By: Fern Sidman

In a dramatic escalation of the political and legal battle over the influence of billionaire financier George Soros, the Department of Justice has directed multiple U.S. attorney’s offices to begin drafting investigative plans targeting Soros’s flagship organization, the Open Society Foundations (OSF). As The New York Times reported on Thursday, the directive came directly from senior Justice Department officials following President Donald Trump’s call for criminal charges against Soros, long a benefactor of left-wing movements and NGOs that critics argue are hostile to American values and vehemently opposed to Israel.

The memo viewed by The New York Times listed an array of possible charges that federal prosecutors could explore, ranging from racketeering and wire fraud to arson and even material support for terrorism. The document makes clear that prosecutors across multiple jurisdictions—including California, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Detroit, and Maryland—have been asked to evaluate whether Soros-funded groups have crossed the line into criminality.

For decades, George Soros has cultivated a reputation as the world’s preeminent financier of left-wing causes. Through his vast wealth—estimated in the billions—he has funded activist groups across the globe, including those that openly challenge America’s institutions and Israel’s right to defend itself. As The New York Times has often noted, the Open Society Foundations began as a Cold War experiment in “democracy promotion” but have morphed into a sprawling network funding political organizations in dozens of countries, including the United States.

Yet beneath the surface of lofty rhetoric about “democracy” and “equity,” Soros’s foundation has quietly become a major donor to pro-Palestinian NGOs with ties to extremist elements. According to a report by the Capital Research Center—cited in the DOJ memo—OSF has funneled over $80 million into groups linked to terrorism or violent extremism. One cited case is al-Haq, a Palestinian group that Israel formally designated in 2022 as a front for terrorist activity.

Israel National News and other outlets have long tracked Soros’s pattern of bankrolling organizations that demonize Israel, accuse it of “apartheid,” and seek to undermine its legitimacy in international forums. In this respect, Soros’s agenda is not simply liberal philanthropy—it is a sustained campaign to empower Israel’s enemies under the guise of human rights advocacy.

President Trump has never hidden his disdain for Soros’s influence. Following the brutal assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah this month, Trump sharpened his criticism, vowing to use the full power of government to scrutinize and, if warranted, prosecute the organizations bankrolled by Soros.

“He’s a bad guy,” Trump said flatly, according to NBC News. “He should be put in jail.” The president went further on social media, suggesting that both George Soros and his son Alex, now the heir to the family’s political empire, should be charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the statute originally used to dismantle mafia networks.

Trump’s position reflects a broader concern: that Soros has weaponized philanthropy to bankroll groups that foment unrest, undermine law and order, and embolden anti-Israel agitators. His foundation’s money has supported organizations that champion boycotts against Israel (BDS), defend groups with terror links, and attempt to delegitimize America’s closest ally in the Middle East on the world stage.

As The New York Times report carefully emphasized, the DOJ directive represents a striking departure from long-standing norms of independence. Critics will no doubt seize on this as “political interference.” But Trump’s allies argue that the stakes are too high for business as usual.

The memo—signed by Aakash Singh, an attorney in the office of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche—instructed prosecutors to consider charges of racketeering, arson, wire fraud, and providing material support for terrorism. It drew upon the Capital Research Center’s findings and pressed prosecutors to determine if the evidence justified opening full criminal cases.

Chad Gilmartin, a Justice Department spokesman, defended the move. “This DOJ, along with our hard-working and dedicated U.S. attorneys, will always prioritize public safety and investigate organizations that conspire to commit acts of violence or other federal violations of law,” he told The New York Times.

Predictably, the Open Society Foundations dismissed the probe as a “politically motivated attack” meant to “silence civil society.” In a joint letter with over 100 liberal philanthropies, OSF condemned attempts to “mischaracterize our good work” and insisted its activities were “peaceful and lawful.”

But such denials ring hollow when set against the foundation’s track record. OSF has poured resources into groups that advocate for boycotts of Israel, that lobby for the recognition of a Palestinian state while ignoring terrorism, and that seek to weaken U.S. policing and border security. As The New York Times has previously reported, Soros’s donations to left-wing prosecutors’ campaigns across the United States have already reshaped American criminal justice—often with disastrous results in cities plagued by rising crime.

Perhaps the most troubling element of Soros’s philanthropy, from Israel’s perspective, is his direct support for organizations aligned with Palestinian causes hostile to the Jewish state. Israel National News and other outlets have documented that Soros has funded NGOs that participate in “lawfare” against Israeli soldiers, accuse Israel of genocide, and whitewash the record of Hamas and other terror groups.

Abbas’s Palestinian Authority itself has benefited indirectly from Soros-funded advocacy, as have numerous “civil society” organizations that push anti-Israel narratives in European and American capitals. For decades, Soros has financed the intellectual and legal infrastructure of the global campaign to delegitimize Israel.

For Trump and his supporters, this alone makes Soros not simply a political adversary but an enemy of both American and Israeli security.

The DOJ’s focus on Soros comes at a moment when the Trump administration is recalibrating America’s national defense priorities. The Pentagon is engaged in a global posture review, and Trump’s team has made homeland security the top priority. Targeting Soros’s network fits within that broader vision: dismantling sources of domestic subversion and cutting off funding streams to organizations that undercut U.S. allies.

As The New York Times report observed, the decision also coincides with Trump’s renewed campaign against former officials such as James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. But unlike political squabbles with individuals, the probe into Soros’s foundation represents a structural challenge to the infrastructure of progressive activism.

The Soros family has not hidden its intent to shape American politics. Just last week, OSF and related entities donated $10 million to Democratic redistricting efforts in California, a move that The New York Times report described as part of the nationwide fight to secure liberal control of Congress. Soros’s money has consistently flowed toward causes designed to weaken conservative influence, amplify progressive NGOs, and embolden anti-Israel voices in international forums.

Trump and his allies point to this pattern as proof that Soros is not merely a wealthy donor but the central banker of America’s left-wing political machine. His dollars fuel the very groups that attack Trump in the courts, on the streets, and at the ballot box.

What sets Trump apart from past presidents is his willingness to openly name Soros and challenge his empire head-on. For years, Republicans tiptoed around the subject, fearing accusations of scapegoating. But Trump has forced the issue into the open.

The New York Times, while reporting the facts of the DOJ directive, underscored the president’s willingness to directly connect Soros’s philanthropy with domestic unrest and anti-Israel extremism. By doing so, Trump has reframed the conversation: Soros is not a benign philanthropist but a financier of chaos.

Whether the DOJ ultimately files charges against Soros or his foundation remains to be seen. But the significance of the directive cannot be overstated. It signals that for the first time in decades, the U.S. government may hold accountable one of the most powerful left-wing donors in the world.

For Trump’s supporters, this is long overdue. For Soros’s defenders, it is a dangerous precedent. But the underlying facts—his billions funding pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel, and anti-American groups—cannot be ignored.

As The New York Times has repeatedly documented, Soros’s Open Society Foundations wield enormous influence in politics and policy worldwide. But influence without accountability is dangerous. The Trump administration’s push to scrutinize Soros reflects a conviction that democracy cannot survive if its enemies are bankrolled with impunity.

President Trump has staked much of his political identity on defending American values and standing with Israel against its enemies. In targeting Soros, he has chosen an adversary who symbolizes the opposite: the funding of progressive causes that weaken America at home and empower its enemies abroad.

As The New York Times reported, the DOJ directive is a bold departure from past practice. But it also reflects Trump’s unique clarity: Soros’s network, cloaked in the rhetoric of democracy, has become a machine for undermining Israel, emboldening extremists, and distorting American politics.

For the Trump administration, the investigation of Soros is not simply a political fight—it is a battle for the soul of America’s democracy and the future of Israel’s security.