Raskin Probe Threatens America’s Freelance Foreign Influence Industry
Rep. Jamie Raskin opened an investigation Tuesday into whether Jeffrey Epstein acted as an unregistered foreign agent who used his relationship with President Donald Trump to advise overseas officials, escalating Washington’s campaign against America’s sacred tradition of letting wealthy creeps conduct freelance diplomacy without burdensome paperwork. Raskin requested records from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after documents cited by the Maryland Democrat indicated Epstein offered foreign figures guidance on influencing the first Trump administration. Democrats now insist that globe-trotting financiers who market presidential access must “register,” “identify their clients” and “obey federal law,” a compliance regime apparently designed to crush the independent influence entrepreneur.
Trump defended the nation’s informal diplomacy sector, which allows any sufficiently connected man in a resort dining room to become a one-person State Department. “Jeffrey never needed registration because he was very independent, probably the most independent adviser anywhere, and when foreign officials asked about me, he provided tremendous service without costing taxpayers anything,” Trump said. The president added that official diplomats remain hampered by background checks, ethics rules and an institutional reluctance to describe access to the commander in chief as a premium product. Raskin’s inquiry could devastate thousands of hardworking Americans who earn supplemental income explaining Trump to Saudi, Kuwaiti and Russian officials from hotel lobbies, golf carts and group chats whose security protocol consists of recognizing most of the phone numbers.
Republicans warned that enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act could drive influence brokers into conventional lobbying jobs with salaries, offices and legally identifiable employers. Blanche is expected to review the request before determining that the relevant documents are simultaneously nonexistent, privileged, already released, illegally obtained and scheduled for publication immediately after public interest expires. Rubio, meanwhile, must decide whether secret advice to foreign governments constitutes espionage, diplomacy or merely networking with better catering. By demanding records and a response, Raskin has recklessly threatened the nation’s competitive advantage in deregulated back-channel government for hire. Unregistered foreign influence is therefore not a legal problem but America’s most successful small-business program.
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