Erik Prince raised funding for effort to spy on Democratic, progressive, and anti-Trump GOPers

Erik Prince, an ally to former President Donald Trump and the former CEO of a security firm previously named Blackwater, reportedly helped raise funding for an effort designed to surveil Democratic, progressive and anti-Trump Republican candidates head of the 2018 midterm elections.

On Tuesday, February 8, The New York Times released a report consisting of documents and interviews that detailed Prince's role in the surveillance effort. Prince reportedly conducted a meeting with British spy Richard Seddon as they allegedly worked to dig up incriminating information on opposing politicians across multiple states.

Since Seddon previously served as an unofficial advisor to Trump administration advisors, the report sheds light on the connection between the Trump administration and the spy effort.

The report also reveals Susan Gore, founder of the right-wing organization, Wyoming Liberty Group and heir to the Gore-Tex waterproof brand, had become the main financial supporter of the effort.

Per NY Times:

"Mr. Prince took on the role of celebrity pitchman, according to interviews and documents, raising money for Mr. Seddon’s spying operation, which was aimed at gathering dirt that could discredit politicians and activists in several states. After Mr. Prince and Mr. Seddon met in August 2018 with Susan Gore, a Wyoming heiress to the Gore-Tex fortune, Ms. Gore became the project’s main benefactor."

The group reportedly developed a plan to begin their efforts in Gore's home state of Wyoming and eventually expand to more states including Arizona and Colorado.

Former Wyoming lawmaker Marti Halverson also provided the group with a shortlist of specific targets that they'd planned to surveil. Those individuals include: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R), who is referred to as a RINO; John Cox, who previously served as the director of Wyoming's Department of Workforce Service; and Scott Talbott, the former director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Read the full report at the Times.