The ad, titled"John Arnold: Fount of Bad Ideas," was released Wednesday by Americans for Limited Government. It tells viewers to"watch out" for Arnold, who, through his limited liability corporation Arnold Ventures, has steered millions toward those pushing left-leaning bail reform in New York and The National Academy for State Health Policy, a healthcare group that calls itself"nonpartisan" but supports left-leaning policies.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a 2019 law that stripped cash bail for most nonviolent felony and misdemeanor charges — but critics have charged that the law led to a crime surge in the Empire State. Since 2016, Arnold Ventures has donated over $13 million to the Vera Justice Institute, a left-wing nonprofit group that supported the 2019 Cuomo law.
Arnold Ventures also donated over $2 million to the Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal group that defended Cuomo's bail reform law amid critics slamming it for the state's violent crime uptick. The Brennan Center for Justice, a liberal nonprofit group and public policy institute, received at least $1.6 million from Arnold Ventures. The center has similarly defended the Cuomo law.