Chamber: 'We have a system'

An official at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tita Freeman, emails my colleague Chris Frates with their terse response to a liberal group's report that they could be funding political ads with foreign money:

AmChams are independent organizations and they do not fund political programs in the United States. We have a system in place for ensuring that they are not government-controlled entities. The Chamber is proud to have global companies among our membership. We’re careful to ensure that we comply with all applicable laws. No foreign money is used to fund political activities.

The question of foreign money, incidentally, is a bit of a Pandora's box as non-profit groups increasingly penetrate politics. The Center for American Progress, which publishes ThinkProgress, could, if it wanted, solicit (and keep secret) foreign contributions. The liberal Jewish group J Street raised some eyebrows last week with a giant contribution from a woman in Hong Kong. Under some circumstances, groups could run afoul of rules requiring that foreign agents register.

UPDATE: Chamber of Commerce Spokesman J.P. Fielder emails over a clearer denial that it funnels foreign money into American politics via American Chambers of Commerce and their members abroad.

"No foreign money - from AmChams of otherwise - is used to fund political activities," Fielder said in an email. "None of the AmCham money is used for political activities."

The group's protestations aren't likely to satisfy critics.

“They basically say, ‘trust us’ when there's mounting evidence they're outsourcing the funding of their political attacks ads? Yeah, right,” said David Donnelly, national campaigns director for Public Campaign Action Fund, in an email.

ALSO: More from Frates.