Cliff Maloney
CAA paid him $195K in 2024. CAA paid Virginia state delegate Nicholas Freitas $161K. CAA's PAC arm is 72%-funded by a Pennsylvania gambling-machine company. Maloney was fired from YAL in January 2021.
Who he is
Cliff Maloney runs Citizens Alliance of America, a pair of Fairfax, Virginia nonprofits (a 501(c)(3) Foundation and a 501(c)(4) Action arm) with combined 2024 revenue of about $6.6 million. He also owns Mobilize the Message LLC, a Florida-based political-consulting firm that takes in CAA’s vendor work. CAA’s Idaho state affiliate, Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC, was the largest single source of out-of-state campaign money in Idaho’s 2024 Republican primaries.
His prior job, until January 2021, was President of Young Americans for Liberty.
What CAA pays him
The 2024 IRS Form 990 filings for CAA’s two entities list officer compensation. Maloney’s pay across the related organizations:
- 2021: $167,500 + $2,152 other
- 2022: $200,000 + $13,718 other
- 2023: $238,000 + $12,475 other
- 2024: $195,000 + $13,133 other
The same 990s show $161,000 paid to Nicholas Freitas, a sitting Virginia state delegate (Republican) and former U.S. House candidate, listed as host of “The Why Minutes.” Other 2024 compensation: Justin Greiss (COO and co-founder) at $163,573, Shelby Smith (VP of Development) at $140,377, Nicholas Hamilton (Digital Content Manager) at $101,000.
IRS FORM 990 — 2024
CAA Action Inc (501c4, EIN 87-1174297) and CAA Foundation Inc (501c3, EIN 87-1153501) reported combined 2024 revenue of $6,572,000 and combined expenses of $6,275,919. Cliff Maloney drew $195,000 in salary plus $13,133 in other compensation. Sitting Virginia state delegate Nicholas Freitas drew $161,000.
The YAL termination, January 2021
The board of Young Americans for Liberty placed President Cliff Maloney and Vice President Justin Greiss on administrative leave in January 2021 after multiple women, some of them former YAL staffers, came forward with sexual-harassment and assault allegations from YAL events. The accusations surfaced through a “#YALtoo” hashtag modeled on #MeToo. Within days, Maloney was fired. The same month, Greiss was forced out.
Reason, InsideSources, PJ Media, and Heartland News all covered the firings in January 2021. Maloney was later acquitted on the criminal charges and related charges were dismissed.
Later that year, Maloney and Greiss co-founded Citizens Alliance of America in Fairfax, Virginia.
PRIMARY SOURCE
Cliff Maloney was terminated as President of Young Americans for Liberty in January 2021 after multiple sexual-harassment and assault allegations from women including former YAL staffers. VP Justin Greiss was placed on administrative leave the same week and forced out. Both subsequently co-founded Citizens Alliance of America.
What CAA does in Idaho
Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC, registered in Hayden and run by President Matt Edwards (a former Los Angeles film and TV producer who relocated to Hayden during COVID), is 99.72% funded by the national CAA PAC. The national CAA PAC is over 72% funded by POM of Pennsylvania, LLC, a company that manufactures gaming machines marketed under a “skill” classification and is currently being sued by the Pennsylvania Attorney General for using the “skill” classification to circumvent state gambling laws. Idaho banned similar machines in 2015.
The national CAA PAC sent $450,000 to the Idaho affiliate in 2026 alone. Steve Taggart, an Idaho Falls attorney with a Republican political background, traced the funding chain in detail in an April 7, 2026 Political Potatoes piece.
CAI’s largest single 2024 vendor recipient was Mobilize the Message LLC, the Florida political-consulting firm Maloney owns. The chain runs Pennsylvania gambling money to a Virginia 501(c)(4), to a Hayden, Idaho PAC, to a Florida LLC owned by Maloney himself, to mailers and door-knockers in Idaho.
DOCUMENTED
Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC is 99.72% funded by the national Citizens Alliance PAC out of Fairfax, Virginia. The national PAC is over 72% funded by POM of Pennsylvania, LLC, a gaming-machine manufacturer being sued by the Pennsylvania Attorney General. The Idaho PAC received $450,000 from the national in 2026.
Who CAA backed in Idaho’s 2024 cycle
Per Steve Taggart’s April 7, 2026 Political Potatoes investigation, the Idaho PAC supported these candidates in the 2024 Republican primary cycle:
- Senate: Dan Foreman, Christy Zito, Tammy Nichols, Brian Lenney, Glenneda Zuiderveld
- House: Scott Herndon, Elaine Price, Jaron Crane, David Leavitt, Juliane Young, Karey Hanks, Bryan Smith
CAI backed 32 candidates total. 17 lost. The 47% loss rate is the public record of how the operation actually performed in 2024.
Connected pages
- Citizens Alliance organization page
- Doyle Beck dossier
- Idaho Freedom Foundation
- Follow the Money investigation
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The Connections