A group of Republican senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Tuesday asking him to launch a full-scale investigation into the Obama administration’s efforts to meddle in elections around the globe, the Washington Free Beacon reported. The former president has been using taxpayer money to sway foreign elections for years, the senators alleged.
In the letter, Republican Senators Mike Lee (Utah), Jim Inhofe (Okla.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Ted Cruz (Texas), David Perdue (Ga.), and Bill Cassidy (La.) accused the Obama regime of sending taxpayer funds to “extreme and sometimes violent political activists” who promote far-left causes. They said organizations supported by left-wing billionaire George Soros have played a central role in Obama’s efforts to sway foreign elections.
Most of the letter deals with the State Department’s “highly problematic” recent activity in Macedonia, but also points to left-wing meddling in Albania, Latin America, and Africa using U.S. tax dollars.
“We have received credible reports that, over the past few years, the U.S. Mission there has actively intervened in the party politics of Macedonia, as well as in the shaping of its media environment and civil society, often favoring left-leaning political groups over others,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Much of the concerning activity in Macedonia has been perpetuated through USAID funds awarded to implementing entities such as George Soros’ Open Society Foundations,” they continued.
Those monies, the senators said, have allowed the Open Society Foundation Macedonia (OSFM) “to push a progressive agenda and invigorate the political left.”
The Obama administration’s meddling in Macedonia is part of a larger pattern of using U.S. tax dollars to fund left-wing organizations in foreign lands to influence elections. In 2015, the Obama State Department efforts to derail Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection bid failed. But that same year, they were able to frustrate Jonathan Goodluck’s reelection bid in Nigeria, resulting in the election of their favored candidate, Islamist former dictator Muhammadu Buhari of the far-left “All Progressives Congress” (APC) party.
More from the senators’ letter:
Respected leaders from Albania have made similar claims of U.S. diplomats and Soros-backed organizations pushing for certain political outcomes in their country.
Time and again, foreign leaders visiting Washington have expressed concerns to us about how American taxpayer funds are being used counterproductively in their respective countries,” the lawmakers disclosed, referring to efforts undertaken in Latin America and Africa.
This type of interference in foreign countries must stop immediately.
Senator Lee said in a statement: “Over the past few months, elected officials and political leaders of foreign nations have been coming to me with disappointing news and reports of U.S. activity in their respective countries. This includes reports of diplomats playing political favorites, USAID funds supporting extreme and sometimes violent political activists, and the U.S. government working to marginalize the moderates and conservatives in leadership roles.”
He added: “This sort of political favoritism from our missions around the world is unacceptable and endangers our bilateral relationships.”
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