Big Companies Quietly Disclosed Missing Presidential Library Donation Records

Fidelity Investments last month quietly attempted to fix a problem. The financial services giant made a series of filings to Congress detailing years-old contributions to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, after NOTUS reported how presidential libraries have become magnets for special interest money, with limited public disclosure.

The March 16 disclosures of $40,000 worth of contributions between 2022 and 2025 were months or years late under a federal law requiring corporations and individuals that lobby the federal government to semiannually disclose donations to any of several kinds of committees, including those for presidential inaugurations and libraries.

Fidelity did not respond to questions about why its presidential library donations were late. But a person familiar with the donations confirmed that Fidelity filed the disclosures after reading NOTUS’ reporting and said the money helped fund the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, which recognizes public officials “whose actions demonstrate the qualities of politically courageous leadership.”

Insurer Liberty Mutual had similarly promised in February that it would disclose missing presidential library contribution disclosures that NOTUS had identified.

When NOTUS this month contacted the company to inquire on the status of the disclosure, which had not yet been made as legally required, Liberty Mutual did not respond — but it did file a disclosure with Congress on April 2, belatedly indicating it contributed $50,000 in February 2025 to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. The listed donation honoree: former Vice President Mike Pence.

In general, people and entities who donate money to presidential libraries are not legally required to disclose their contributions. Lobbyists and companies that lobby are exceptions, under the Lobbying Disclosure Act and separate Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, and violations are punishable by civil and even criminal penalties.

But such penalties are rare, and typically, only reserved for extreme cases. Fidelity Investments’ and Liberty Mutual’s actions are examples of how lightly enforced the rules are even for those subject to federal transparency mandates, said Julian Zelizer, a history and public affairs professor at Princeton University.

“We don’t want this to be another pocket of ‘dark money’ where the public has no information,” Zelizer said. “There are conflict-of-interest and obvious ethics issues concerning what people want for the money they’re donating.”

United Airlines was several months late disclosing it had made a $250,000 contribution in June 2025 to the Obama Foundation for “presidential library expenses” involving an “in-kind contribution: travel.” It should have disclosed the contribution in July under federal rules but instead disclosed it in January.

“We don’t have anything more to add,” United Airlines’ media relations office wrote in an email in response to NOTUS’ questions.

NOTUS previously reported that defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin was late disclosing a $200,000 presidential library-related contribution to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.

With President Donald Trump in the midst of a fundraising and planning blitz for his future presidential library in Florida and former President Joe Biden in the early stages of planning for his own library, some members of Congress want to require greater transparency.

Democrats Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Jared Moskowitz recently introduced companion bills that would, in part, cap donations to presidential libraries and centers at $10,000 and mandate they file quarterly reports with the federal government disclosing details about donors contributing more than $200.

Congress has yet to give either bill a hearing.