Photos: Getty Images; Department of Defense; Illustration: Leslie Garvey / POGO)
“THE PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT (POGO)” By Julienne McClure
Under current law, any retired or reserve members of the military wishing to work for a foreign government or receive emoluments (gifts, payments, reimbursements, or something of value from a foreign state) must first obtain approval from the secretary of their military service and then from the Secretary of State.
Over 500 retired and reserve U.S. military personnel have received permission to receive awards or employment from foreign interests after they retire, according to documents obtained by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). In some cases, these are public figures working to sway public sentiment that do not identify their relationships with foreign interests.
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“Over half of these waivers were granted so former military officials could work on behalf of United Arab Emirates interests, despite the Emirati government’s troubling record of human rights violations.
POGO acquired the waivers through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. The Washington Post filed a similar lawsuit, and the two organizations shared the documents that were obtained. Read the Washington Post‘s own investigation into the waivers here. While the identities of most waiver recipients remain redacted, the emoluments clause waiver program itself raises troubling questions about whether those receiving emoluments from foreign interests have previous professional relationships with foreign countries or plan to seek such relationships following their retirement. If so, can they be counted on to provide advice on national security issues that is in the best interest of the United States?
In August 2017, POGO released an investigation revealing high-ranking former military officials — including then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis, former National Security Advisor James L. Jones, and then-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly — had previously requested and received waivers. While Kelly’s waiver allowed him to work with the Australian Defense Force, a close U.S. ally, Mattis’ and Jones’ waivers were to conduct work on behalf of the government of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabian foreign interests, respectively.
At that time, it was unclear how many other retired or reserve members of the military received permission to receive emoluments from foreign interests. Now, for the first time, these documents provide a closer look at the size and scope of the waiver program.
These waivers authorized former members of the military to be paid to work on behalf of over 50 countries, including close allies like Australia, the U.K., Canada, Germany, South Korea, and Japan. However, waivers also approved work on behalf of countries the U.S. government has criticized for their record on human rights violations and authoritarianism, including Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. In fact, nearly 280 waivers (or a little over half of the waivers obtained under FOIA) granted approval for former military personnel to receive emoluments for work on behalf of United Arab Emirates interests.
The least these agencies can do for the sake of transparency and accountability is make sure the waivers they do issue are easily accessible to the public. Absent this knowledge, it is impossible for the people to know whether former military personnel are acting solely in the interest of the United States or if they also serve the interests of wealthy foreign clients, including those with questionable human rights records.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Julienne McClure is a research fellow at POGO. As a part of the research and investigations team, Julienne works across teams to help expose waste, corruption, and abuse of power involving the federal government.
Before joining POGO, Julienne worked as a research assistant at Diamond6 where she compiled reports about geopolitical events in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East in order to prepare the organization’s leadership for diplomatic meetings.
In May 2021, Julienne earned a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish with a concentration in Security Studies from Dickinson College. While at Dickinson College, she studied abroad at the University of Málaga and interned as an English teacher at a Málaga migration nonprofit.
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