Hawaii billionaire Pierre Omidyar gave $100,000 to NeverTrump PAC, a political action committee dedicated to making sure New York businessman Donald Trump never becomes president of the United States.

The contribution was first reported Friday by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organization.

While Omidyar has made donations to various Democratic candidates and party organizations over the years, this is believed to be his first contribution to a super PAC,” the center reported. “Such organizations were made possible by the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.”

Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, including from corporations and unions, to campaign independently for or against candidates for federal office.

Omidyar is the founder of eBay, publisher of Honolulu Civil Beat and founder of First Look Media.

He also is an active user of Twitter, where he has been making clear his negative views of Trump. As the report explains, Omidyar has tweeted that Trump is “terrifying,” a “bigot,” “thin-skinned” and a “scaredy-cat” with “no spine.”

“Trump is a dangerous authoritarian demagogue,” Omidyar tweeted.

In his Twitter feed Friday, Omidyar acknowledged his donation to NeverTrump PAC, calling it “a rare political contribution during extreme times.”

He said he donated to the PAC because it is making a difference and that he supports “this group of principled Republicans.”

Omidyar, through spokesperson Sarah Steven, declined an interview request. Steven told Civil Beat, “Pierre donated to #NeverTrump because he wanted to support the courage of a small group of people, who are standing up to the demagoguery and dangerous rhetoric currently happening in the presidential election.”

photograph Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Pierre Omidyar in Civil Beat’s offices in 2015. Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Steven added, “Pierre has, for many years, supported a variety of efforts and teams dedicated to strengthening our democracy, including a focus on: civic engagement, access to information, and protecting our critical rights afforded via the First Amendment.”

As Civil Beat has reportedstate campaign finance records show Omidyar’s wife, Pam, donated thousands of dollars to several candidates from 2007 to 2009. They included former Gov. Neil Abercrombie and former Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, but she has not contributed since.

State records do not show Pierre Omidyar contributing to Hawaii candidates.

But he has given to candidates in the past. Open Secrets, part of the nonpartisan, nonprofit research group Center for Responsive Politics, reports that he has made dozens of political donations nationally.

These include contributions to George W. Bush in 1999, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1999, Al Gore in 2000, Joe Biden in 2002, Hillary Clinton in 2005, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006 and the late U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye of Hawaii in 2009

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