Fox News Flash top headlines for March 16
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A Huffington Post report claimed a leading dog rescue charity is "funneling" cash to former President Donald Trump, but the group that aims to save 5,000 dogs every year said the "false" hit piece will result in dead dogs over what it claims is a misleading report.
"This has without a doubt hurt us and it will cost the lives of innocent dogs that really need our help," Big Dog Ranch Rescue founder and president Lauree Simmons told Fox News.
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The Huffington Post published a report headlined, "Dog Rescue Charity Linked To Lara Trump Funneling Money Into Donald Trump’s Pocket," that claimed Big Dog Ranch Rescue is essentially padding the former president’s bank account because Lara Trump is a chairwoman of the South Florida charity that hosts events at Mar-a-Lago.
The piece was written by S.V. Date, a liberal reporter who recently wrote a book titled, "The Useful Idiot: How Donald Trump killed the Republican Party with racism and the rest of us with coronavirus." The story painted Big Dog Ranch Rescue in such a negative light that donors are distancing themselves from the charity.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue founder and president Lauree Simmons. (Lauree Simmons)
"My heart breaks at the dogs we’ll lose because a left-wing political fiction writer, with a new book out against President Trump, chose to use our Big Dog Ranch Rescue as a sacrificial lamb to accomplish his headline-grabbing goal," Simmons said. "Everything the Huffington Post stated is false and their facts are all wrong."
HuffPost stands by Date’s reporting despite the scathing rhetoric from Simmons.
"Ms. Simmons still has not disputed to HuffPost that Big Dog Ranch Rescue has spent as much as $1.9 million at Mar-a-Lago over the last seven years, or why her own official filing states that the organization spent $225,000 on the fundraiser there this weekend. We stand unequivocally behind S.V.'s reporting,’ a HuffPost spokesperson told Fox News.
Big Dog Ranch spokesperson Chase Scott disputed that claim and said he has contacted the HuffPost multiple times to inform them that the numbers are inaccurate.
"The story is a complete work of fiction," Scott said.
The HuffPost reported the charity "has spent as much as $1.9 million" at Trump properties over the past eight years, citing Internal Revenue Service filings. Simmons said Big Dog Ranch Rescue has actually paid "under $700,000" to Mar-a-Lago over the past eight years while raising over $7 million at events held at Trump’s property.
HuffPost reporting was cited by Esquire, the Guardian and other media outlets. As a result, Simmons said donors have ditched the charity and her staff has been flooded with "nasty, hateful phone calls" since the HuffPost article was published. She feels the HuffPost report "puts doubt in donors’ minds" and the rescue group is already feeling the impact.
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"We’ve had a lot of people cancel. One of them had set up a donation for $10,000 a year for 10 years in honor of his wife and because of reading this article and the false narrative they spread as to where our dollars go to, he’s canceled that," Simmons said.
Simmons said Big Dog Ranch Rescue has held events at Mar-a-Lago for eight years, dating back to when Trump was a reality TV star and real estate mogul. She said the Mar-a-Lago staff has been supportive of her cause and the club has even worked to give the charity a discounted rate.
"We don’t promote any political party or agenda," Simmons said, noting she refused to move her events because of political pressure in the past.
"That would be political, if we moved from a venue that has been so good to us," she said, noting that Mar-a-Lago charges substantially lower than the non-profit event average for similar charities at other venues.
The HuffPost largely focused its vitriol on Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law who serves as an honorary chair, but Big Dog Ranch Rescue insists she’s not profiting off the relationship.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue started holding events at Trump properties in 2014 and Lara Trump didn’t become involved with the charity until 2018.
"Lara Trump has been a lifelong animal advocate and helped to ban greyhound racing in Florida as well as working to pass the first federal animal anti-cruelty law in U.S. History signed by President Trump in 2019. That is why she our honorary chair, because her work has helped to save animals. Lara has never received even ONE DOLLAR from Big Dog Ranch and gives her time for free," Big Dog Ranch Rescue said in a statement. "She bought her own plane tickets for the event and then donated her own money at the fundraiser to help further our mission to save as many dogs as possible. Our events team selects our fundraising venues and we have been holding our fashion show at The Mar-a-Lago Club for 8 years, prior to Lara's participation which began in 2018."
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The HuffPost also reported that a recent event the group held at Mar-a-Lago would cost an estimated $225,000, but Simmons said the bill was significantly less..
"That’s another false statement ... Our total event cost paid to Mar-a-Lago was under $100,000," Simmons said. "They just lied. They didn’t call anybody to fact-check this… we raised $1.4 million and Mar-a-Lago was paid for their services."
Big Dog Ranch Rescue saves roughly 5,000 dogs each year from distressed situations including removing dogs from high-kill shelters and finding permanent homes for dogs that are displaced during natural disasters. The dogs are brought to the ranch, treated by veterinarians, nursed back to health and rehabilitate them before adopting them out to "loving forever homes."
Simmons said the ranch also saves stray dogs that have become a problem in Puerto Rico, removes animals from the China dog meat trade and even helps trains dogs for veterans suffering from PTSD.
"They’re not only costing dog’s lives, they’re costing funds with their cancel culture that will take away from funds that will train dogs for veterans. We’re global, we go where we’re needed most," she said. "Slander and false statements are misleading our donors and the public. It just tears me up to think of the donations we will lose."
Simmons founded Big Dog Ranch Rescue in 2008 and said it has since saved more than 47,000 dogs as the largest no-kill, cage-free rescue in the United States.
Former President Trump made a surprise appearance at the Big Dog Ranch Rescue’s event held at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, praising both Lara Trump and the charity’s mission itself.
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"I didn't exactly prepare for this," Trump told attendees, saying that he had been walking by and heard people yelling. "But I was walking by and I hear everybody screaming in the ballroom and I said ‘what’s going on?’ and they said ‘we’re going to help dogs’ and that’s OK with me … what you're doing is so important and so great, and so important and I'm with you 100 percent."
Simmons said she’s a conservative who supported Trump but keeps her personal politics far away from Big Dog Ranch Rescue.
"It makes me sad the world has come to this. The ranch is apolitical but I have the right to believe what I believe," she said. "I will not be bullied. I refuse to be canceled and I’m going to continue saving dogs."
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report
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