FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2025
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
Investigators Uncover Coordinated Influence Campaign Involving Senator Tom Cotton, Pro-Israel Lobbyists and the Government of Israel
Washington, D.C. -- In a stunning leak early Tuesday morning, internal documents from a covert task force, code-named Operation Cottonball, were made public, detailing what officials are calling “one of the most thoroughly documented napkin-based influence operations in U.S. legislative history.”
The investigation, led by an independent team of congressional ethics detectives, alleges that Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), a decorated veteran and current Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is “acting in legislative alignment with a foreign government,” namely the State of Israel, and its primary lobbying network, AIPAC.
The task force executed a search warrant at Cotton’s office issued by the People’s Ethics Committee, uncovering what investigators describe as “clear evidence of a foreign agent operating in plain sight.”
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COTTONBALL DOSSIER:
- Multiple checks discovered from AIPAC and United Democracy Project, a known AIPAC-aligned dark money group.
- A $36,000 luxury trip to Israel in 2015 for Cotton and his wife, including $14,000 in travel expenses, $4,000 in high-end lodging and meals, and $18,000 in unitemized “miscellaneous expenses.” Funded by AIEF, AIPAC’s nonprofit front.
- A calendar log showing a rapid-fire sequence of meetings with AIPAC, Christians United for Israel, United Democracy Project, and Israeli government officials — all within one week.
- A recovered napkin, reportedly used by former AIPAC official Steven Rosen as a symbol of influence: ”In 24 hours, we could have the signatures of 70 senators on this napkin,” Rosen bragged. Cotton’s name on the napkin appears next to “L. Graham.” Forensics are processing prints.
- A folder of Senate legislation authored or pushed by Cotton, including:
- The Judea and Samaria Act, requiring federal documents to adopt Israel’s terminology for the occupied West Bank.
- His lead role in the Senate campaign to terminate the Iran Nuclear Deal.
- A 2023 resolution declaring that Israel “is not a racist or apartheid state.”
- A photograph of Cotton with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — currently facing international scrutiny for war crimes — discovered among his travel memorabilia.
TASK FORCE CONCLUSION:
“Senator Cotton didn’t just align with AIPAC, he downloaded their platform and ran it as U.S. foreign policy.”
OFFICIAL RESPONSE:
AIPAC issued a statement denying wrongdoing: “We categorically deny organizing any napkin-based influence operations. We’ve moved to encrypted lobbying apps”.
Senator Cotton’s Office released a terse response: “Any implication that Senator Cotton is a foreign agent is antisemitic.”
Please Note: All documents, checks, trips, quotes, napkins, and questionable votes referenced in this memo are not real, unless they are.
This release has been brought to you by CODEPINK. Happy April Fools’ Day!
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