Foreign funding for politicians has always been on top of the Republican agenda, but now and especially after the Republican Primary debate last month, it seems that Republicans are worrying less about foreign funding amounting at times to six or seven figures. 

Examples of foreign funding include US President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who earned millions from Chinese partners between 2013 and 2018, Brookings Institution President Ret. Gen. John R. Allen who was accused of secretly lobbying for Qatar, and former President Donald Trump who was influenced by foreign interests in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and "Israel".

Trump is currently the top recipient of foreign money, taking in between $2 million and $10 million from his companies in the UAE, over $5 million from his firm in Oman, and other foreign payments totaling around $25 million, if not more, according to Responsible Statecraft.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence under Trump's time also received $550,000 in speaking fees from a group founded by the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, a South Korean evangelical congregation with politically far-right agendas. It was also revealed that it was groups associated with the terrorist Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MKO) that paid Pence the most.

The UAE exposed

The MKO has been trying to clean up its image by hosting high-profile politicians at its conventions, such as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile, and former defense official and WestExec and Center for a New American Security co-founder Michèle Flournoy. 

Another politician caught red-handed is current Republican candidate, former South Carolina governor, and former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley who was reported to have received between $50,000 and $100,000 from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which is a New York-based group against the legal sale of medical supplies to Iran in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UANI frequently calls for sanctions against Iran and voices against Iran’s nuclear program.

Haley also received between $100,000 and $1,000,000 each from Canadian Friends of the Jerusalem College of Technology, Barclays Capital Asia, and the Centre for "Israel" and Jewish Affairs.

However, emails appeared originating from the UAE ambassador in Washington, Yousef Al Otaiba, who exposed a UANI advisory board member for soliciting “support” from the UAE, while in another email, Republican Party fundraiser and Saudi lobbyist Norm Coleman exposed UANI’s umbrella group taxes to Otaiba, implying an upcoming donation from the UAE while offering to answer questions from the ambassador.

In conclusion, Pence and Haley’s financial disclosures demonstrate the interest of foreign groups in an American role in the Middle East alongside a political change in Iran, and the continuing flow of these payments is clear proof that they aim for that objective but for how long remains unclear. 

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