Reportedly in 2018, troubled military contractor Erik Prince helped raise funds for a conservative conspiracy by a pal and British ex-spy to gather information on former president Donald Trump’s political opponents.
Prince, the founder of private security business Blackwater and a known soldier of fortune, tried to sell Susan Gore, heir to the Gore-Tex fortune, on his friend Richard Seddon’s proposed espionage operation.
According to a recent article in The New York Times, Gore eventually became the venture’s primary sponsor.
The Times had previously reported that Prince had assisted in recruiting former spies, including Seddon, for a Project Veritas effort to infiltrate left-wing organisations.
But had not previously acknowledged Prince’s involvement as a fundraiser in Seddon’s independent scheme.
Seddon was able to successfully expand his espionage ring from Wyoming to Colorado and Arizona over the period of two years; however, it is unknown how many other people Prince approached besides Gore.
The Revelations Illustrate the Effort by Some Ultraconservative Republicans
The newspaper pointed out that the disclosures show how some ultraconservative Republicans have tried to use spy tactics to influence politics in the United States.
Seddon’s role as an unofficial consultant to Trump administration officials is also revealed in the report, showing that there were linkages between those efforts and the administration.
According to the Times, it is unclear how many possible donors Prince contacted for the spy project beyond Gore.
In spite of this, the newspaper was told by three sources that Gore had tried and failed to raise money from Wyoming industrialist and billionaire Foster Friess for the operation.
Gore reportedly met with Friess in January 2019 in an attempt to borrow money from him. In addition, the enterprise allegedly received thousands of dollars in fake Democratic political contributions.
Prince Attracted Attention During Blackwater Contractors Case
In 2007, when Blackwater contractors killed 17 civilians in Iraq, Prince, a former Navy SEAL, gained global notice.
He has also been accused of establishing a back channel communications contact with the Russian government and breaching arms embargoes in Somalia and Libya.
The U.S. was attempting to evacuate all employees from Kabul at the time, and he made headlines in August when allegations arose that he was offering to fly people out of the city for $6,500 each.
Conclusion
In the context of our contemporary democratic system, Erik Prince represents a free-floating haint. He has been peripherally involved in most of the international conservative ratfcking demimonde’s actions.
It’s surprising that more countries aren’t jostling to capture him because of all the shady business he’s done here and around the world.
On the other hand, Prince also engaged in more complex and potentially lethal games, as revealed by the New York Times on Tuesday.
