After Words Ken Vogel’s “Devils’ Advocates”: Inside Rudy Giuliani, Hunter Biden, and D.C.’s Hidden Foreign Influence Networks
Nov 30, 2025
Kenneth P. Vogel, a New York Times reporter and investigative journalist, dives into the murky waters of foreign lobbying in D.C. He reveals the historical roots of lobbying, tracing back to the 1930s and the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Vogel discusses the ironic legacy of FARA's author, Congressman Dickstein, while highlighting how figures like Paul Manafort revolutionized influence peddling. He also dissects Hunter Biden's complex ties, Rudy Giuliani's controversial diplomacy, and the evolving landscape of political influence under Trump's presidency.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Savimbi As A Manufactured Reagan Hero
- Manafort turned Jonas Savimbi into a Reagan-era cause celebre and kept U.S. support flowing for years.
- Vogel notes that later many U.S. backers regretted sustaining a brutal rebel leader and prolonged war.
Vacuum Let New Brokers Sell Access
- Trump's outsider rise created a vacuum that new brokers exploited to sell access to his administration.
- That vacuum enabled transactional relationships and direct business ties between foreign interests and the Trump family.
Crypto Deals Reached The President's Circle
- Trump's World Liberty Financial and Trump sons struck crypto deals tied to foreign actors like CZ of Binance.
- Vogel highlights a subsequent pardon and reentry into U.S. markets as an example of top-down transactional influence.
