Some Conservatives "Very Puckered Up" About California Grand Jury Looking Into Arizona-Based Political Groups; Koch Classic

The Daily Beast is reporting that a California grand jury is looking into the 2012 alleged campaign finance improprieties by three conservative campaign finance organizations - two of which are Arizona-based.

The Center to Protect Patient Rights and Americans for Responsible Leadership - run by Sean Noble, Arizona-based, and with ties to controversial conservative funders (Koch Industries and the Koch brothers) - are apparently under the grand jury microscope after being the subject of a California Supreme Court decision last fall.

The grand jury proceeding comes several months after the pre-election Fair Political Practices Commission inquiry (and court case).  ARL's announcement that the $11 million it had contributed to campaigns to opposed ballot measures in California spurred a lot of (unwanted) attention on the network of groups that seem to shuttle money around in order to shield the identity of the original contributors.

ARL also spent $1.5 million in 2012 successfully opposing two Arizona ballot measures - $975,000 opposing renewing the one-cent sales tax, and $575,000 defeating the top-two primary measure.

The Daily Beast reports that "the widening probe" has some "Koch allies" and conservative operatives worried, which one operative described as being "very puckered up."

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