{"id":4832,"date":"2026-03-12T00:13:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T00:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/12\/judicial-watch-sues-state-dept-for-records-on-grants-to-left-wing-european-ngos\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T00:13:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T00:13:28","slug":"judicial-watch-sues-state-dept-for-records-on-grants-to-left-wing-european-ngos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/12\/judicial-watch-sues-state-dept-for-records-on-grants-to-left-wing-european-ngos\/","title":{"rendered":"Judicial Watch Sues State Dept for Records on Grants to Left-Wing European NGOs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>\t            <small class=\"post-date\"><\/p>\n<p>\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/press-releases\/\">Press Releases<\/a><br \/>\n\t<span class=\"datesource-spacer\">|<\/span><br \/>\n\t\tMarch 09, 2026<\/p>\n<p><\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"container-featured-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><b><span data-ogsc=\"black\" data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">(Washington, DC)<\/span><\/b><span data-ogsc=\"black\"> \u2013 Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) <\/span><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(238, 0, 0)\"><a title=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/documents\/jw-v-state-europe-ngo-complaint-00346\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/documents\/jw-v-state-europe-ngo-complaint-00346\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"0\" data-ogsc=\"\">lawsuit<\/a><\/span><span data-ogsc=\"black\"> against the U.S. Department of State for records on contracts, grants, and communications with several left-wing European non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (<\/span><i><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(238, 0, 0)\"><a title=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/documents\/jw-v-state-europe-ngo-complaint-00346\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/documents\/jw-v-state-europe-ngo-complaint-00346\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"1\" data-ogsc=\"\">Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State<\/a><\/span><\/i><span data-ogsc=\"black\"> (No. 1:26-cv-00346)).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\">Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the State Department failed to respond to a November 2025 FOIA request for all contracts and grant agreements from January 2016 to November 2025 connected to the organizations Free Courts (Wolne S\u0105dy), the Civil Liberties Union for Europe, DemoCrisis, and \u00d6kot\u00e1rs Alap\u00edtv\u00e1ny (Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation), as well as all associated communications of State Department officials.<\/span><span data-ogsc=\"black\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\">According to the <\/span><a title=\"https:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/who-we-are\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/who-we-are\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"2\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">Open Society Foundations<\/span><\/a><span data-ogsc=\"black\">\u2019 website, the Free Courts Foundation received a <\/span><a title=\"https:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/grants\/past?grant_id=OR2023-91066\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/grants\/past?grant_id=OR2023-91066\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"3\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">$130,000 grant<\/span><\/a><span data-ogsc=\"black\"> in 2023. The organization lists the quasi-governmental National Endowment for Democracy as a partner organization on its <\/span><a title=\"https:\/\/wolnesady.org\/#news\" href=\"https:\/\/wolnesady.org\/#news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"4\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">website<\/span><\/a><span data-ogsc=\"black\">. Polish lawyer Micha\u0142 Wawrykiewicz, who co-founded Free Courts, is on the board of <\/span><a title=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/international\/article-763158\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/international\/article-763158\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"5\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">DemoCrisis<\/span><\/a><span data-ogsc=\"black\"> which was founded in 2023 and is an umbrella organization of non-government organizations (NGOs) in Israel, Poland and Hungary. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\">The <\/span><a title=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/international\/exclusive-how-a-soros-funded-ngo-lobbied-one-eu-country-against-another-545200\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/international\/exclusive-how-a-soros-funded-ngo-lobbied-one-eu-country-against-another-545200\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"6\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">Civil Liberties Union for Europe<\/span><\/a><span data-ogsc=\"black\"> (LibertiesEU), which was spun off from Open Society Foundations and received approximately <\/span><a title=\"https:\/\/europeanconservative.com\/articles\/news\/eu-funded-ngo-report-slams-conservative-governments\/\" href=\"https:\/\/europeanconservative.com\/articles\/news\/eu-funded-ngo-report-slams-conservative-governments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"7\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">40% of its funding<\/span><\/a> from the organization<span data-ogsc=\"black\">. LibertiesEU has been aggressive in its <\/span><a title=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2018\/04\/04\/hungary-george-soros-interferes-election-ngos-media\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2018\/04\/04\/hungary-george-soros-interferes-election-ngos-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"8\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">campaign against<\/span><\/a><span data-ogsc=\"black\"> Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\">The Hungarian Environmental Partnership received <\/span><a title=\"https:\/\/newsbusters.org\/blogs\/business\/tom-olohan\/2024\/02\/12\/exclusive-biden-gives-taxpayer-dollars-soros-funded-groups\" href=\"https:\/\/newsbusters.org\/blogs\/business\/tom-olohan\/2024\/02\/12\/exclusive-biden-gives-taxpayer-dollars-soros-funded-groups\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"9\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">$306,000<\/span><\/a><span data-ogsc=\"black\"> from the Open Society Foundations between 2017 and 2022. One of the projects the organization funds was also supported by the U.S. Embassy Budapest\u2019s Free Media Grant Program. Earlier this year, a <\/span><a title=\"https:\/\/hungarytoday.hu\/us-taxpayers-money-reportedly-flowing-to-hungarian-opposition-media\/\" href=\"https:\/\/hungarytoday.hu\/us-taxpayers-money-reportedly-flowing-to-hungarian-opposition-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"10\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">report<\/span><\/a><span data-ogsc=\"black\">found U.S. taxpayer dollars were used to help fund this program; however, the funds mainly went to organizations that are critical of the Hungarian government. <\/span><span data-ogsc=\"black\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\">\u201cAmericans deserve to know if their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being used to fund foreign, left-wing organizations that have a pattern of anti-freedom and anti-American policies,\u201d said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. \u201cThe State Department has failed to provide these records, leaving the public in the dark.\u201d<\/span><span data-ogsc=\"black\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\">Judicial Watch has led the effort to expose how U.S. taxpayer dollars are being used to finance left-wing, anti-American non-profits that are supported by George Soros, filing multiple FOIA lawsuits relating to funding for these Soros-backed operations.<\/span><span data-ogsc=\"black\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\">In March 2025, Judicial Watch sued the State Department for records on grants made by the Biden State Department to various Hungarian media outlets and educational organizations opposing conservative Orban.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">In October 2018, Judicial Watch obtained State Department <a title=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/judicial-watch-documents-show-state-department-links-to-george-soros-open-society-foundation-romania\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/judicial-watch-documents-show-state-department-links-to-george-soros-open-society-foundation-romania\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"11\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">documents<\/span><\/a> showing top Soros representatives in Romania collaborating with the State Department in a program jointly <a title=\"https:\/\/www.opengovpartnership.org\/about\/about-ogp\/legal-and-financial\/finances-and-budget\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opengovpartnership.org\/about\/about-ogp\/legal-and-financial\/finances-and-budget\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"12\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">funded by<\/span><\/a>, among others, Soros\u2019 <a title=\"https:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/about\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"13\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">Open Society Foundations \u2013 Romania<\/span><\/a> and USAID, called the \u201c<a title=\"https:\/\/www.opengovpartnership.org\/countries\/romania\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opengovpartnership.org\/countries\/romania\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"14\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">Open Government Partnership<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">Additional State Department <a title=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/judicial-watch-new-documents-show-state-department-and-usaid-working-with-soros-group-to-channel-money-to-mercenary-army-of-far-left-activists-in-albania\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/judicial-watch-new-documents-show-state-department-and-usaid-working-with-soros-group-to-channel-money-to-mercenary-army-of-far-left-activists-in-albania\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"15\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">records<\/span><\/a> uncovered in October 2018 showed U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding for George Soros\u2019 left-wing nonprofit organizations in Albania. The documents deal primarily with the activities of Soros\u2019 top operative in Albania, Andri Dobrushi, the director of Open Society Foundation-Albania, who was actively engaged in channeling funding to what Orban called Soros\u2019 \u201c<a title=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2018\/04\/12\/list-of-200-soros-mercenaries-published-in-hungary\/\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2018\/04\/12\/list-of-200-soros-mercenaries-published-in-hungary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"16\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">mercenary army<\/span><\/a>.\u201d The documents show U.S. grant money flowing through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that profess to promote \u201ccivil society,\u201d while in fact attacking traditional, pro-American groups, governments and policies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">In April 2018, Judicial Watch uncovered <a title=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/judicial-watch-doj-records-show-obama-administration-helped-fund-george-soros-left-wing-political-activities-albania\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/judicial-watch-doj-records-show-obama-administration-helped-fund-george-soros-left-wing-political-activities-albania\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"17\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(70, 120, 134)\">records<\/span><\/a> showing the Obama administration sent U.S. taxpayers\u2019 funds to a group backed by Soros, which used the money to fund left-wing political activities in Albania, including working with the country\u2019s socialist government to push for highly controversial judicial \u201creform.\u201d The records also detail how the Soros operation helped the State Department review grant applications from other groups for taxpayer funding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\" align=\"center\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\">###<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Press Releases | March 09, 2026 (Washington, DC) \u2013 Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State for records on contracts, grants, and communications with several left-wing European non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:26-cv-00346)). Judicial Watch filed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conservative-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}