Eli Clifton

Enormous Lockheed stock buybacks and dividends come at expense of taxpayers

The federal government and U.S. taxpayers are effectively underwriting massive returns for Lockheed Martin shareholders, returns so impressive that the weapons firm’s CEO, James Taiclet, boasted about how the company handed $11 billion over to…

Foxes watching the hen house? DC insiders oversee Biden defense plans

Earlier this month, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees named eight commissioners who will review President Joe Biden’s National Defense Strategy and provide recommendations for its implementation. But the Commission on the National…

DC think tank addresses undisclosed conflicts of interest

Washington-based think tanks have been notoriously slow to implement the same conflict of interest policies and disclosures commonly implemented by journalists, academics, and scientists. But a rush of retroactive disclosures of conflicts of interest…

How Twitter hid US-military info ops from the public

Recent ‘FILES’ released by the social media giant’s new CEO Elon Musk reveal double standards on outting covert gov’t-backed programs. Emails from the so-called “Twitter Files” — internal communications shared with Lee Fang at The Intercept as well…

DC think tank puts hawkish former Aussie PM on China Center board

Does the Hudson Institute need to register under the Foreign Agent Registration Act after appointing Scott Morrison as an adviser? Australian media outlets exploded two weeks ago with articles about current member of Australian parliament and former…

AI weapons investors get an undisclosed advertorial in the Atlantic

The Atlantic “Ideas” article had all the trappings of an insightful think piece co authored by one of the most successful former CEOs in Silicon Valley, Eric Schmidt. Schmidt, who headed up Google from 2001 to 2011, writing alongside Robert O. Work,…

Intel community sounds alarm about UAE’s US meddling

A new report suggests the Gulf State’s influence over American politics has now risen to the level of a national security challenge. The United Arab Emirates’ well-documented efforts to steer U.S. foreign policy to the Gulf state’s benefit has become…

Retired general’s pro-Saudi op-eds didn’t disclose financial incentives

Over four years, Ret. Air Force General Charles “Chuck” Wald published a series of op-eds with Reuters, NBC News, The Hill, and Newsweek in which he promoted weapons sales, U.S. security guarantees, and closer military cooperation with Saudi Arabia…

Trump tell-all cites Adelson’s bankrolled Israel embassy move

Sheldon Adelson, the Republican Party’s biggest funder over the past decade, used a $20 million donation to a super PAC to pressure then-president Donald Trump to adopt the highly controversial decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel…

Norm Coleman Oversees GOP Congressional War Chest, Then Lobbies on Saudi Arabia’s Behalf

Last year, former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, one of the Republican Party’s biggest fundraisers, had a request for 30 Republican congressional staffers. Coleman had helped many of their bosses’ campaigns in his role atop an organization that raised…

Saudi lobbyist oversees millions in dark money GOP campaign donations

This story was co-published with The Intercept. Last year, former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, one of the Republican Party’s biggest fundraisers, had a request for 30 Republican congressional staffers. Coleman had helped many of their bosses’…

Why Are We Sleepwalking Away From the One China Policy? | Opinion

The circuitous route taken by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plane from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei, flying on the eastern side of the Philippines so as to completely avoid the South China Sea and a possible interdiction or clash with Chinese military…

Pentagon contractors in Afghanistan operated with minimal disclosure and oversight

According to a new report, the Defense Department doled out billions to companies that are not identifiable on contracting databases. The rapid collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces last summer and return to power by the Taliban laid bare…

AIPAC’s new strategy: Spend millions on elections, don’t mention Israel

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s announcement late last year that it would launch a super PAC, the United Democracy Project, and endorse candidates sent shockwaves through foreign policy and advocacy communities. AIPAC had long…

The Government’s Investigation Into Brookings Should Worry Think Tanks

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Last week a bipartisan bill was introduced in the House of Representatives to curb foreign influence in the US political process. This bill comes on the heels of Ret. Gen. John…

Bipartisan “Fighting Foreign Influence Act” Targets Think Tank Funding

Today’s move follows incidents of high profile corruption and influence peddling involving well-connected Americans. Just four days after the resignation of Brookings president John Allen, following the disclosure of a federal investigation into…

Brookings president resigns after being accused of secretly lobbying for Qatar

Retired four-star Marine general John R. Allen resigned his position as president of the Brookings Institution just days after reports emerged that Federal investigators accused Allen of secretly lobbying for Qatar. “John Allen has resigned to ensure…

Feds accuse Brookings president Gen. Allen of illegally lobbying for Qatar

The retired four-star general allegedly used his role at the top think tank to influence US policy on behalf of Doha. The current president of one of the biggest and most influential think tanks in Washington DC, the Brookings Institution, allegedly…

Gulf States led DC lobby blitz targeting Iran military wing as terrorists

Their ongoing influence is effective even today, as Biden remains reluctant to lift IRGC terror listing to make way for JCPOA renewal. This story was co-published with The Intercept. In 2019, the Trump administration took the controversial step of…

Lockheed CEO on excessive gov’t contracts: We just do what they ask

Weapons manufacturers aren’t often faced with questions about how the size of their government contracts compares to other government expenditures and what their outsized slice of federal spending might say about national priorities. But Lockheed…