What most political observers would consider an archenemy relationship, billionaires George Soros and Charles Koch have unofficially joined forces to advance criminal justice reform.
Koch told a publication about his experience in 2000 when his company was indicted on 97 counts of environmental crimes.
Koch Industries fought the charges and all but one charge was dropped but ended in a settlement.
The battle clearly came at a significant expense to the company which led to Charles Koch wondering how the “little guy” is able to fight the system.
Those who have engaged in civil or criminal legal battles can attest to the inaccessibility of the court, expense of attorneys and fees and a general lack of ability to convey the true spirit of an argument in court.
Koch and Soros have setout to change that by making charitable donations to organizations that advance criminal justice reform.
Charles Koch and his brother David recently sponsored a forum on the top and plan on increasing engagement on the issue in 2015.
Over the next year, we are going to be pushing the issues key to this, which need a lot of work in this country,” Koch told the Wichita Eagle. “And that would be freedom of speech, cronyism and how that relates to opportunities for the disadvantaged.”
The publication also reported that the Kochs have teamed up with George Soros and the ACLU on the issue.
While the Kochs are known for the political donations and influence, they are also one of the largest donors to cancer research in America having donated over $200 million toward that cause.
The brothers also support education and the arts with over $200 million in contributions in those areas as well.
