Massie Mulls Making AIPAC Register As A Foreign Agent

Representative of Kentucky's 4th Congressional District Thomas Massie has been one of the most vocal opponents of the uniparty running the US during his tenure in Congress. From defiance over totalitarian policies enforced under the guise of a pandemic response effort to his staunch defense of the constitution, Massie's efforts to actually represent the interest of the American public has put him in the crosshairs of the powers that be. The most recent episode of his continued fight against the corrupt establishment in Washington came when he joined Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in her motion to vacate Speaker Of The House Mike Johnson from his leadership position. Unlike the previous motion to vacate which successfully deposed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy which led to Johnson's installation as his successor, MTG's effort to oust Johnson failed. The fallout from that attempt to vacate the office of Speaker seems to have put its supporters as public enemy number one of the deep state.

Following Massie's vote in favor of vacating Johnson a pro-Israel AIPAC-affiliated super PAC has declared it is devoting at least $300,000 in an attempt to campaign against him with his forthcoming primary election just over the horizon on May 21st. The United Democracy Project announced it will purchase advertising time from all of the Fox network's affiliated channels across Kentucky to run ads against Massie that highlight what they chastise as his lack of support for Israel. UDP spokesman Patrick Dorton said “We are going to make sure every voter in the state of Kentucky knows how bad Tom Massie is on Israel.” Ads already airing to degrade Marrie's reputation have been nothing short of character assassination with one ad making the claim that Israel is “under attack by Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Congressman Tom Massie.”

While Massie faces no true challenger in his upcoming primary, the UDP effort seems to be part of a longer strategy to dissuade the states' electorate from supporting Massie ahead of the 2026 election in which Kentucky will vote for a new Senator to replace presumably out-going GOP Leader and establishment stalwart Mitch McConnell. If Massie were to win run and succeed McConnell as Senator, Kentucky would be represented by he and Rand Paul in the Senate. Given their track record of opposing reckless foreign aid and other establishment-favored positions, the premise of Massie and Paul joining forces is daunting for the pro-Israel lobby which has benefited from over $300 billion dollars in foreign aid sent to Israel since the creation of the state.

Following UDP's announcement to step up if its efforts against Massie, the congressman lambasted the AIPAC-affiliated super pac by making note of how its latest campaign coincided with his vote to vacate staunch ally of Israel Mike Johnson from his seat as Speaker. That response against his vote cast the undue influence the Israel lobby has on American politics back into the spotlight. After contemplating how to combat the UDP, Massie took to his account on X to post a poll asking whether the AIPAC should be forced to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Under the parameters of FARA, entities lobbying for foreign interests are required to disclose their relationships, activities, and finances to the Department Of Justice. 

FARA was enacted during the FDR administration in 1938 in an effort to combat concerns over propaganda from foreign governments like the USSR and Third Reich influencing the American public. Since its inception it has become inextricably tied to the birth of the AIPAC. Following the creation of the state of Israel, the American Zionist Council emerged as the Jewish state's major lobbying vehicle in the US. Its growing influence led to President Dwight D. Eisenhower to demand it register under FARA, however, that was to no avail. It wasn't under the administration of Eisenhower's immediate successor President John F. Kennedy that the American Zionist Council was ordered to register as a foreign agent by the Department Of Justice led by his brother Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Ordering them to register as a foreign agent led to the eventual dissolve of the AZC in 1966.

Before it was shutered, the AZC has divested itself from one of its subsidiaries named the American Zionist Committee For Public Affairs. Under the leadership of its founder and former AZC representative Isaiah L. Kenen, AZCPA configured itself to operate differently from the AZC to avoid falling under the FARA. AZCPA renamed itself to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee in 1959. Major revisions to FARA in 1966 and 1995 narrowed the parameters of what qualifies as a foreign agent which further insulated the AIPAC.

While FARA registration does not preclude foreign agents from lobbying, it does create a greater degree of transparency regarding foreign influence on domestic lobbying efforts in the US. Under 11 CFR § 110.20, foreign nationals are prohibited from making direct contributions to political campaigns meaning that any entity registered as a foreign agent would not be allowed to donate to Congress. In 2022 alone, AIPAC donated to 365 Democratic and Republican candidates to the tune of over $17 million.

Prior to 2021, the AIPAC did not raise funds directly for congressional candidates, instead it funded adjacent PACs in an effort to do so. Since 2021, its direct funding has only amplified its political influence. Those increased measures resulted in AIPAC-backed candidates winning 98% of all elections they ran in during 2022, effectively making Congress a vessel of the pro-Israel lobby. If that hasn't already been achieved, AIPAC is expected to spend in excess of $100 in the 2024 election cycle as Israel's war in Gaza has become one of the most central issues to American foreign policy.

The influence of the pro-Israel lobby has beckoned Congress to reform FARA in an effort to reign in the influence of foreign interests shaping US politics. Given those complexities, Massie's calls to require AIPAC to register as a foreign agent will not be realized overnight. However, leading the charge down that arduous path is imperative to take elected officials out of the pockets of foreign nations if they are ever to be put back into the hands of the American public. The difficulty in doing so has been made apparent as history demonstrates the rigorous efforts the AIPAC has taken to avoid having to register as a foreign agent. Given that JFK was the only president to successfully make the pro-Israel lobby register as a foreign agent, history also shows the dangers that comes with doing so.