Foreign influence on policy
Foreign influence on policy is the shaping of US official action by foreign-government priorities, payments, or coercion outside the ordinary channels of diplomacy. Concrete forms include policy decisions documentably tracking foreign-government preferences in ways the public record does not explain, the cultivation of US officials as "assets" or "unwitting assets" by foreign services, and the routing of foreign-government interests through domestic intermediaries who do not register as foreign agents. The publication tracks documented relationships, not speculation about them.
2026 Events (2)
Commerce Department eased AI-chip and defense export controls for UAE firms tied to Trump's crypto venture
On July 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a rule easing export controls on the United Arab Emirates, granting the Emirati firms G42 and Core42 license exceptions for advanced AI computing equipment and pledging favorable review of export applications tied to the investment firm MGX. The Emirati royal who controls G42 and MGX had secretly acquired a 49 percent stake in World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture, months earlier. Senator Elizabeth Warren called the arrangement a "corrupt deal" and warned it could divert sensitive technology to China.
Reliance invested over $100 million in a Texas refinery secretly backed by Donald Trump Jr.
ProPublica reported that Reliance Industries, the energy conglomerate of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, invested at least $100 million in America First Refining, an obscure Texas startup secretly backed by Donald Trump Jr. The investment followed months of Trump-administration tariff pressure on the Ambani empire and coincided with major U.S. policy wins for Reliance, including a February trade deal that lowered tariffs and a license to buy Venezuelan oil. The startup's representatives reportedly told foreign officials that investing would open doors at the White House.