committee because i was a ranking member. i made a contribution. .hey accepted me as their equal their acceptance of me as their superior allowed me to know that i could negotiate with the best of them. >> we will hear from nancy johnson -- what oral histories, sunday at 10:00 a.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3. "> "washington journal continues. host: anna massoglia from the center for responsive politics. what does the center for responsive politics do? guest: it is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research group. we track all the money that flows into that. host: your latest report talks about foreign interest spending in the united states.

what exactly is a foreign interest? are mostly basing our research on the foreign agent registration act data. we are able to see what type of governments, other political parties in foreign countries, individuals from foreign countries are spending on political means, pr or lobbying in the united states. host: $534 million was spent by foreign governments, political parties and other foreign interests to influence united states government or public opinion since 2017. what was the money spent on? guest: their spending it in a lot of different ways. a lot of that is lobbying, trying to directly influence policy in the united states. with discussion of tariffs and trade recently, we've seen a large uptick. also for tourism purposes.

and a lot of just different government spending to try to win u.s. trust over to their causes. host: we've heard a lot of talk about foreign government spending and interfering with u.s. government. is all of this legal? guest: as long as it is disclosed. as long as you are filing your disclosures, registering as a foreign agent and spending within those limits -- all of this spending is legal. people are not filing as foreign agents and they are not disclosing the millions of dollars they are receiving. that's the issue you see with manafort. host: we want you to join our conversation today. republicans, you can call in at 202-748-8001. democrats, you can call in at

202-748-8000. independents, call in at 202-748-8002. you can always reach us on social media, on twitter and on facebook. what was the most surprising thing you found in your reporting? guest: the sheer numbers of it, over $500 million was a conservative estimate on our part based on the statements. the numbers were really striking to me. host: can regular people go to your report and figure out what countries or what interests are spending money on lobbying the federal government? guest: they can. we have a number of different tools for tracking money in politics. our most recent releases the foreign lobby watch tool. instead of having to go through the department of justice and

individual filings, we've made it all available as searchable data. people can go in and type in a foreign agent or lobbyist, government or country and see how they are spending their money and how much. host: you've talked a lot about the law this morning -- can you talk about how it came to be? guest: the foreign agent registration act was passed in 1948. and requires anyone acting on behalf of a foreign interest, whether it be a government, political party or person trying to impact public opinion or filey, it requires them to with the department of justice and disclose materials they distribute to people. there's been a lot of lax enforcement for a number of years. only recently, there's been a lot more scrutiny of the law. host: when you say lax

enforcement, does that mean they have used this law a dozen times, a hundred times? guest: a lot of people were not necessarily filing on-time. we've seen a lot of attractive filing. -- as retroactive filing lot of retroactive filing. a lot of it went undisclosed for years. host: what is the danger of that? guest: people don't know who is spending and who is behind influencing their opinions and the policies that affect their lives. trish, callingto in from new york on the democratic line. good morning, trish. caller: good morning. say i just don't

think any foreign government should have any influence over a political party, whether it's republican or democrat. what it basically boils down to andhe system is so corrupt it's because we've gone so far away from god and his laws and now it is coming to an end. that's why everyone should go to truth.net to find out the real truth about what is going on. thank you. have we seen any movement in congress to tighten up these foreign interest lobbying laws? guest: there have been a number of proposals trying to revoke some of the exemptions or increase the ability for the justice department to enforce

the laws. there is a wide brady of different proposals. none of them have been finalized. was something passed to to not media outlets only file through the department of justice but also the comedic communications act. host: let's go to mary on the narcoti democratic line. caller: i'm a retired government worker. clearanceur security is removed once you retire or leave office. we let it stay with high-level officials in the government -- because you have a

lot of workers who are afraid to information and they only disclose it to their supervisors or higher government officials to relay that to the president or maybe politicians that are involved. what i'm concerned with the president revoking officials' high-level security clearance, we have a lot of politicians involved with foreign governments and they may fail to disclose foreign interests they're getting from these different countries. everybody is not going to be honest. we have seen this in the past where lot of politicians they have received money from different governments and failed to disclose it.

now is going to be more that president trump is revoking and weurity clearance share information with these different countries based on data mining. this is why everybody should be on board looking at everything. just like president trump shared information with russia that somebody was going to attack them, that's why the top officials should always be on board. we do share the majority of our information with other countries. that's my comment. i think president trump needs to think twice. country tont another

know information that another worker is failing to release. can't speak to the security clearance part of that issue but one good point is failing to disclosure -- disclose data, there's a very active revolving door in washington that former politicians often go off to lobby, and that includes foreign lobbying. in number of former lawmakers have ended up in our data. that is something that needs to be focused on. host: what country spends the most money lobbying the united states? guest: considering the caveat that is both lobbying and public south koreaending, is the largest with 15 million

-- $15 million. host: what other countries are on that list? guest: the united arab emirates are another top spender. japan, a number of middle 10 of theuntries -- trying to governments influence public policy in the united states. host: let's go to richard in wyoming on the independent line. caller: good morning. i was interested in the nra's role in receiving donations, if or if there was something going on that people should be more aware of. host: did you study any nongovernmental entity? guest: in the united states,

there's a number of different things that get impacted. there are nonprofits registering under fara. the nra is not one of them. host: let's go to joann calling from pennsylvania on the democratic line. caller: good morning. trump's former campaign manager, paul manafort, stands accused of receiving millions of dollars -- this isn nations outrageous. as i recall, the u.s. attorney that was prosecuting started the bankng statement with a saying a man in the courtroom believed the laws do not apply to them. i'm glad you have this very well spoken guest on. thank you for c-span. thank you very much. guest: thank you so much.

paul manafort is certainly one that has come under scrutiny for lack of appropriate filing with fara for not disclosing some interests. the current trial has just finished, it is going to journey -- the jury, it is more focused on tax fraud. host: let's go to al calling from maryland on the republican line. caller: good morning. thank you for giving me a chance to talk. c-span needs to do a better job masking their bias by monitoring their calls -- you need to keep the calls on point. tracking what other countries made contributions to our country? --you track any other form foreign countries they can

tribute to? maybe there are sector contributions across multiple countries. thank you. guest: unfortunately, the center for responsive politics work is focused on politics in the united states, but that would be a fascinating research question. a lot of laws have been in flux the last three years. i would be curious to see what the state of disclosure looks like in those countries as well. host: we talked about the revolving door between congressional staffers and lobbying for other countries. is it legal for their family members to lobby for other countries as well? guest: there's no limits on who can actually be a foreign agent , especially since they don't discriminate on lobbying and pr. i can't speak to the legality of that. host: beverly calling from

oklahoma city, oklahoma on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. i just want to say thank you, anna, for being on the show. i appreciate c-span for allowing us to have a voice. i'm concerned about a couple of things in regards to the foreign moneys coming in. doesw for a fact that it end up skewing our policies. that they are being legitimate and who do you think in the past couple of in tohas more money come support either the republican or the democratic party? i'm curious to know how much money actually came in under both parties. wherest curious to see

the money's are coming in -- the which are coming in, party more for. it's on aot of times, specific piece of legislation, that doesn't necessarily translate to something political. interfering in elections is still problematic under u.s. law. foreign nationals are prohibited from contributing to u.s. political campaigns. that's not necessarily something we can track, not necessarily something we know whether it is happening. under fara, it is more so on certain issues. can't see where that falls along partisan lines. host: let's go to george calling from tennessee on the republican line.

good morning, george. caller: good morning. could you tell me the difference between foreign lobbyists and foreign spies? it seems to me they both have their own interests of their own countries in mind? isn't necessarily a legal definition. if foreign agent is trying to influence u.s. public policy or fara,ng -- in the case of the information is going from that foreign interest to the united states. they are trying to influence policy directly or public opinion directly. i wouldnage cases, assume the case would be they are here to get information and take that out of the country. host: this is a good time to

ask, where do these foreign lobbyists work? do they work at pr firms, law offices? guest: there's a wide variety of registrants. pr and lobbying firms to differ nonprofits, media outlets, that type of thing. it can be different government entities. there's a wide variety of different people who are registered. host: let's go to alan calling from north carolina on the in . -- the independent line. caller: good morning. itas just on your website, only goes back to 2017 when president trump took over. my question goes back a little further. i was trying to find out how much iran gave the government under mr. obama.

there was a lot of policy in favor of iran. you would think there was some type of influence there because those are issues that have been hotly debated. i would be curious to see how much iran gave to the government to affect elections. when i went to the website, none of those dates were there. i thought that was curious. guest: we are actually working to expand the database right now. our initial launch was for the first two years. we don't currently have data going back that far because that is when we took over the project. over the next few months, we are hoping to add more prior years. keep checking. we are hoping to have that very soon. host: and is calling from

washington, d.c. on the democratic line -- ed is calling from washington, d c on the in -- washington, d.c. on the democratic line. caller: i'm a scientist. i know the intelligence business very well. , russia russians did hacked into our election and this president won electoral -- hillary clinton had almost 3 million votes. hackussians didn't have to millions of terminals. they only have to hack the swing states. your guest is very knowledgeable. look at this electoral college. the mac and public doesn't understand the electoral system

-- the american public doesn't understand the electoral system. removedald trump clearance from brennan, he said, ok, mr. president, remove my clearance, too. undertop-secret clearance , i put mydepartment hand on the bible that i would protect this country from foreign and domestic influences air.ey take them off the this is the same thing. do you think social media should be allowed to interfere with our elections? i think you're doing a very good job. thank you very much.

guest: thank you. i can't comment on whether they should be allowed to do that. social media certainly changed the game in terms of foreign influence. instead of it being templates or books people are trying to now,ibute, a lot of times, it is something on social media. it is harder to track and quantify. there are a lot of technology companies working to track that better. that's a lot of progress in the right direction. host: is there as much impetus in congress to tighten any laws around this area. guest: there's been a lot of proposals, but not a lot that's been passed yet. the exemption, a lot of proposals about changing the dynamics of that, increasing the enforcement, trying to narrow --

there's a lot of blurry definitions, trying to clarify those. more clarity could be a good thing. host: do you expect those bills would pass this year? guest: it's unclear at this point. it is such a new issue to get this type of spotlight. it is a matter of getting people to understand the topic before they can start legislating on it. host: we are talking with anna massoglia from the center for responsive politics. we are talking about foreign spending to lobby and public relations in the united states. republicans call in at 202-748-8001. democrats call in at 202-748-8000. independents, you can call in at 202-748-8002. you can always reach us on social media, on twitter and facebook. bill calling in from

colorado on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. [inaudible] thank you for c-span. fox is owned by rupert murdoch -- would they be considered a foreign lobby? no, fox is not a registered foreign lobby. , they willmes mention different media outlets that different countries will use for pr or propaganda purposes. there are a number of news outlets that will show up in the data. show,news outlets that are they government owned news outlets? guest: there are a variety of different outlets.

they can be used for pr purposes or different type of things -- the ones registered as foreign agents are under the direct control of the government. forrester calling from florida on the independent line. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span and thank you for the center for responsive politics. debate aring to the few moments ago when you stated more clarity and not a specific proposal and this focus on process is causing this gridlock, that's why we can't get this clarity. it's really a matter of running the administration into the ground -- the republican party pragmatic,-- i'm a

intellectual person -- in lieu of a policy agenda to in fact give clarity, rather, they have sat back and of actually getting clarity, rather they have set back and created ideological gridlock within the administration, and thereby we are here with these multinationals that are now all over the world, and therefore the structure of the multinational corporation has -- thisa law sloppy lobby also, because they are all over the world. the bridges a lack of clarity. same thing with the hollowing out of the jobs, the duality and governance and unity of the profit share with the lack of the pensions.

they decided that they are going to let the judiciary do their dirty work, and therefore subscribed for years as judges, but now that they have the full power of the state. i'm not aware of any legislation -- you spoke to us legislation, that unifyx cut under control and feigned an interest in somehow providing something to the country. will you please speak to the multinational influence of the lobby and the fact that that also contributes to it? when we allow through the tax and policy laws to send our economic structural development overseas, these corporations.

now we have this alex, we have all of these groups committed think tanks that they promote. i am very hopeful, however, because i think the people are in fact now without a future. they see their children without a future. the elderly see a dignity of retirement without a future that we will bring some clarity through that ballot box, and that is the only way that we will come to a consensus of clarity. thank you. guest: thank you for your thoughts on the. i agree that more larry, whether can belation or others, good. i look forward to seeing what they do. i look for to seeing what the final product turns out to be. host: it is legal for a foreign government to spend money to lobby. is it legal for foreign

countries and foreign governments to donate to political campaigns? guest: it is not legal for foreign nationals to contribute to political campaigns. host: let's go to carolyn, who is calling from killeen, texas on the democratic line. carolyn, good morning. caller: good morning. russiansquestion on giving money to nra. can you give any information on that? guest: unfortunately, that is outside of the scope. the nra is not registered as a foreign agent, so we do not really have any data on that-. sometimes the nra will turn up in terms of meetings people have taken, but unfortunately, we do not have a lot to track money. because the nra does not disclose donors, it makes it even harder.

unfortunately, we do not have a lot of data on that. host: let's go to john in new york city on the infinite line. john, good morning. caller: good morning. we can talk about the spending. i was wondering where the money goes. who gets this money? guest: it depends on the interest. a lot of the money goes to .onsulting lobbyists a lot will go to the pr campaign, whether that is advertising, social media, members of congress or other types of publication. variety of things that has evolved over the years for sure. host: let's go to karen in chicago on the republican line. good morning. caller: this is really sickening to me. there are so many government officials who are just lined up with money from foreign

entities. i am thinking of menendez, congressman menendez. mostn, he is the despicable piece of self that i have ever heard of. medicare i do not know if he was involved in a scheme with friends of his from spain, and other countries probably as well, and nobody is doing anything about it. nobody even talks about it, which means to me that there are lots of people involved. maybe the administration -- i but everybody is into something, and i cannot know what is going to happen to this country. now i understand that china is studentsin getting into the united states to fill up the universities. everything is happening to america. nothing is happening for the

citizens, and i am really afraid. i am a black american. i voted democrat all my life. i am 66 years old. i will never vote for another democrat. i think they are the worst, and now they are like cockroaches running in the dark. you make a a lot of good points about the levels of corruption in congress. we have seen a revolving door from members of congress and administration officials going to work for a lobbyist or as consultants for other countries or under foreign interests. that is certainly concerned. host: let's go to larry who calling from tennessee democratic line. larry good morning. ,caller: good morning. i would like to start off by countering that i am a democrat, and i will vote democrat this time, and i'm proud to be a democrat.

my last statement is on foreign aid. i think it is the chief way to develop countries and to help , electricity,er get roads. in doing this, allow them to be able to get there ir goods that they develop from , to -- where they can sell them and make a living. it is a hands of opportunity for people who are in desperation, -- i think we are helping

really, the main idea of churches throughout the world, and that is to give people the to get better and familiesd help their diseaseve the perils of the stuff that happens during life. host: one of the things that you have tracked is the money that is coming it. have you seen any instances of actual policies or things that have been changed because of the money that foreign governments, foreign entities have spent, using for your efforts in the united states? guest: we cannot necessarily draw a line between the two points, but we certainly have seen a lot of correlations. we have seen a lot of spending on things like tariffs and

sanctions, very close in time by spending to other countries. host: let's go to richard was calling from kansas on the independent line. richard good morning. ,caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. the previous columns to my question about where it is lobbyist money is going to. making its way to congressman downstream here? is there anybody, oversight that ?s tracking this money thank you for taking my call. guest: while contributions from foreign nationals are prohibited from going to campaign strictly, one caveat is people registered as foreign agents or foreign lobbyists are still able to donate because they are american citizens. so that is one point. are tryinglly why we to get this information out there, so that people can look

at this data, try some of the fording, and know themselves where some of the money is going. host: let's go to dave: from new york on the democratic line. dave, good morning. caller: good morning. a quick question come in the context of the clinton foundation and hillary clinton, when she was secretary of state, how much, do you know, how much money came from foreign entities into the clinton foundation? and giving speeches for half $1 million and getting money into that foundation. i know you talked about the emails. there is tons of funding for donations into that, but how much of maybe foreign money was going to that? thank you. guest: unfortunately, that is outside of the tracking.

seeould be interesting to how much the clinton foundation shows up in the filing. we have not had a chance to trackback, but i'm curious. new: let's go to nina from jersey on the republican line. nina, good morning. caller: good morning. i don't have too much to say, i do not know too much about lobbying third i know a lot of allocations come out of millionaires. worked all my life, and i don't -- hello? host: we hear you. go ahead, nina. caller: i am sorry. and i never came out as a millionaire, far from it. i am just wondering how that lobbying works. and i also wanted to compliment you on your guests yesterday morning, cheryl chumley.

she was a breath of fresh air. she was wonderful. i think our president is doing a wonderful job, and i think he needs to go after all these --er, you know, klapper and yates and all of them, and he got to take away their security passes, and that is it. guest: do politicians have to wait after leaving congress before the concert doing work for foreign government, or can they immediately, the day after they leave congress, start lobbying? guest: there are a number of however, inods, recent years, we have seen a growth in what is called shadow lobbying, where they will have consultants or strategic advisors and effectively halving world that is almost identical to be a a lobbyist or being a foreign agent but not necessarily actually be registered. craig calling to

in from palm beach, florida on the independent line. craig, you are on the air. good morning. caller: good morning. there was a cellmate in 2012 called -- film made in 2012 called "promise land," made by matt damon, and it was produced dhabi, and it was an anti-fracking film. he was going to poison the land all over with fracking. i want to know if he is registered as a foreign agent, because they were definitely trying to cripple the fracking industry. everybody knows that the middle east is deaf on fracking, because they cannot drive down the prices. opec is threatened by the fracking industry.

i find it disturbing. i looked at the credits, and i read this, there was united arab -- unitedorting this, arab emirates supporting this, and i found it disturbing that it was out there, and he is matt damon, making a lot of money from a film that was designed to ruin the fracking industry in this country. do you have any comment? well, united arab emirates is one of the top spenders from 2017. movie,miliar with that but i'm not aware that matt damon is registered as a foreign agent. you are able to search through terms, including things like matt damon or "promised land," and see what would come up. host: we would like to thank from the center for responsive politics for being here this morning. thank you. guest: thank you so much for having me. host: coming up, "usa today's"

jayne o'donnell will be here to talk about e-cigarette regulations. coming up next after that, "wired" contributor maryn mckenna discusses the emergence of a superbug fungus and how experts are working to combat the spread of infection. we will be right back. ♪ >> sunday night on "after words," retired marine corps on genderte germano discrimination in the military. she is interviewed by todd

south. a developer going into boot camp but not a highest and are coming out of boot camp, how does that affect the perception of her by her colleague? kate: because everything is so segregated, those stereotypes are set. and those stereotypes come as i mentioned earlier, they feed into the perception that women can't, because they are women, and then they are not respected. the lack of respect between men and women in the marine corps is legendary. all the time, you hear male workers who happen to be slower told that they are women, that -word, so it p becomes normal to say derogatory things about women. that is sort of the dilemma that women have in the marine corps

when they graduate from the camp, that is the culture they are brought into. sunday atafter words" 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2's booktv. >> tonight at 8:00 p.m. on c-span, african-american lgbtq leaders talk about issues facing their communities, including acceptance, inclusion, and civic engagement. >> we have talked about voting, we have talked about running for office, but there is somewhat political work that has to happen beyond those things. right? david was saying just as we have been here policy is moving to prevent queer people from being parents! from adopting children and fostering children! it is better for a child to stay in the system then, evan for been, -- than, heaven for been, two que p