Joaquin Castro was called 'dangerous' by Republicans for tweeting the names of Trump donors, but Democrats say people should be able to follow the money

AP / J. Scott Applewhite

• Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas is facing intense backlash from Republicans for tweeting out a list of the names and employers of top donors to President Donald Trump's campaign from the San Antonio area.
• Some Republicans called the move "shameful and dangerous," and Donald Trump Jr. compared Castro's tweet to a "shooter's list."
• A number of Republicans also alleged that if Trump or another GOP lawmaker had done what Castro did, they'd weather a storm of criticism from Democrats.
• Political donations are part of the public record and are regularly disclosed by the Federal Election Commission.
• INSIDER reached out to half a dozen prominent Democratic strategists and asked how a Democratic campaign would react if a Republican lawmaker tweeted out a list of the names and employers of top donors to that campaign. Only one was willing to go on the record.
• Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas became a lightning rod for Republican criticism this week after he tweeted out a list of the names and employers of 44 top donors from the San Antonio area to President Donald Trump's campaign.

"Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as 'invaders,'" Castro, who is running his twin brother Julian's presidential campaign, tweeted.

The congressman's tweet sparked immediate outrage from Republicans and Trump supporters, some of whom likened it to a hit list.

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"That list screams like the Dayton, Ohio, shooter's list," Donald Trump Jr. said on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday morning. "When a radical left-wing politician polling at about 0% does this either for attention or a call to action, it is pretty scary. That was same thing that the Dayton, Ohio shooter did. And people should be fed up with this nonsense."

Trump Jr. was referring to the suspected gunman who killed nine people, including the gunman's sister, and injured 27 others in a shooting rampage in the early hours of Sunday morning in Dayton's Oregon District.

Top GOP lawmakers also chimed in.

"Targeting and harassing Americans because of their political beliefs is shameful and dangerous," tweeted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. "What happened to 'when they go low, we go high?; Or does that no longer matter when your brother is polling at 1%? Americans deserve better."

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who was shot during congressional baseball practice in 2017, tweeted, "People should not be personally targeted for their political views. Period. This isn't a game. It's dangerous, and lives are at stake. I know this firsthand."

Political contributions are both protected speech and part of the public record

Castro defended himself on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday, saying political donations are part of the public record and are disclosed by the Federal Election Commission.

"That graphic lists people's names and many of them are business owners so they actually own those companies," Castro said. "These are prominent donors, most of them public figures, or many of them public figures. But their money is being taken and used to fuel these hateful ads and it has put millions of people in this country in fear."

The Supreme Court also ruled in Citizens United v. FEC that political contributions are a form of protected free speech.

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Abby Wood, a law professor and an expert on campaign finance disclosure, noted on Twitter that Republicans coming out against Castro's move "are not aligned with their voters on this issue."

"My research shows that self-ID'ed Republicans reward transparency and punish 'dark money', sometimes more than [Democrats]," Wood tweeted.

She added: "Think of the millions of contributions that happen each year in local, county, state, and federal elections, and now think about how many stories you've heard. None? Maybe one from Prop 8, 11 years ago? A handful?"

What if the shoe were on the other foot?

That said, many of the Republicans who were critical of Castro pointed out that had the shoe been on the other foot - if a Republican lawmaker did what Castro did - they'd be weathering a storm of criticism from Democrats and Trump critics.

INSIDER reached out to half a dozen prominent Democratic strategists and asked how a Democratic campaign would react if a Republican lawmaker tweeted out a list of the names and employers of top donors to that campaign. Only one was willing to go on the record.

"There seems to be a lot of faux outrage at the fact that the Congressman shared publicly available information on his Twitter feed," Ian Russell, a Democratic congressional strategist, told INSIDER. "Deciding to write a check to any federal candidate over the reporting threshold of $200 means one enters the public space, like it or not. While I can't speak to the point Castro was trying to make, he didn't reveal any information that wasn't already easily accessible. It's absurd to suggest that he's inciting harassment or violence."

Castro on Wednesday referenced Trump's incendiary rhetoric about immigrants, and how much of it was echoed in the racist manifesto posted online by a gunman who shot and killed 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend.

Trump's donors "need to understand what their money is going to," Castro said.

"I'm asking Brad Parscale, who is the campaign manager for Donald Trump … and other members of the Trump campaign, and President Trump himself, to commit to stop running ads about Hispanic invasion to this country," Castro said. "Stop running those ads which are creating fear and causing danger, literally putting people's lives in danger."