Report: George Soros Group “Open Society” Spent Over $70 Million Lobbying Since Trump Took Office

Here's more, from The Free Beacon:

The Open Society Policy Center (OSPC), an advocacy group funded by billionaire George Soros, has now pushed more than $70 million into lobbying efforts since Donald Trump took office.

Soros's policy group, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that focuses on domestic and international advocacy, pushed $72 million into lobbying since January 2017. The amount that OSPC has put toward advocacy efforts over the last two-and-a-half years is a drastic uptick over what the group had spent in the prior 14 years combined.

From 2002 to 2016, OSPC reported spending a total of $56.65 million, which averages out to $4 million per year with most of this money going toward efforts over a four-year period from 2012 to 2016. Since Trump was sworn into office, the group has averaged $25 million per year in lobbying-related expenditures.

Soros's group has both in-house lobbyists and provides grants to other liberal organizations for their own lobbying activities. The group reported spending $15.89 million throughout the third quarter, its filings show. The money in part went to its own lobbyists pushing issues on Capitol Hill in relation to the 2020 Senate Department of Defense Appropriations Act, National Defense Authorization Act and State and Foreign Operations Appropriations, and issues pertaining to the Arms Export Control Act and War Powers Act. OSPC lobbied both the House of Representatives and Senate over the last three months.

OSPC has now spent $24.41 million this year, an amount that is in line with its record from last year. Throughout 2018, the group dropped $31.5 million into lobbying and was among the top three lobbyist spenders ahead of the likes of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Alphabet Inc., Boeing, Comcast, and Amazon, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Its 2018 advocacy money was increased by $15.3 million over the $16.2 million the group had spent in 2017, its previous record year.

OANN also said:

An advocacy group funded by billionaire George Soros is ramping up its lobbying efforts in the age of President Trump. Friday reports showed the Open Society Policy Center (OSPC) spent more than $72 million since January of 2017.

The 501(c)(4) nonprofit uses its resources to advocate for different domestic and international policies. However, the recent increase in spending was dramatic. From 2002 to 2016, the organization spent nearly $4 million per year. That number has skyrocketed since President Trump took office. The group now spends an average of $25 million per year. At this rate of spending, it doesn’t look like the figure will decrease ahead of 2020.

Soros has been open in his opposition to the Trump administration. On Friday, he expressed support for 2020 hopeful Elizabeth Warren and her campaign promises. He added the Massachusetts senator is the “one to beat” and said he believes President Trump is a danger to the world.

In a rare interview, Soros recently told The New York Times that he is "very proud of the enemies" he has and believes Trump "is an abberation" who will be beaten by Elizabeth Warren in 2020. 

From NYT:

George Soros is a billionaire philanthropist, a former currency trader, a liberal champion and — in certain circles — a boogeyman. That last label seems to be a badge of honor.

“I’m very proud of the enemies I have,” he said in an interview in his apartment on New York’s Upper East Side. “It’s a perfect way to tell a dictator or a would-be dictator if he identifies me as an enemy.” 

The list of people who do seem to think of Mr. Soros as an enemy includes President Trump and his personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, the government of China, and an uncountable number of conspiracy theorists. 

Their objections to Mr. Soros, 89, stem from his backing of liberal causes and super PACs that opposed Mr. Trump and supported Democratic candidates like Hillary Clinton, and his Open Society Foundation, which, funded by his billions, has supported democracy and human rights in some 120 countries, often opposing autocratic regimes. 

There’s also a substantial amount of anti-Semitism directed toward Mr. Soros, who was born into a Jewish family in Hungary. 

Having just published a collection of essays this week, called “In Defense of Open Society,” he acknowledged that his brand of “globalism” — which he takes to mean an integrated, global economy underpinned by the rule of law — is out of favor amid Mr. Trump’s “America First” approach, the trade war, the debate over Brexit and escalating fighting in the Middle East.

Looking out a window with expansive views of Central Park, Mr. Soros spoke about China, Mr. Trump and who he thinks will face off against the president in next year’s election. 

Notably, Mr. Soros is convinced that the arc of history may soon turn back his way, that Mr. Trump’s election and Brexit were the nadir of anti-globalism and that a backlash to that nationalism is coming.

“Trump is still doing a tremendous amount of damage,” he said, lifting himself up a bit in his desk chair. “I mean, just the last week what he has done in the Middle East has been devastating for America’s influence in the world,” he said, referring to the withdrawal of American troops from Syria. 

Mr. Trump “is an aberration, and he is clearly putting his personal interests ahead of the national interests,” he said. “That’s a fact.” 

His face brightening, he said: “I think it will contribute to his demise next year. So I am slightly predicting that things will turn around.”

Mr. Soros’s bet is that Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts will become the Democratic nominee to compete against Mr. Trump.

 “She has emerged as the clear-cut person to beat,” he said. “I don’t take a public stance, but I do believe that she is the most qualified to be president.”