meant.

[00:22:44]>> Sure. We have many ongoing investigations into um large-scale conspiracies and um, like we did today, we'll be announcing those arrests when the grand jury returns those indictments.

[00:22:55]>> All right. Just one more question, sir.

[00:22:56]>> I have a on topic and off topic on the Southern Poverty Law Center. Um, my understanding was from the video that the group posted today that this program about paying the informants had ended. I wasn't clear about when that was. Can you do you have any information about when this program stopped paying informants and then if there's a statute of limitations issue there? I just wasn't sure how far back we're talking.

[00:23:19]And then I'll I have another on topic.

[00:23:20]So, look, all I can tell you is the indictment alleges a very long period of time that includes up to 2023. So, that's that's I can't speak beyond, you know, when it, you know, if anything has been happening since then, just what the grand jury found.

[00:23:34]>> Okay. And then I also wanted to ask a followup on uh Joe Deg Geneva, you know, looking back at he's he's been very vocal over the years about his thoughts about the 2016 uh investigation, about the intelligence assess assessment. One quote that he said in in an article in 2020 was, "There's no doubt John Brennan was a primogenitor of this entire counter intelligence investigation. It was John Brennan who went to James Comey and basically pummeled him into starting a counter intelligence investigation against Trump." Brennan's at the heart of this. Given those prior statements, isn't there possibly a conflict of interest or at the very least a perceived conflict of interest having him oversee this investigation? and has he been vetted for conflicts prior to being hired at the Justice Department?

[00:24:20]>> I don't know. I'm not sure what the conflict of interest would be because somebody has said something um in the past about about a particular matter that doesn't create a conflict necessarily. That's not what the conflict, you know, conflicts are designed to um for just that. And I I think >> it creates a sense of bias, doesn't it?

[00:24:36]That he's coming into the investigation with preconceived views about a target of your investigation. Isn't that a problem? I mean, I I just completely disagree with the premise. I mean, look, if you look at what happened um during during the president's investigations, there were prosecutors that were actively involved in the 2016 um information with bar and what what AG Bar was doing. They readily joined the case and one of them was actually stood up in court. So, I I don't think it's unusual and it's not not something that sure he has he has to make sure that he's doing everything ethically. I'm sure that he would. He has to make sure that everything he's doing is not in conflict with with whatever rules that the rules that we have in this in this building. But the the mere fact that he has spoken about about um his perception, he he didn't have he didn't have access to grand jury information.

[00:25:26]He didn't have access to witnesses. And so like like any prosecutor, I expect that that he will follow the facts and and those facts come from witnesses and and grand jury information. All right.

[00:25:37]Thanks a lot, guys. I appreciate it.

[00:25:38]>> One more quick one. All right, that is the update there coming from the DOJ and FBI director Cash Patel and a heavy moment there. A little back and forth between Cash Patel and a reporter uh all coming on that um report from the Atlantic uh where there was serious allegations that FBI director Cash Patel was drunk on the job numerous times. He has fought back on those allegations and has also entered into a $250 million lawsuit against that reporting as well.

[00:26:16]So that was some major news that we were hearing from that back and forth. And uh the news that led off this news conference though is that the US Department of Justice uh announces an indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center. It says, "Our indictment alleges that SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in funds to members of white supremacist and extremist groups."

[00:26:41]And we brought that to you right here as always on live now from Fox. Just like if you were in the Department of Justice hearing it for the first time, like the media just