US lobbying creates headaches for candidates back home
An increasingly globalized political influence industry is triggering a global backlash.
US President Donald Trump isn’t the only one in hot water for inviting foreign meddling into his country’s elections.
Lobbying records first disclosed last week by Al-Monitor have played a role in today's presidential runoff in Tunisia, where candidate Nabil Karoui is under fire over a $1 million contract to help boost his chances. The revelations have prompted a Tunis court to open a criminal investigation not only into Karoui’s US activities, but those of two other political actors as well.
Taken together, the US and Tunisian cases offer a window into the increasingly globalized nature of political influence operations.
“This is something that we’ve been seeing in a number of different FARA [Foreign Agents Registration Act] filings, with in some cases either foreign politicians, political parties, and in some cases even campaigns seeking favor with the United States,” said Anna Massoglia, a foreign influence researcher with the Center for Responsive Politics. They may seek inroads “with the president, with the State Department, or just general favor or media-specific objectives in the US as almost a backdoor to getting support in their country.”
