Thread by @noahpransky

NEW - our 9mo. @NBCLX investigation uncovers the secret weapon foreign counties like Russia, Saudi Arabia, & China are using to get their way in Washington: former members of Congress. And it's a LOT of them lx.com/politics/lx-na…

2/x This report details how Chinese companies, accused of participating in human rights abuses, can pay buckets of money to former members of Congress and stave off U.S. sanctions for years...

3/x ...and how Turkish bank Halkbank used former members of Congress to help stave off sanctions for allegedly laundering money to Iran. Think your interests come first, America? Your former Congressman may be ensuring they don't. lx.com/politics/lx-na…

4/x "Transparency about the identity of foreign interests bankrolling influence operations is fundamental for Americans to understand the credibility of propaganda targeting them," said @annalecta of @OpenSecretsDC.

lx.com/politics/lx-na…

5/x We don't allow foreign nations to influence our elections (for good reason). Yet, we allow them to spend BILLIONS of dollars influencing American policy, according to @OpenSecretsDC. lx.com/politics/lx-na…

This is just the top-5. Russian interests aren't far behind:

6/x "We should expect U.S. policy is shaped in the interest of U.S. voters...not on which foreign interest is spending the most on lobbying," said @CampaignLegal's @Brendan_Fischer.

Our @NBCLX investigation exposes how foreign nations get their way in DC: lx.com/politics/lx-na…

7/x "Foreign interests are trying to interfere (here) in a big way...and if we're not cleaning up the laws to protect ourselves from who's even representing them...shame on us," said fmr. Rep @ZachWamp (@IOWamp/@IssueOneReform) of his old colleagues.

lx.com/politics/lx-na…

8/x Both Obama and Trump promised to drain the swamp of this shady international influence-peddling. But the truth is, neither has. It's up to us to share these stories to keep the pressure on.

9/x "Congressman, do you have anything you'd like to add about your foreign lobbying?"

@ConnieMackIV: "The only thing I would add is I’m really good at it. :-)"

lx.com/politics/lx-na…

10/x Ask yourself, if federal law strictly prohibits foreign nations from interfering with our elections, why doesn’t it prohibit countries - like Russia, Saudi Arabia, & China - from hiring powerful former politicians to interfere with our policies & spending??

11/x This reporting by @NYTimes & others underscores why our story about foreign influence in the US is so important: nytimes.com/2020/07/01/tec…

Chinese companies tied to human rights violations hire fmr Congressmembers to protect their U.S. interests: lx.com/politics/lx-in…