MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Agency Action, Oversight and Federal Rights, wrote U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging them to take action in order to mitigate the threat foreign actors like China are posing by covertly funding litigation in U.S. courts.  

“Few safeguards exist in any form of law, rule, or regulation to prevent foreign adversaries from participating in civil litigation as an undisclosed third-party in our country’s federal courtrooms—this resulting in our national security and our entire government being vulnerable to manipulation,” Kennedy wrote.

“As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I ask that the Department of Justice provide details about any course of action that has been taken to mitigate this threat. I also recommend that the Judicial Conference of the United States consider proactively providing guidance to courts from coast to coast as means of preventing foreign entities from hijacking our federal judiciary,” Kennedy stated.     

The letter comes as recent reports reveal that foreign hedge funds, private equity funds and sovereign wealth funds linked to hostile governments are financing civil lawsuits in U.S. courts with a desired outcome. 

The full letter is available here.