FIRST ON FOX: Before federal charges put ex-Southern Poverty Law Center official Heidi Beirich at the center of efforts to allegedly pay White supremacist informants, the left-wing Center for American Progress (CAP) hosted and praised her as an expert on extremism in the U.S.during a 2018 event.Neera Tanden, the CEO of CAP and a longtime Democratic operative who has worked for multiple Democratic presidents, including former President Joe Biden, described Beirich as among the "terrific leaders who are dedicating themselves to fighting the spread of extremism and speech online."The praise, however, took on a new light on Wednesday as reports emerged that Beirich is now facing charges of wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to conceal money laundering.SPLC FACES BLOWBACK FROM ‘HATE MAP’ TARGETS AFTER DOJ FRAUD INDICTMENTOffice of Management and Budget nominee Neera Tanden speaks after US President-elect Joe Biden announced his economic team at The Queen Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 1, 2020.
(Photo by Chandan KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)One of the most explosive allegations centers on a source identified as "F-9," whom prosecutors say infiltrated the neo-Nazi National Alliance and received more than $1.2 million from the SPLC during the period covered by the indictment.Prosecutors allege Beirich oversaw payments to F-9 while also having a romantic relationship with him, with the pair sharing a home and two bank accounts.Other figures at CAP in 2018 praised Beirich for her detailed work with hate groups, including Henry Fernandez, then a senior fellow with CAP.
He described the effort as "the leading organization that identifies hate groups in the country.""She is really probably the nation’s foremost expert on various forms of extremism, including the white supremacist, nativist and neo-confederate movements as...