Alexandria, VA – Today, Americans for Public Trust (APT) launched a first-of-its-kind project to track the flow of foreign money and influence into American politics. The Follow Foreign Money Database is a free tool that can be used by the public, watchdogs, lawmakers, and the media to learn about the foreign governments, foreign nationals, and foreign charities that exploit legal loopholes to influence politics and policy battles on U.S. soil.
APT has tracked more than $5 billion in foreign funds, and the database catalogs the sources and recipients.
“As we enter the height of midterm election season, it is critical that the public is aware of the vast sums of foreign funds flowing across our borders to influence the outcomes of our political battles. Whether through ballot initiatives, issue advocacy, or voter registration, American politics is indisputably being shaped by foreign cash. That’s why we’ve created this first-of-its-kind database to help the public untangle the complex web of foreign money bankrolling leftwing nonprofits. Stopping the flow of billions of dollars in foreign funds into our political system should be a top priority for every lawmaker interested in safeguarding the integrity and sovereignty of our elections and political systems.” – Caitlin Sutherland, Executive Director, Americans for Public Trust
“This database confirms what the Ways and Means Committee has been exposing for months: foreign money is flowing into America’s tax-exempt sector through shell funds and intermediaries designed to hide where it actually came from to influence American policymaking and our public discourse. That’s why I subpoenaed groups tied to tech mogul and CCP-ally Neville Roy Singham, and why we recently advanced three bills out of the Ways and Means Committee to close loopholes like this for good. The size and scope of the problem that Americans for Public Trust has identified is concerning, further underscoring the need to pass our legislation and close these loopholes once and for all.” – Chairman Jason Smith, House Committee on Ways & Means
Background
- Follow Foreign Money is a searchable database of confirmed foreign nationals, foreign governments, and foreign “charities” bankrolling U.S.-based nonprofits.
- The database catalogs $5,269,339,677.98 in foreign funds so far. The database will be updated on a rolling basis as new information becomes available.
- Each entry contains as much publicly available information as possible, including the recipient, source of funding, total funds, and often a description of the intended use of the funds.
- Federal law prohibits foreign entities from directly contributing to candidates, political committees, and Super PACs, and from participating in a campaign’s decision-making process. However, there are very few legal restrictions preventing foreign money from influencing areas outside the ballot box.
- Many election-related activities (nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaigns, issue advertising, voter registration, etc.) can legally be financed with foreign dollars. Various policy and lobbying efforts can also be foreign-funded, even though most electioneering (encouraging individuals to vote for or against a specific candidate) cannot.
- Any solution must maintain protections for the privacy of lawful donors, ensuring that Americans’ free-speech rights are never abridged.
