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Apparent New Libertarian Graft — $90K Apparently to McArdle’s Boyfriend

Jake Porter of jakeporter.substack.com has revealed that in 2024 the LNC paid over $45,000 to a shell corporation belonging to Austin Padgett.  Austin Padgett is reportedly McArdle’s boyfriend and allegedly the father of her son. We summarize here his findings.

There is a record of direct and indirect financial transfers from the LNC, all seemingly to Austin Padgett.  From August 2023 to January 2024 Padgett received $32,465.38 directly from Libertarian Party coffers. In January 2024 these payments stopped. Soon thereafter, in February 2024 the Libertarian National Committee began paying Freedom Calls, LLC  for “Fundraising Expenses” including merchandise, advertising, software, and telemarketing.  Payments are dated from February 9, 2024 to November 21, 2024. Their total comes to $45,600.

Finally, in October and November 2024, Swing Vote Strategist was paid a total of $12,000 by the Kennedy Victory Fund.  The Kennedy Victory Fund is the Joint Fundraising Committee of which the LNC was the largest generator of money, so these are substantially libertarian funds.  Swing Vote Strategist appears to share an address with Angela McArdle’s Libertarian Unity PAC.

While the purposes of the expenditures are nominally appropriate for a political operation, a rationale for choosing a Padgett-operated  group to perform the services is inapparent.

The total of Libertarian funds directly to Padgett and to Padgett-incorporated companies comes to more than $90,000.

The payments from the Libertarian National Committee are covered by the LNC Policy Manual, an amendment passed in October 2023, which reads:

“Any proposed contracts or agreements for financial renumeration with a closely related party (legal relative, domestic partner, business associate) to a sitting LNC member or staff member shall be disclosed to the LNC prior to execution and shall be approved by a 2/3 vote of the Executive Committee or a majority vote of the LNC. This relation shall also be disclosed on the LNC’s member’s listing of potential conflicts of interest.”

LNC Minutes are now stored on a site to which your Editor does not currently have access.  However, to the best of my knowledge there have been no conflict-of-interest disclosures related to any of these payments.

Porter notes that Freedom Calls, LLC appears to have a web site, FreedomCalls.net, but the web site lists no telephone number or address.  Correspondingly, Porter reports that “we were unable to find any payments from any other federal candidates or committees other than the Libertarian National Committee to Freedom Calls.”

Readers should however note that in the USA there appear to be seven companies doing business as Freedom Calls, LLC.

Cast of Characters

Freedom Calls is a Delaware LLC.  The filing for Freedom Calls LLC is LNC1.jpg, identifying Padgett as the Incorporator.  Freedom Calls has as its Delaware Registered Agent the company Delaware Corporate Headquarters, LLC of Dover, Delaware.   Padgett was also the incorporator of Swing Vote Strategies LLC. The incorporation form is LNC2.jpg.   Like Freedom Calls, Swing Vote Strategies has as its location 8 The Grn, Suite A, its registered agent there being A Registered Agent, Inc.

Delaware Corporate Headquarters has as its business supporting groups incorporating in Delaware.  Delaware Corporate Headquarters, A Registered Agent, Inc., and Delaware Registered Agent appear to share a common address. Delaware Registered Agent says of their services:

“Delaware corporations (especially compared to other states) require little personal information on corporate filings. So, directors and shareholders can keep their personal information secure. When you sign up for our $29 local registered agent service, we’ll list our Delaware business address (not yours) on all public forms.”

They add:

“A corporation that maintains a corporate office in Delaware, but doesn’t do business in our state is exempt from paying the state corporate income tax. Delaware corporations that elect to be taxed as an S corporation are also not required to pay the corporate income tax.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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