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.
Documented entries (1)
2026
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.