(The Center Square) – A bill designed to protect the United States’ court system from foreign influence is too broad, according to Trent England, director of the nonprofit Save Our States.
In an exclusive letter obtained by The Center Square, England calls on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to more carefully analyze the Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act of 2025.
The bill is designed to “increase transparency and oversight of third-party funding by foreign persons, to prohibit third-party funding by foreign states and sovereign wealth funds, and for other purposes.”
However, England said the bill’s language imposes broad disclosure rules on individuals conducting lawful activity in the court system.
“The broad disclosure mandates proposed by this bill would act as a catch-all dragnet for well-intended individuals abroad supporting important causes here in the United States,” England wrote in the letter to Jordan, obtained exclusively by The Center Square.
England said financial support from abroad has been critical for conservatives who take on large companies and their “harmful” policies. He pointed to financial institutions including Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase as examples for targeting individuals with conservative political views.
In August, President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating an investigation into whether banks have discriminated against conservatives. The order said banks targeted individuals who made certain purchases surrounding the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
“Bank regulators have used supervisory scrutiny and other influence over regulated banks to direct or otherwise encourage politicized or unlawful debanking activities,” the executive order reads.
JP Morgan Chase revealed the U.S. government is investigating the major bank over allegations of “debanking” customers with conservative political ties.
In a quarterly filing, JP Morgan said it is “responding to requests from government authorities and other external parties regarding, among other things, the firm’s policies and processes and the provision of services to customers and potential customers.”
England said the proposed legislation would “further tilt the scales” toward corporations that promote DEI and environmental policies.
“Those supporting the fight to hold woke capitalism to account have a right to maintain their privacy,” England said.
England called for a more narrowly tailored measure that targets foreign adversary nations including China instead of the broad measures to restrict all foreign investment.
He pointed to laws in Kansas and Louisiana that prohibit funders from foreign countries of concern influencing court litigation.
In Louisiana, individuals from China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela must disclose their ties to the state’s attorney general. Funders from these areas are prohibited from influencing litigation by making payments.
“A scalpel is needed, not a sledgehammer. It should be self-evident that investors hailing from Ireland and Iran do not pose equivalent risks,” England said.
