How foreign government lobbyists are making contributions to Ohio members of U.S. Congress

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As Ohio Senate Republicans move forward a bill to ban foreign contributions to ballot issue campaigns in the state, campaign finance records show Ohio’s U.S. Congressional delegation receiving contributions from foreign government lobbyists.

Introduced by Republican state Sens. Theresa Gavorone and Rob McColley, Ohio Senate Bill 215 would ban foreign nationals from making campaign contributions in favor of, or against, ballot issues in the state of Ohio. It was passed last week by the Ohio Senate and awaits action in the Ohio House.

The law also requires “a certification that the campaign committee, political action committee, legislative campaign fund, political party, or political contributing entity, as applicable, has not accepted any contribution that is prohibited under this chapter.”

“ Both Ohio and federal law already prohibit foreign interests from participating in candidate races ,” Gavorone said during testimony for the bill on February 23. “This bill simply closes a campaign finance loophole for issue campaigns.”

This bill comes after the passage of November’s Issue 1 amendment protecting reproductive rights, and claims by Republicans of “ foreign election interference .”

There is no evidence of election fraud during the Issue 1 election in November.  Neither Senator Gavorone nor Senator McColley responded to requests for comment.

Democrats argue the bill goes too far, as it has a provision that could make it harder for grassroots movements to get on the ballot even with U.S. dollars.

Foreign government lobbyist spending on Ohio lawmakers

Lobbyists that directly represent foreign states or corporations must file with the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), disclosing their lobbying efforts on behalf of these entities.

FARA filings show that lobbying groups promoting or representing the interests of foreign governments and corporations have given thousands to candidates in Ohio for U.S. Congressional and Senate races.

These findings are a local manifestation of a nationwide trend. $33.5 million in individual contributions came from foreign agents or lobbyists during the 2020 election cycle, according to an analysis from campaign finance researchers OpenSecrets released in 2021. Similarly, OpenSecrets found more than $163 million in political contributions from “foreign influenced corporations” between 2018 and 2022.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is a lobbying firm based in Denver Colorado which made $46.63 million in lobbying revenue in the first three quarters of 2023. The firm’s overseas clients include the Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Morocco. Most notable among them is Saudi Arabia. According to OpenSecrets , Saudi Arabia spent $900,000 on Brownstein Hyatt in 2023, and its relationship with the country has been well documented .

The firm’s supplemental statement provided on Sept. 30 of last year , which covered the period up to Aug. 31 last year, shows lobbyists employed by Brownstein Hyatt cumulatively donated $5,750 to the reelection committees of Democratic Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown is chair of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee , which oversees a subcommittee that deals with international finance and trade.

On June 16, 2023 , Brown and Congresswoman Maxine Waters submitted a letter to the Treasury Department, asking them to investigate the merger of PGA Golf with LIV Golf, which is funded by the Saudis.

“Saudi Arabia has a repressive government, known for chilling dissent, jailing dissidents, and enacting draconian punishments,” the letter read. Prior to that, Brown critiqued the Saudi-led war in Yemen, posting, “ We need to send a clear message to Saudi Arabia that the US will take action to stem the humanitarian crisis in Yemen ,” in a Tweet from Nov. 28, 2018.

One of the firm’s lobbyists also donated $1,000 to the campaign of Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, representing Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, on June 13 last year, and gave $13,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) cumulatively.

Qatar, another Gulf State, spent $6,752,423 in 2023 to lobby the U.S government on its behalf. Of those millions, $315,000 went to Holland&Knight, a multinational lobbying firm based in Tampa, Florida. Most of the contributions made by Holland&Knight lobbyists went to the firm’s political action committee. That PAC then contributed thousands to the campaigns of Ohio U.S. Congressional lawmakers. Those donations included:

• $2,500 to Republican House Rep. Jim Jordan on April 27.
• $ 1,500 to Republican Senator J.D Vance on May 4, to retire debts accrued during his 2022 campaign.
• $1,000 to Democratic House Rep. Shontel Brown on April 27
• $1,000 to Democratic House Rep. Greg Landsman Dec. 18

The Chartwell Strategy Group, a Washington D.C.-based “strategic advisory,” firm, received $350,00 for their lobbying on behalf of China in 2023, according to OpenSecrets. Specifically, Chartwell did consulting for iFlytek Co. a semi-state owned Chinese information technology company whose technology was linked to human rights violations of Uyghur Muslims.

On April 16 last year, Chartwell Managing Director Ozzie Palomo donated $3,300 to Ohio Republican Congressman Dave Joyce of Ohio’s 14th District, according to statements provided by the firm on Sept. 30 last year.

“ You can’t trust China, they’re not our friend. They’re not an ally. They are out for world domination ,” said Congressman Joyce in a segment for Fox Business from May 23 2023. “They’re everywhere, and they need to be replaced.”

Senate Bill 215 “misses a really important piece of the puzzle”

Good government advocates say that the trouble with Senate Bill 215 is that it doesn’t address dark money political funding.

“The problem that I see with Senate Bill 215 is that it misses a really important piece of the puzzle without having greater transparency,” said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio .

While Turcer agrees that “there is a real benefit to ensuring that Ohio elections are not influenced by foreign money,” Turcer ultimately feels “we need to focus on doing what we can to ensure there’s greater transparency in our elections, and specifically address the dark money that is spent on political advertisements, so that Ohioans can follow the money, understand who is trying to influence them.”

To Turcer, without accountability, neither foreign lobbying, nor any lobbying, can be addressed substantively.

“If you don’t have greater transparency, you can have another law on the books where you can’t actually hold them accountable.”

Turcer said that greater transparency not only means disclosure of where campaign money is coming from, but also more information provided by the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee to help people understand lobbying efforts in Ohio, and giving people access to the Legislative Service Commission’s records.

“At the end of the day, any of our legislators could take action every day to talk about dark money,” Turcer said. “This is a good time for candidates and public officials to be thinking about, well, how can we create a system so that we are not repeatedly ripped off, where we don’t actually need the FBI to investigate to figure out if something is going wrong, that we as Ohioans and our government have the tools so that we can actually stop a scandal before it spins completely out of control?”

Turcer warned that the power of dark money, both domestic and international, had a corrosive effect on American democracy.

“The undue influence of money puts us on a path towards plutocracy. Some might even say we’re there.”

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