5/13/21 Ben Freeman on Saudi Arabia’s Covert Influence in American Politics

5/13/21 Ben Freeman on Saudi Arabia’s Covert Influence in American Politics

Scott interviews Ben Freeman about his research into the Saudi lobby’s activity in American politics. Freeman explains that while it’s illegal for foreign governments to donate directly to politicians in this country, it’s easy to get around these restrictions by hiring firms in the U.S. to make contributions and to lobby on behalf of governments like Saudi Arabia. Freeman has found hundreds of such filings per year, totaling tens of millions of dollars in contributions. He reminds us that all of this activity contributes to painting Saudi Arabia in a positive light while they continue to perpetrate war crimes against the people of Yemen.

Discussed on the show:

Ben Freeman is director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative with the Center for International Policy. Read his work at AntiWar.com and follow him on Twitter @BenFreemanDC.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

About Scott Horton

Scott Horton is director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from ScottHorton.org. He's the author of the 2021 book Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism, the 2017 book, Fool's Errand:Time to End the War in Afghanistan, editor of the 2019 book The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019 and the 2022 book Hotter Than The Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. He’s conducted more than 5,800 interviews since 2003. Scott lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Larisa Alexandrovna Horton.

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