CBS’s Anthony Mason to Charles Koch: Are You Trying To ‘Buy Power?’

MASON: “Do you think it’s good for the political system that so much, what’s called, dark money is falling into the process now?”

KOCH: “What I give isn’t dark. What I give politically, that’s all reported. It’s either to the PACs or to the candidates. And what I give to my foundations is — is all public information, but a lot of our donors don’t want to take the kind of abuse that I do. They don’t want these attacks, they don’t want the death threats. So they aren’t going to participate if they have to have their names associated with it.”

MASON: “But do you think it’s healthy for the system that so much money is coming out of a relatively small group of people?”

KOCH: “Listen, if I didn’t think it was healthy or fair I wouldn’t do it, because what we’re after is to fight against special interests.”

MASON: “Some people would look at you and say you’re a special interest.”

KOCH: “Well, yeah but my interest is just as its been in business, is what will help people improve their lives? And to get rid of these special interests, that’s the whole thing that drives me.”

MASON: “There are people out there who think what you’re trying to do is essentially buy power.”

KOCH: “What I want is a system where there isn’t as much centralized power, where it’s dispersed to the people, and that’s — everything I advocate points in that direction.”