A national security group is urging Congress to investigate a prominent environmental-law nonprofit over past partnerships and programming ties with Chinese government-linked organizations, according to a report sent to lawmakers on Tuesday by State Armor, a national security organization.
The Environmental Law Institute, or ELI, has trained more than 2,000 American judges on environmental law through its Climate Judiciary Project since 2018, according to its website. During its decades of China-related work, the organization cultivated relationships with entities the report described as Chinese government-affiliated, CCP-linked or tied to Chinas military research ecosystem, according to State Armor.
“Across three decades of engagement, ELIs work has uniformly advanced Chinese strategic and national security interests while undermining American national security by constraining domestic energy producers and industrial expansion and simultaneously pushing America toward dependence upon energy sources dominated by the PRC,” a letter addressed to congressional leadership attached to the report reads.
LAWMAKERS PRESS ELI LILLY FOR CHINA DRUG TRIALS TIED TO MILITARY-LINKED HOSPITALS
State Armor, a national security organization focused on state-level policy responses to foreign threats, is raising concerns that the ties could have domestic implications.
The organization is run by Michael Lucci, a lobbyist, and keeps its donors private to shield them from being targeted by the Chinese government. Lucci said in an April 2025 Wall Street Journal profile that his group refuses funding from corporate and foreign sources to avoid perceptions of conflicting interests.
“The question is not whether judges should receive continuing education but rather whether any educational initiative funded, organized, or influenced by organizations with relationships with foreign entities, particularly a foreign adversary, could affect the perception or reality of judicial impartiality,” the congressional letter reads.
ELI, when asked about its ties to China, told Fox News Digital that its programming in China ceased in 2024 and rejected criticism that its work advanced Chinese government interests specifically.
“For over 50 years, ELI has worked to strengthen environmental protections in dozens of countries,” an ELI spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “Our programming in China concluded in 2024 but was no different than our typical work â sharing evidence-based best practices on environmental regulation, not advancing any government interests. The Climate Judiciary Project has not conducted any programming in China.”
The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit was founded in 1969 and describes its mission as developing “innovative, just, and practical” environmental law and policy solutions across borders and sectors. ELI launched the Climate Judiciary Project in 2018, which is a judicial-education initiative focused on climate science, climate change and the ways climate science arises in the law.
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