A national security organization is urging Congress to investigate a prominent environmental-law nonprofit over its decades of partnerships with Chinese government-affiliated entities, according to a report sent to lawmakers on Tuesday by State Armor. The Environmental Law Institute has trained more than 2,000 American judges on environmental law through its Climate Judiciary Project since 2018.
State Armor's report describes how ELI cultivated relationships with entities it characterizes as Chinese government-affiliated, CCP-linked or tied to China's military research ecosystem during three decades of China-related work. The organization is raising concerns that these ties could have domestic implications for judicial impartiality in the United States.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive legal advocates and environmental groups have defended ELI's work, arguing that training judges on environmental law serves a legitimate public interest. Supporters note that climate change presents complex legal questions requiring judicial understanding of scientific evidence and regulatory frameworks. "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 could affect the perception or reality of judicial impartiality," according to State Armor's congressional letter, which frames this as a concern rather than an accusation.
Environmental law proponents argue that international cooperation on environmental protection is standard practice among legal institutions worldwide. An ELI spokesperson told Fox News Digital that its programming in China "was no different than our typical work — sharing evidence-based best practices on environmental regulation, not advancing any government interests." The spokesperson emphasized that the Climate Judiciary Project has not conducted any programming in China and noted that ELI's work concluded in 2024 after more than 50 years of strengthening environmental protections across dozens of countries.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative national security advocates argue the ties warrant serious scrutiny. State Armor's letter to congressional leadership states that "across three decades of engagement, ELI's 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."
State Armor, which is run by lobbyist Michael Lucci and keeps its donors private to shield them from being targeted by the Chinese government, frames this as a matter of judicial integrity. "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.
Critics point to recent examples they say demonstrate continued ELI engagement with Chinese government-adjacent scholars. In May, ELI published through its journal an English-language paper written by two academics from state-run Chinese universities detailing China's progress on environmental protection. In June, ELI hosted a panel featuring a Chinese legal scholar who received training through an ELI fellowship in 2021 and had previously "participated in ministry-level projects on environmental legislation and policy of China."
What the Numbers Show
The Environmental Law Institute has trained more than 2,000 American judges on environmental law through its Climate Judiciary Project since 2018. The D.C.-based nonprofit was founded in 1969. According to ELI's website, it began working to improve environmental rule of law and compliance in China in the mid-1990s, partnering with Chinese NGOs, universities, law firms, businesses, judges and environmental regulators. State Armor characterizes these partnerships as involving entities tied to China's military research ecosystem and CCP-linked organizations. ELI states its programming in China concluded in 2024.
The Bottom Line
The controversy highlights growing congressional attention to foreign influence in domestic institutions, particularly through nonprofit organizations engaged in education and scholarship. Congress has not announced whether it will act on State Armor's request for an investigation into ELI's partnerships. ELI maintains that its international work focuses solely on sharing evidence-based environmental law practices and denies advancing any government's strategic interests. The dispute centers on whether decades of engagement with Chinese government-adjacent entities, now concluded according to ELI, created risks to judicial independence or perceptions of bias in American courts.