As a 24-year veteran of the United States Army with multiple combat deployments, I have spent my life defending this nation against foreign threats. National security is not just about what happens on the battlefield. It is also about protecting our institutions at home, including the integrity of our legal system.
Over the past decade, a quiet and deeply concerning trend has taken root as foreign adversaries use third party litigation funding to manipulate U.S. courts in ways that threaten our economy, our businesses, and our national security.
Third-party litigation funding allows outside investors to finance lawsuits in return for a share of the settlement or judgment. These arrangements are almost always kept secret. Judges, juries, plaintiffs, and even defendants are left unaware of who is truly influencing the case. In recent years, foreign-controlled entities and sovereign wealth funds have entered this space, quietly inserting themselves into U.S. litigation without any requirement to disclose their involvement.
The risk this poses is no longer speculative. In 2024, Bloomberg revealed that Russian oligarchs with close ties to Vladimir Putin used litigation funding as a backdoor to profit from and influence U.S. legal proceedings while skirting international sanctions.
These actors are not merely investing for financial return. They are weaponizing our justice system to achieve geopolitical goals. The same mechanism could be used to target defense contractors, tech companies, or energy firms essential to U.S. infrastructure and security.
Beyond the foreign influence, these funding arrangements create troubling conflicts of interest. Attorneys are ethically bound to serve their clients, but when their compensation comes from an undisclosed third party, the client’s interests may take a back seat.
Litigation funders often push for longer and more expensive legal battles to maximize their return. That burden falls on both plaintiffs and defendants, driving up costs and delaying justice. Businesses pass these added expenses onto consumers, affecting the cost of goods and services across the country.
Despite the scale of this threat, there is no national law requiring the disclosure of third-party litigation funders. Only one state and a handful of courts have taken limited action to require transparency. That leaves our legal system vulnerable to foreign manipulation and gives our adversaries yet another way to undermine American strength without ever firing a shot.
Congress must close this loophole by passing the Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act. This legislation would require the disclosure of third-party funders and prevent foreign governments and their affiliates from operating in the shadows.
National security begins with resilience at home, and that means making sure our courts cannot be quietly turned into tools for our adversaries.
Derek Kitts, the owner of Blue Star Printing, is the former chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia Veterans and Military Families Caucus, and a current member of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.
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