Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. This book delves into the world of lobbyists who are not from the US. It talks about things that are done behind the scenes that we never hear about. A good read.

I received a free copy of, Foreign Agents, by Casey Michael. from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Foreign Agents, or foreign lobbyists, have way to much control and power, with the American government, and the average American citizen is unaware. This book sheds a light on foreign lobbyists and there plans to end American Democracy, once and for all. This book really riled me up. I learned a lot, I had no clue about foreign agents and their hold over our government and policies.

Thanks to the publisher for early access to this book. This was a good read (maybe not amazing) but did expose an important (and under-studied) area of influence peddling.

What can I say? I'm kind of a fan, but also not fully satisfied by the book. It's a good book, but not necessarily un-put-down-able or anything like that.

I received an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an opportunity to review the book. Opinions below are my own.

This is a good book and I'm tempted to give this book five stars to help its sales because its content is an important and well-documented reminder of the threats faced to democracy and rule of law in the United States during and immediately following the 2016 election, as well as the genesis of the current war in the Ukraine and associated misinformation campaign, all of which have implications for the 2024 election. A better subtitle for the book is probably "The Rise and Fall of Paul Manafort, and the Danger Posed by Foreign Lobbying." One criticism of the book (and current subtitle) is that it does not examine the foreign lobbying that the United States' own government does abroad. My main criticism is that it is largely about the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) but he never details the actual language of the Act, its state penalties, fines, and statute of limitation. Describing it in detail would have made it less muddy given the inconsistent prosecution fo the FARA and the author's criticisms. I kept asking "What exactly can the DOJ do under the law? What would have been the maximum penalties?" The author could have spared a couple pages up front to set up the rest of the book.

The book grew out of a graduate thesis by the author, "studying how post-Soviet dictatorships manipulate Western audiences," during the run-up to the 2016 election. Michel shares a greater history of foreign governments' lobbying in the United States which I found informative. The grandest example being Russia's "bankrolling" of former U.S. senator Robert J. Walker in 1868 to lobby to complete the negotiated purchase of Alaska from Russia, which had been previously been dead in public opinion as "Seward's folly." Undisclosed payments to Walker resulted in anonymous newspaper articles and eventual persuasion of Congress to seal the deal. Afterwards, rumors and evidence of congressional bribery by a Russian national-- including a conversation between Secretary of State Seward and President Johnson-- were investigated by congress, but no convictions were made and the purchase was already history. There were no laws requiring someone like a former senator to disclose he was now a paid agent by a foreign government to influence U.S. policy.

The book details the events in World War II that led to the passage of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)of 1938, namely the investigation by congress of Ivy Lee, the godfather of modern public relations--spinning public travesties in American media for his high-paying patrons, as well as weaponizing lobbying for foreign adversaries-- in his case, the USSR (just prior to Stalin's purge), Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany. Lee was the direct precursor to Manafort and Michel writes of the similar trajectories and ignominious end of both characters.

FARA was amended after Pearl Harbor, and again in 1966 as it gained importance during the Cold War. The author mentions "a range of convictions" under FARA in the 1960s but frustratingly does not detail these to help the reader understand how effective or ineffective it may have been. Congress and the Department of Justice had a difficult time not explicitly targeting U.S. citizen lobbyists-- who have a constitutional right to petition their government -- and trying to differentiate them from "propagandists" who were explicitly repeating lies of foreign governments on behalf of "foreign principals." The 1966 amendment increased disclosure requirements for those engaged in "political activities," basically lobbying, on behalf of foreign entities. Academics and scientists weren't included, a glaring omission that Michel notes would come back to haunt the law as universities accept millions of dollars from foreign governments via various offshore entities. But enforcement of FARA has always been weak at best, there was never a strong cop on the beat asking questions and keeping records. The lax enforcement over decades created an environment where foreign lobbyists like Manafort scoffed at the disclosure requirements. (It was not until 1999 that we learned from Russian archives that sitting U.S. Congressman Samuel Dicktein was on the Soviet payroll from 1940 to the 1950s.)

Michel notes congress' well-meaning attempt at strengthening enforcement via the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) and amended FARA in an effort to increase transparency amid the rapidly growing lobbying industry that was attracting more and more former U.S. officials into its sphere. But the LDA didn't require details about meetings or the specifics of the work, and Congress made it so lobbyists for foreign companies-- instead of governments explicitly-- could file under the LDA instead of FARA. Congress apparently didn't contemplate that some foreign companies operating in the U.S. weren't solely profit-focused investors and may instead be proxies for foreign governments. (It is ironic because Ivy Lee himself was lobbying for one of the Nazi's collaborating corporations and not the Reich itself.) The number of registrations under FARA fell by two-thirds (loc. 2506).

The author shows the troubling implications as think tanks and universities are increasingly the recipients of foreign funds and have become agents of PR, money laundering, or worse by undemocratic governments. The Clinton Foundation was another egregious example as donations ebbed and flowed based on Hillary Clinton's proximity to real power. (The author notes that the Obama Foundation refuses foreign donations.) Similarly, by 2017 three quarters of Donald Trump's real estate sales were going to anonymous buyers and many foreign regimes spent lavishly at Trump's D.C. hotel (as uncovered after Trump left office and by investigations within some of those countries). Manafort's long history shilling for dictators like Ferdinand Marcos and Mobutu Seko are detailed as is his long history in Ukraine making millions from Yanukovych's pilfering and laundering of state funds. The court documents, Mueller Report, and Senate Intelligence Committee investigation are all sourced along with a great investigative piece from The Atlantic. But fewer people remember Bob Dole as a foreign agent; Michel reminds us that when he ended his life a multimillionaire and water-carrier for the UAE, the Congo, Krgyzstan, and a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

Michel notes all of the people connected to the Trump White House who were prosecuted under FARA, some of whom -- like Manafort-- were convicted and later pardoned of their heinous crimes, others like Steve Wynn-- an agent of the Chinese Communist Party-- who got off due to statute of limitations or juries not buying that they should have known better. "Trump's campaign chief; his foreign policy and economic advisor; his national security advisor; his CIA Director; his personal lawyer; and both the lead and deputy finance chiefs of the Republican National Committee...his deputy campaign manager, (and) his inauguration committee fundraiser" all had undisclosed links to foreign lobbying campaigns that resulted in prosecution (loc. 4553). That is a timely reminder for 2024.

The author ends his book that noting that while Manafort's pardon and Congress' lack of action to strengthen the laws (drafting a couple bipartisan bills that have gone nowhere) have likely emboldened despotic or undemocratic regimes to continue their lobbying activities, ultimately, it's "American firms...officials...nonprofits...consultants...and the American lobbyists helping dictators and tyrants around the globe" that are the real threat (loc. 5346). Our Founding Fathers created a republic that relies on men of good character to make it work. Time and again, the ideals of the republic have been undermined by unscrupulous characters who are willing to sell their principles to a foreign power.

Four stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to give my honest review of this book.

This book was very eye opening! It uncovers the depth of foreign interference in American politics and policy making via what we could call “public relations” people. Meanwhile, there are layers of secrecy, money laundering, and manipulation that interfere with the very democracy of the US. I felt this was a very important read because it happens around the world and it’s scary to think how much power lobbyists have.


I do want to give fair critique, and my two points of contention are:

A) The book was at times repetitive and I didn’t always feel these episodes needed repetition.

B) Knowing an author is important. Casey Michel is a journalist and I think it’s important to recognize that because he is not a historian. The book reads a bit like a historical recounting and Michel is very knowledgeable, but he is not a historian and I think it’s important to make that distinction because it dictates how authors write and what they choose to emphasize.

Think influencers are on the up and up? Think again. Our government is for sale, and often for nothing less than the highest dollar. This book proves it.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Who are your voted-in or appointed governmental agents, officers, and representatives truly working for, and who is paying them? Who pays them, and for what purposes after they leave those offices and positions? Moreover, who in the United States is helping them get votes, is swaying public opinion, and who is paying them?

The answers found in the pages of Foreign Agents is surprising. Not only the answer to “who”, but how far this extends and the amount of money is absolutely astounding. It goes well beyond anything we hear in the news cycle. It has also been going on far longer than almost anyone realizes – before the lifetimes of anyone reading this.

In an era where malign foreign influence fills headlines, journalist Casey Michel's urgent expose "Foreign Agents" unveils an insidious industry threatening democracies: the legalized business of foreign lobbying. Meticulously tracing the lucre, Michel reveals how foreign agents have not only entrenched dictatorships worldwide through whitewashing reputations or steering policy, but increasingly turned their savvy towards manipulating American democracy itself.

From PR pioneer Ivy Lee rehabilitating 20th century monsters like Mussolini to Paul Manafort unleashing his dark arts from Ukraine to Trump’s inner sanctum, Michel follows the money driving America’s $100 billion lobbying industry. What emerges is how many foreign agents once operated the government levers they now grease – not fringe voices but former Congressmen and intelligence officials monetizing connections built on the public dime.

And for all the focus on Russian electoral meddling, the real story traces deeper. As documented cases stack up from Qatar to Saudi Arabia to Egypt, Americans from both parties flaunt few scruples carrying water for autocrats when giant checks land their way, ethics be damned. Yet when their clandestine foreign entanglements spill into the open, they face limited accountability.

Instead, aided by slick PR firms, they simply pivot to the next authoritarian sugar daddy cloaking actions behind lofty NGOs. The days of bipartisan outrage toward foreign interference now seem quaint when Americans themselves aid the degradation of democracy, whether at home or overseas, as long as the dirty lucre flows.

While rigorously researched, Michel spices his investigation with fascinating historical nuggets chronicling foreign meddling in American affairs going back to the nation’s founding. Yet as once unthinkable threats metastasize in today’s disinformation age, "Foreign Agents” serves as a chilling wake-up call.

Synopsis (From Netgalley, the provider of the book to review)
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A stunning investigation and indictment of the elements in United States' foreign lobbying industry and the threat they pose to democracy.
For years, one group of Americans has worked as foot-soldiers for the most authoritarian regimes around the planet. In the process, they've not only entrenched dictatorships and spread kleptocratic networks, but they've secretly guided U.S. policy without the rest of America even being aware. And now, journalist Casey Michel contends some of them have begun turning their sights on American democracy itself.

These Americans are known as foreign lobbyists, and many of them spent years ushering dictatorships directly into the halls of Washington, all while laundering the reputations of the most heinous, repressive regimes in the process. These lobbyists include figures like Ivy Lee, the inventor of the public relations industry - a man who whitewashed Mussolini, opened doors to the Soviets, and advised the Nazis on how to sway American audiences.

They include people like Paul Manafort, who invented lobbying as we know it - and who then took his talents to autocrats from Ukraine to the Philippines, and then back to the White House. And they now include an increasing number of Americans in law firms and consultancies, among PR specialists and former lawmakers, and even within think tanks and universities. Many of these lobbyists have transformed into proxies for dictators and strongmen wherever they can be found. And for years, they've escaped scrutiny.

In Foreign Agents, Casey Michel shines a light on these foreign lobbyists, and all the damage and devastation they have caused in Washington and elsewhere. From Moscow to Beijing, from far-right nationalists to far-left communists, from anti-American autocrats to pro-Western authoritarians, these foreign lobbyists have helped any illiberal, anti-democratic government they can find. And after decades of success in installing dictator after dictator, and in tilting American policy in the process, some of these lobbyists have now begun trying to end America's democratic experiment, once and for all.

I have never understood lobbyists and how they work, but I am Canadian and it is not as … BLATANTLY evident …. here. (Unless we are speaking of Doug Ford and his buddies and them getting what they want and us paying for it out of our pockets.)

This is NOT a casual read but it was fascinating to read – and it made me trust politicians even less than before. I call this a book club book – there is a lot to discuss and I can assure you that I wore down hubby telling him so much about what I was reading that he finally asked to read the book. Highly recommended to the right audience. #shortbutsweetreviews

Note: Linkedin still not linking but posted there separately.