On the substance of the matter, Maddow found comfort in the massive and complicated funding relationships among political groups on the American right, of which the Koch brothers are a central part: “Now, we are not the first news outlet to report on the Koch brothers funding distribution networks and groups small and large all over the country who have received funding through mechanisms that the Koch brothers have set up to support conservative candidates and conservative activism and conservative research and conservative advocacy. And the Koch brothers lawyers are not denying that they fund these networks or that the Florida Foundation for Government Accountability is one of the groups that has been funded through these networks. But they really do not want anyone reporting any connection between what those groups do and who gives them the money that they do it with.”

So Maddow’s alleging that the Koch brothers run a sprawling and opaque funding apparatus that wields influence across the country? Yes, and a story by The Post’s Matea Gold earlier this week supplies ample corroboration for the point. “The political network spearheaded by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch has expanded into a far-reaching operation of unrivaled complexity, built around a maze of groups that cloaks its donors,” writes Gold. And if you don’t believe it, sample this graphic.