Harris refunds donations from agents of foreign governments.
‘Once we were made aware of these individual contributions, we returned them’
Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign said Wednesday that it had refunded two donations that violated the senator’s pledge not to accept money from lobbyists or agents of foreign governments.
Three days after she announced her White House bid in January, Harris received $2,700 from Arthur R. Collins, a lobbyist for the government of Bermuda. Sometime in January or February, Harris also received $2,700 from Vinca LaFleur, a speechwriter for the royal family of Jordan.
Both Collins and LaFleur — who are American — reported their donations in government filings required of foreign agents. The Harris campaign refunded the money after the Bay Area News Group asked about the contributions this week.
“Our policy prohibits contributions from registered federal lobbyists and foreign agents,” a campaign spokesperson said. “As such, once we were made aware of these individual contributions, we returned them. We’re committed to running a campaign powered by the people and that includes thousands of small- dollar donations from all 50 states.”
The refunds come as the 2020 Democratic presidential con- tenders are jostling to show their bona fides on campaign finance and government reform issues. Many of the top candidates, including Harris, have vowed to reject corporate PAC money, lobbyist donations and support from independent Super PACs.
“Campaigns are realizing they need to walk the walk and not just talk the talk of reforming the system,” said Brendan Fischer, a lawyer with the Campaign Legal Center, a good government group. “Rejecting money from foreign lobbyists is a way candi-
dates can signal that they’re going to stand up to the role money plays in our elections.”
Federal law requires anyone who works for a foreign government, political party or organization in a “political or quasi-political capacity” to register as a foreign agent with the Department of Justice. Registered agents have to regularly report their political donations. They’re only allowed to make campaign contributions with their own personal money — donations from foreign citizens or entities are not allowed.
Collins, who worked on the presidential campaigns of John Kerry and Barack Obama, has represented Caribbean governments in Washington since 2016, meeting with U. S. government officials and giving his clients advice about U.S. policy, DOJ filings show. In addition to Bermuda, he now also represents Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. In the 2000s, he also lobbied Congress on behalf of a tobacco company and several other corporate clients. He gave Harris’ 2016 Senate campaign about $4,300.
LaFleur, a former speechwriter for Bill Clinton, worked as a registered agent for Jordan’s royal court from 2008 to 2011 and again since 2016. Her role involved drafting public remarks and “written communications” for Queen Rania Al-Abdullah.
Collins and LaFleur did not respond to requests for comment.
The two donations were made online. A full list of campaign contributions to Harris and her presidential rivals won’t be available until next month.
Harris said that she would stop accepting money from corporate PACs in April 2018, after being asked about it at a California town hall. As a presidential candidate, she’s made her rejection of corporate and lobbyist cash a big selling point in fundraising emails to supporters.
“From day one, I made a commitment to you: our campaign will reject all contributions from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists — instead, putting our campaign in the hands of the people,” Harris wrote in an email this week.
The spotlight on foreign agents’ influence in U.S. politics has intensified in the wake of the prosecution of former Donald Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, who pled guilty to failing to disclose his work lobbying for the Ukrainian government and a pro-Russia political party. He was sentenced to a total of 7.5 years in prison this month for violations of lobbying rules and other crimes.