Veterans for a Strong America (VSA) is a conservative[5][6]political action committee that describes itself as a "non-partisan action organization dedicated to educating the public, members of Congress and the Executive Branch about a strong national defense, robust foreign policy and building a military that is second to none."[7][8] The group was founded by Joel Arends of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who is also the chairman and sole staffer of the group.[9][10] Arends is an attorney and political consultant in Sioux Falls, where the organization is based.[11] He previously worked as the South Dakota field director for the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign and as a consultant to the Americans for Prosperity group, affiliated with the Koch brothers.[8] VSA has been described as a dark money group.[12][13]
Veterans for a Strong America is part of a "broader independent campaign by nonprofits linked to former Koch brothers operative Sean Noble," who runs the political consulting firm DC London.[14] The group was formerly registered as a tax-exempt501(c)(4) ("social welfare") non-profit organization,[6][8] but the group's status was automatically revoked by the IRS[2] in August 2015[11] because it failed to submit tax reporting documents (Form 990s) for three years in a row.[7][8][10] The group is appealing the decision.[11]
"Veterans for a Strong America has a history of bombastic advertisements linked to outlandish plans and fundraising appeals."[14] In 2012, the group ran an advertisement, produced by DC London, which claimed that President Barack Obama had taken too much credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden.[14] At the time, Arends "declared that the 'swift boating' of the president had begun."[14] The effort was largely ineffective, and the group spent $750,000, a relatively small amount, on direct attack ads against Obama.[14]
In May 2014, VSA released an attack advertisement against Arizona businesswoman Christine Jones, who was running against Arizona State TreasurerDoug Ducey in the Republican primary for Arizona gubernatorial election.[14] The ad invoked the 2012 Benghazi attack and attacked Jones for "once writing kind words about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton."[14] Jones' campaign criticized the ad as the "act of a desperate, fledgling campaign and their dark money allies who feel the need to go to this absurd association."[14] The ad was also produced by Nobel's DC London, which Arends called "a great partner to our organization."[14]
The group's endorsement of Trump raised campaign finance questions as corporations are restricted to donating up to US$2,700 to a campaign; estimated event costs of US$11,000 paid by the VSA exceeded that amount,[2] although there is no substantive evidence that "contribution limits or other campaign laws were broken."[7] Other concerns raised include reports that the group does not appear to have any members or any relation with veterans.[10]
According to CNN, the group "sounds like a charity" despite having its tax-exempt status revoked.[11] The group claimed in a press release to have more than a half-million supporters, but a CNN investigative report "found scant evidence that Veterans for a Strong America has the supporters it says it does" and stated that "outside of Arends, CNN has found it difficult to find anyone with a direct link to the group."[11]Nonprofit Quarterly referred to the group as a "fake vet nonprofit."[8]
The VSA rose to notoriety in September 2015, after the Trump event. Attendees reportedly paid between $100 and $1,000 to attend the event.[11] The group issued a statement denying that the group had violated election law by organizing the event.[11] In an interview in September 2015, Arends said he was confident that the event was legal,[16] while acknowledging that the group's tax-exempt nonprofit status had been revoked, but said that these problems predated his tenure with the group, as well as the current board of directors.[16] Arends said that the group had disbanded in 2012 and was restarted by him in 2014.[16] Arends said that the "liberal media" was out to get his group[16] and that it was being attacked because they are endorsing Trump.[17]KSFY-TV reported that "Arends says he works in tandem with six volunteer board members and that he has a database of more than 500,000 members who have contacted the organization."[17]
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