FireAid Funneled Cash to Podcasters, Illegals and Fungus Planting

“Top Gun: Maverick” actor Miles Teller shared an emotional promise during last year’s FireAid benefit concert.

“All of the money raised will go directly to people who need it now.”

Early reports suggested that was hardly the case. Last September, The New York Post revealed that of the $100 million raised by musicians such as Joni Mitchell, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Billie Joe Armstrong and more, some of the funds went to nonprofits with very little connection to fire safety or reparations.

Think:

• The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation
• Podcasters discussing the wildfires
• Sanitizing pre-schools
• NAACP Pasadena
• My Tribe Rise
• The CA Native Vote Project
• The Los Angeles Black Worker Center

Now, Rep. Jim Jordan has released a scathing update on the FireAid money matter.

The Ohio Republican’s assessment confirms that some of the money in question didn’t go directly to the victims of last year’s Palisades fire as promised.

Hardly.

When confronted with the fact that FireAid did not directly provide the donated funds to those affected, FireAid stated that it “does not have the capability to make direct payments to individuals and that was never the plan. We partnered with trusted local non-profits . . . to reach communities in need.” Although this after-the-fact rationalization does not square with FireAid’s earlier commitment that “all” donations “will go directly” to victims, FireAid later asserted that the $100 million in donations “ha[s] been designated for direct relief and will not be used for administrative purposes.” New information obtained by the Committee suggests that this assertion, too, is false and that funds raised for fire victims have been used for purposes wholly unrelated to fire relief—direct or otherwise.

The report recalls that an independent investigation, sparked by FireAid, found nothing untoward about FireAid’s financial disbursement. That element of the story was prominently featured on Legacy Media articles tied to the matter, essentially declaring the story over.

Team Jordan disagrees.

However, based on internal documents reviewed by the Committee, instead of helping fire victims, donations made to FireAid helped to fund causes and projects completely unrelated to fire recovery, including voter participation for Native Americans, illegal aliens, podcast shows, and fungus planting [emphasis added].

To be fair, fungus can be used to rob potential fuel for future forest fires. So can voting for politicians who don’t squander natural resources and otherwise make raging fires worse.

But we digress.

In one section of the report, Jordan’s team shows how funds went toward illegal immigrants. And it wasn’t accidental.

FireAid prioritized and awarded grants to illegal aliens. According to internal documents, as of June 30, 2025, a group known as Community Organized Relief Efforts (CORE) received $250,000 from FireAid.24 CORE’s mission is to “empower communities in and beyond crisis” and its vision is to build a “more equitable world in which underserved communities are prepared and can effectively respond to crisis from within.” A grant report dated February 2025 included a list of CORE’s “priority groups” that it wanted to help with money it received from FireAid. Among those priority groups were “Undocumented Migrants” because “this group is at high risk of housing instability, economic hardship, exploitation, and homelessness.”

The House Committee report also says some funds when to “pay salaries and bonuses for those working at non-profits and other organizations.”

The corrupt Legacy Media has mostly ignored this FireAid money update. Enter “FireAid” into Google News, and you’ll find fresh reports from the LA Times and CBS News.

That’s it.

The CBS News article includes this farcical update.

Over the past year, CBS LA has examined many of the nonprofits that received funds, including animal shelters, food banks, and child care centers, each of which said FireAid delivered on its promises and helped make a difference for victims in the aftermath.

Is that what The CA Native Vote Project said? It’s akin to Legacy Media outlets “debunking” Nick Shirley’s viral investigation of Minnesota daycare centers by asking said centers if they were corrupt.

“Nope!”

Moving on …

Critics of the House Committee report claimed it was partisan in nature. That doesn’t dispute the curious nature of the money dispersion.

Billy Crystal was one of the leading figures who appeared at FireAid. His emotional testimony over losing his home of more than 40 years was heartbreaking.

Will any Legacy Media reporter ask Crystal if he agrees that some of the FireAid money should have gone to voter registration groups or other unrelated causes?

We all know the answer to that question.