Justice Democrats PAC Paid $200K to Cofounders’ Consulting Firm

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The political action committee for Justice Democrats disbursed hundreds of thousands of dollars to a consulting firm that was co-launched by one of its own founders, Federal Election Commission filings show.

The Justice Democrats PAC, the committee that was instrumental in electing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y) into the House of Representatives, collected $820,000 in contributions during the first half of the year, its mid-year campaign records show. During this time, the PAC reported spending just south of $700,000.

The PAC's biggest beneficiary was Middle Seat Consulting, a digital firm that supports campaigns and groups focused on "racial justice, climate action, immigrant rights, intersectional feminism, economic justice, and more." Between Jan. 1 and June 30, the Justice Democrats PAC wrote checks totaling $205,151 to the firm for fundraising services.

Middle Seat Consulting was cofounded in early 2017 by Zack Exley, a former senior adviser for Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign. Exley is also cofounder of the Justice Democrats alongside Saikat Chakrabarti, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff until last Friday, who worked with Exley on Sanders's campaign, YouTube host Cenk Yugar, and left-wing talk radio host Kyle Kulinski.