Conservative commentator Steve Bannon and author Matt Palumbo discussed ongoing federal investigations into the Open Society Foundation (OSF) and its alleged funding of violent organizations during a recent broadcast.
The conversation centered on reports that the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are probing OSF for potential money laundering and terrorist financing activities.
Bannon opened the segment by praising Palumbo’s investigative work into the Soros network.
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“You wrote this amazing book on Soros. I still think the best book on Soros written and immediately told me, said, Hey, I’m going after the kid because he’s the devil’s spawn. It may actually be bigger than the old man,” Bannon said.
“Where do we stand with this now? The shocking because, hey, the Treasury Department’s got their terrorist financing group up on money laundering and terrorist financing and the IRS simultaneously. It’s a pincer move from Scott Besson. And you can tell how important this is, because the mainstream media is in total meltdown of this probably more than anything else they’re dealing with.”
Palumbo, who has authored multiple books analyzing left-wing networks, responded by detailing what he described as OSF’s efforts to obscure its activities through multiple layers of funding.
“Well, good morning, guys. Thanks for having me on. Alex and the OSF clearly are afraid. They’re in defense mode. You know, in their press releases, they’re saying they didn’t knowingly fund any violent groups, and I think the word knowingly is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in that sentence,” Palumbo said.
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He continued, “But it’s also irrelevant. You know, they’re arguing that, oh, we’re not directly paying people to do violence. Doesn’t mean anything if groups have a record of doing violence. You know, the analogy I’ve given is they will hand gasoline and matches to an arsonist to then say, well, we couldn’t have possibly known was going to go on there.”
Palumbo referenced a report from the Capitol Research Center, which profiles politically active nonprofit organizations, and said the report documented millions in funding tied to violent groups.
“Alex cited a New York Times article that made that exact argument, and they had claimed that a recent report from the Capitol Research Center, which does profiles on left wing groups, had made that exact claim. There’s no evidence of any direct funding. And, you know, I read the report, and I’ll read directly from it, the Open Society Foundation, since 2016 gave $80 million to pro terror groups,” Palumbo said.
He further alleged that those funds were connected to organizations supporting propaganda for groups like Hamas or providing legal defense for protesters.
“And this is what we plan groups that are themselves going out and committing acts of violence, or are making light of violence, doing propaganda for groups like Hamas to downplay their atrocities, or providing legal aid, you know, free legal aid to these protesters,” he said.
Palumbo also claimed that OSF used environmental activism as a front for broader left-wing causes.
“We talked in the last show, how Alex had used environmentalist groups sort of as a front for other left wing causes, and that he had authorized over 438 million in new spending to environmental groups ever since he took over. But that’s only a small percentage of what they actually do,” Palumbo explained.
“They’re sort of a catch all for left wing activism, and a lot of the Palestinian groups he funded are in that pro terror category.”
He argued that these groups disguise anti-American activism behind humanitarian messaging.
“Regardless of your position on the Israel-Palestine conflict, even if you are you know someone on the right who is more sympathetic to the Palestinians, it’s no doubt that these left wing groups are really anti American groups, and that is just their front issue,” Palumbo said.
Palumbo claimed OSF’s funding structure is designed to obscure accountability.
“There are a number of groups that are set up basically to give plausible deniability. They are in this sort of funds, of funds category, well, where he will give $10 million to a group, and I’ll go through those social media, their YouTube, their website, there is no activity, no press releases, no news of everything that anything they’re doing, but they present themselves as active groups,” Palumbo said.
“And then you go through their financials, their public statements, and all their operations are giving money to other groups. And then you know, their expenses will be 100 bucks a year. It’s just things that don’t add up, and it’s to give. He is layering the funds so that you cannot, in those cases, directly link him to anything.”
He concluded by contrasting Alex Soros’s methods with those used by his father.
“His father had done this with the Tides Foundation for forever, basically, or the rock, you know, the Rockefeller groups. But his son is doing it to a much greater degree,” Palumbo said.
The discussion comes as scrutiny intensifies around the global network of organizations tied to the Open Society Foundation.
Bannon emphasized that the Treasury and IRS investigations could mark a turning point in exposing financial operations linked to political activism and foreign influence, calling the developments “a pincer move” that could have far-reaching implications.
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