Activist Who Secretly Taped McConnell Campaign Starts Legal Defense Fund

One of the former Progress Kentucky activists accused of secretly taping Senator Mitch McConnell’s campaign headquarters has started a legal defense fund on a fundraising website.

Curtis Morrison created the legal defense fund at gofundme.com and is hoping to raise $10,000. At the time of this article, Morrison had raised $665 through contributions from 23 people. The use of a such a highly visible fundraising tool gives Morrison’s actions a public show of support, assuming he is able to meet his goal.

“Recently there was release of a recording illustrating Sen. Mitch McConnell’s ‘Whack-A-Mole’-style approach to politics that illustrates McConnell’s insensitivity to those of us who speak freely about our religious beliefs and/or who suffer from depression or mental illness,” Morrison writes on his fundraising page.

Those who contribute are given the option to append a comment to their donation.

“Every little bit counts!,” writes one contributor who gave $25. “Thanks for exposing the the “real” character of McConnell! Wish Ashley Judd would reconsider!”

Another contributor who gave $25 simply wrote, “Thank you for your courage.”

Last week a member of the Jefferson County Democratic Party named Morrison and Shawn Reilly, both activists with Progress Kentucky, as the people behind the secret recording of the McConnell campaign leaked to Mother Jones. The tape caught members of the campaign discussing how to campaign against Ashley Judd were she to run against McConnell. She ultimately chose not to.

Reilly is the executive director of Progress Kentucky, a progressive super PAC. His lawyer, Ted Shouse, told Talking Points Memo that Reilly was merely a witness to the incident. He is reportedly helping federal officials in their investigation and their efforts to find Morrison.

Morrison volunteered for Progress Kentucky as a blogger, making it less of a surprise that he would turn to an online resource to fund his legal defense against accusations that he secretly taped McConnell’s campaign headquarters.