Foreign agents pump large amounts of cash into campaigns ahead of 2026 elections
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Lobbyists working on behalf of foreign entities have contributed well over $7 million to state and federal elections since January 2025, records compiled by the Department of Justice show.
Unsurprisingly, foreign agents working for Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and other influence-hungry countries cut among the largest checks, a Washington Examiner review of DOJ records found. Equally unsurprising is the fact that some of the lawmakers receiving the largest shares of these campaign checks sat on committees considering items of great economic and political importance to the countries bankrolling these foreign agents
Oftentimes, donations from foreign agents to members of Congress went hand in hand with access to their offices and, occasionally, the members themselves.
Andrew King, founder of the lobbying firm Neale Creek, was among the top foreign agent donors in 2025, cutting nearly $60,000 in campaign checks last year. Documents filed with the DOJ, meanwhile, indicate that King’s firm makes roughly $50,000 per month representing the interests of Qatar.
Among the lawmakers receiving large donations from King, either directly or through their leadership committees, were Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX), Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC).
All of these lawmakers granted King’s firm access to their offices. Most offered text messages and phone calls with staffers to discuss Qatari business, per DOJ records, but some — namely Graham, Joyce, and Wilson — communicated personally with Neale Creek on issues related to Qatar.
Text messages and phone calls can, under the reporting requirements of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, range from very brief conversations, including the exchanging of niceties, to deep, substantive discussions about policy.
The Washington Examiner previously reported that Qatar has gone to great lengths in recent years to deepen its economic ties to South Carolina and to ingratiate itself with the state’s GOP leaders. A major pillar of Qatari economic integration in South Carolina is a $96 billion arrangement between Qatar Airways and Boeing for the former to acquire 210 jets manufactured in the Palmetto State.
President Donald Trump, right, meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani aboard Air Force One at al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
King is just one of many …
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Lobbyists working on behalf of foreign entities have contributed well over $7 million to state and federal elections since January 2025, records compiled by the Department of Justice show.
Unsurprisingly, foreign agents working for Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and other influence-hungry countries cut among the largest checks, a Washington Examiner review of DOJ records found. Equally unsurprising is the fact that some of the lawmakers receiving the largest shares of these campaign checks sat on committees considering items of great economic and political importance to the countries bankrolling these foreign agents
Oftentimes, donations from foreign agents to members of Congress went hand in hand with access to their offices and, occasionally, the members themselves.
Andrew King, founder of the lobbying firm Neale Creek, was among the top foreign agent donors in 2025, cutting nearly $60,000 in campaign checks last year. Documents filed with the DOJ, meanwhile, indicate that King’s firm makes roughly $50,000 per month representing the interests of Qatar.
Among the lawmakers receiving large donations from King, either directly or through their leadership committees, were Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX), Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC).
All of these lawmakers granted King’s firm access to their offices. Most offered text messages and phone calls with staffers to discuss Qatari business, per DOJ records, but some — namely Graham, Joyce, and Wilson — communicated personally with Neale Creek on issues related to Qatar.
Text messages and phone calls can, under the reporting requirements of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, range from very brief conversations, including the exchanging of niceties, to deep, substantive discussions about policy.
The Washington Examiner previously reported that Qatar has gone to great lengths in recent years to deepen its economic ties to South Carolina and to ingratiate itself with the state’s GOP leaders. A major pillar of Qatari economic integration in South Carolina is a $96 billion arrangement between Qatar Airways and Boeing for the former to acquire 210 jets manufactured in the Palmetto State.
President Donald Trump, right, meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani aboard Air Force One at al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
King is just one of many …
Foreign agents pump large amounts of cash into campaigns ahead of 2026 elections
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Lobbyists working on behalf of foreign entities have contributed well over $7 million to state and federal elections since January 2025, records compiled by the Department of Justice show.
Unsurprisingly, foreign agents working for Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and other influence-hungry countries cut among the largest checks, a Washington Examiner review of DOJ records found. Equally unsurprising is the fact that some of the lawmakers receiving the largest shares of these campaign checks sat on committees considering items of great economic and political importance to the countries bankrolling these foreign agents
Oftentimes, donations from foreign agents to members of Congress went hand in hand with access to their offices and, occasionally, the members themselves.
Andrew King, founder of the lobbying firm Neale Creek, was among the top foreign agent donors in 2025, cutting nearly $60,000 in campaign checks last year. Documents filed with the DOJ, meanwhile, indicate that King’s firm makes roughly $50,000 per month representing the interests of Qatar.
Among the lawmakers receiving large donations from King, either directly or through their leadership committees, were Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX), Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC).
All of these lawmakers granted King’s firm access to their offices. Most offered text messages and phone calls with staffers to discuss Qatari business, per DOJ records, but some — namely Graham, Joyce, and Wilson — communicated personally with Neale Creek on issues related to Qatar.
Text messages and phone calls can, under the reporting requirements of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, range from very brief conversations, including the exchanging of niceties, to deep, substantive discussions about policy.
The Washington Examiner previously reported that Qatar has gone to great lengths in recent years to deepen its economic ties to South Carolina and to ingratiate itself with the state’s GOP leaders. A major pillar of Qatari economic integration in South Carolina is a $96 billion arrangement between Qatar Airways and Boeing for the former to acquire 210 jets manufactured in the Palmetto State.
President Donald Trump, right, meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani aboard Air Force One at al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
King is just one of many …
