Trump flips script on left, maneuvers to use foreign influence law against them

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Fox News Digital spoke with Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Zack Smith to discuss how the second Trump administration is addressing foreign influence on domestic affairs. President Donald Trump is turning foreign-influence laws that once ensnared figures in his own orbit toward left-wing activist networks accused of benefiting from overseas money and support. Once seldom enforced criminally, FARA became a more prominent tool at the DOJ after 2016, including in cases involving several figures in Trump’s orbit as well as some prominent Democrats. Now, legal experts say that FARA and other laws dealing with foreign influence are emerging as a potential weapon in Trump's campaign against left-wing activist networks. "Unfortunately, it seems clear that the Biden administration went overboard and tried to use FARA as a political weapon against alli