Newt Gingrich is urging a congressional investigation into U.S. influence-buying by Islamist and other foreign government interests in the Middle East.
Noting increasing investment by foreign government and regimes, Gingrich, writing on his website, wants Congress to take a hard look into where money is coming from and what he views as a conflict of interest taking place under the radar in the U.S.
"Congress has an obligation to establish how big the problem is and to consider new laws to protect American politics and government from being undermined and distorted by foreign opponents buying their way into positions of influence,"
Gingrich wrote in on Wednesday.
The former House speaker and Republican presidential candidate, now 71, will outline his concerns in a Friday speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Gingrich cited foreign funding collected by the Clinton Foundation as one example of what he fears is influence-peddling under the guise of interest support. He noted a
Wall Street Journal analysis of the foundation that found donations from the United Arab Emirates between $1-5 million last year and funds sent from Saudi Arabia totaling between $10-25 million since 1999.
But Gingrich also turned an eye on U.S. think tanks and universities that he says also continue to "take money from the very countries they are supposedly studying." Added Gingrich of the practice: "So-called scholars show up on television without informing the audience of how much they are making from the countries they are analyzing."
While he noted, that not all such gifts are "inappropriate or dangerous," he added that "the degree to which foreign donors – many ideologically opposed to Western values and civilization – are funding our leading academic and intellectual institutions merits much greater scrutiny and recognition than it has received." Gingrich also warned of intensified lobbying efforts by foreign governments in Washington with "policy makers who rely on think tanks are often unaware of the role of foreign governments in funding the research."
He warned against Islamist expansion under the radar and the sophistication of foreign governments peddling influence by way of getting a foot under the door without causing notice.
He cited Andrew McCarthy's book
"The Grand Jihad" in noting that "cultural and political jihad can be as effective as violent jihad because they are harder to oppose and even to detect."
Added Gingrich of his concerns: "While Americans have been focused on ISIS and other foreign centers of horrifying violence, people who would, if they had the chance, replace Western civilization with submission to Islam have been working on many other fronts. It is evident that one of those fronts has been funding sympathy at our elite institutions."