Foreign national ban
Definition
Federal law bars foreign nationals, meaning non-citizens without permanent residency, foreign governments, and foreign corporations, from making any contribution or expenditure connected to a US election at any level, and bars anyone from soliciting or accepting such money on their behalf.
Why it matters
The ban exists to keep foreign governments and interests from directly buying influence over American elections. It's regularly tested by disguised contributions routed through US shell companies, subsidiaries, or straw donors, since a foreign national's indirect involvement in funding a decision is enough to violate the law.
Seen in the wild
Imaad Zuberi pleaded guilty to funneling foreign funds into hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal US campaign contributions. Lev Parnas was convicted for a scheme in which a $325,000 donation from Russian national Andrei Muraviev was routed through a shell company, Global Energy Producers, to the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action in 2018.1