Trump Says He’s Bringing Transparency to Foreign Money. He Can Still Keep Some of His Foreign Donors Secret.

President Donald Trump signed two executive actions this week professing to bring more transparency to how foreign money infiltrates American institutions — one on money to universities, another on elections. But it remains unclear whether he’ll extend the transparency effort to his own vehicle to accept foreign donations: his presidential library fund.

Unease over using foreign money for presidential libraries hit a fever pitch nearly two decades ago, when interviews revealed 10% of Bill Clinton’s presidential library funds were from overseas.

Donating to presidential libraries is one of the few options foreign individuals or companies have to donate directly to presidents since federal election law bars foreign citizens from contributing to elections or to inaugural committees. Trump’s inaugural committee refunded a few hundred thousand dollars to two companies and an individual with foreign addresses, according to campaign finance filings released this past Sunday.

Trump’s executive actions on foreign money this week don’t change any existing rules — both simply advise agency heads to enforce laws that already exist.

A Wednesday order directs the secretary of education to “take all appropriate actions to enforce” a higher education law that requires schools to disclose foreign gifts valued above $250,000.

A Thursday memo directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to “investigate and take appropriate action” to enforce federal laws against foreign donations in elections, alleging “straw” contributions act as a vehicle to pass foreign money into elections to skirt federal law, according to information about the memo from a White House official.

There is another Trump transition fund that could theoretically accept foreign money: his tax-exempt organization, Trump Vance Transition Inc. Susie Wiles, now Trump’s chief of staff, vowed last fall the fund would not do so. She also stated donors would be made public, which still hasn’t happened.

That leaves the presidential library fund, created in December, and whose donors are not required to be made public. The largest known donation is from an ABC News settlement with Trump promising $15 million to the new organization.

Last Congress, a bipartisan pair of Florida congressmen filed a bill to make presidential library donors public — including foreign donors. Members have filed similar bills for years, but they’ve never advanced.“Presidents are permitted under current law to seek unlimited library donations while they are still in office,” Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube wrote last September. “Donors may remain anonymous, and can even include foreign governments. Americans deserve assurance that presidents won’t be ‘bought and sold’ before leaving office.” (Neither office responded to a request for comment on whether they’ll refile the bill this Congressional session.)

The White House declined to comment about whether the president’s presidential library fund will accept or voluntarily disclose foreign donations in light of this week’s efforts.

—
Claire Heddles is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.