A right-wing nonprofit organization known for its criticism of Democrats paid acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker nearly $1 million from 2016 through nearly the end of 2017.
The revelation was made public in Whitaker’s public financial disclosures, which were released Tuesday by the Justice Department.
Several news outlets, including the Associated Press and CNN, as well as outside groups like American Oversight, had requested the documents.
[Read more: Ethics watchdogs and Trump critics pounce on ‘very sketchy’ release of Matthew Whitaker’s financial disclosure forms]
Whitaker was appointed chief of staff to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in early 2017, but was elevated to the top job after Sessions’ ouster earlier this month.
The documents are usually released within a day or so of a request, though documents show Whitaker was revising the forms as late as Tuesday.
The $904,000 in income last year came from the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, where he worked as an executive director from October 2014 to September 2017.
Whitaker also earned $103,400 from his self-named law and consulting firm headquartered in Iowa.
Whitaker listed making $15,000 in consulting fees from CNN, $1,750 in consulting fees from American Trust Bank, and $1,875 in legal fees from World Patent Marketing.
The Federal Trade Commission shut down World Patent Marketing in May and agreed to pay a settlement of more than $25 million. Congressional Democrats have since opened an investigation into the Florida “scam” company.
A Justice Department spokeswoman has previously said, “Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker has said he was not aware of any fraudulent activity.”
American Oversight executive director Austin Evers slammed the time it took the forms to be available.
“These forms should have been immediately available upon request, and instead acting Attorney General Whitaker appears to have spent the past two weeks revising his financial disclosures multiple times, including today. Congress should demand every version of this form to find out exactly what financial details Whitaker added or removed from his disclosures before releasing them to the public,” Evers said in a statement.
Before becoming chief of staff to Sessions, Whitaker worked as director of FACT, a conservative nonprofit ogranization whose website said it provides accountability, ethics, and transparency “by hanging a lantern over public officials who put their own interests over the interests of the public good.”
The forms show that from Jan. 1 to Sept. 14, 2017, Whitaker was paid $502,000. The year prior, he was paid 402,000 in 2016, tax filings from FACT shows.
FACT received a $1 million contribution in 2017 from a single donor whose identity is not publicly disclosed on its tax return.
Before joining the Justice Department, Whitaker reported providing legal services to a handful of clients, including Nebraska Beef; Mujo Becirovic of Des Moines, Iowa; Dan Sullivan of Dallas, Texas; and Mike Pieper of Keokuk, Iowa.
Democratic lawmakers and critics have separately raised questions about whether Whitaker can constitutionally hold the acting attorney general position, because he has not been confirmed by the Senate.
They have also been concerned that Whitaker, now in charge of oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller, will seek to interfere with the investigation.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to probe communications between Whitaker and the White House.
