APT Calls on Congress to Pass Legislation Banning Foreign Nationals from Contributing to 501(c)(4) Organizations
Americans for Public Trust (APT) released a new report documenting the extent to which Hansjörg Wyss has exploited the foreign influence loophole—a mechanism that has seemingly allowed him to skirt the federal ban on foreign nationals directly or indirectly influencing U.S. elections. The report lays out the Swiss billionaire’s nearly half a billion dollars in contributions through a liberal dark money network explicitly designed to advance a left-wing policies and politicians.
“It’s time for Congress to close the foreign influence loophole that allows foreign dark money to flood the American electoral and political system,” said Americans for Public Trust Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland. “Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has poured staggering sums of money into groups dedicated to advancing exclusively liberal and progressive politics, all with little to no transparency, public scrutiny, or government oversight. By using his foundations to further his radical policy agenda, Wyss has seemingly skirted federal laws that ban foreign nationals from directly or indirectly influencing American elections. APT urges Congress to safeguard our political system by working to stop any and all foreign meddling in our elections.”
CLICK HERE to read the full report.
Top Takeaways
- Hansjorg Wyss is a foreign national who, under federal law, is strictly prohibited from directly or indirectly influencing U.S. elections.
- Wyss’s nonprofits have spent a total of $475 million influencing U.S. politics, with the bulk of the money funneledthrough the Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund.
- Wyss’s nonprofits have shipped over $265 million to groups in the Arabella Advisors network, a dark money hub comprised of multiple nonprofits that support radical environmentalism, sweeping changes to U.S. election laws, defunding the police, packing the Supreme Court, K-12 indoctrination, and more.
- In 2021 alone, Berger Action Fund doled out a total of $72.7 million to 12 different dark money organizations, $62.7 million of which was directed to groups focused on promoting and supporting President Biden’s agenda.
- In a biography penned by his sister, Wyss’s goal is explicitly stated: to “(re)interpret the American Constitution in the light of progressive politics.”
CLICK HERE to read reporting on the plan to close the foreign dark money loophole.
