A French magistrate has blown the whistle on a stunning act of diplomatic interference, alleging that emissaries from the Trump administration actively lobbied to protect far-right leader Marine Le Pen from an election ban. The revelation throws a spotlight on a covert transatlantic effort to influence the 2027 French presidential race.

Magali Lafourcade, secretary general of France's human rights commission (CNCDH), revealed that two US advisers approached her in May 2025, convinced that Le Pen's embezzlement trial was a "political witch hunt." This intervention marks a brazen breach of diplomatic protocol, raising serious questions about foreign meddling in the sovereignty of the French judiciary.

The "Manipulation" Attempt

Lafourcade identified the envoys as Samuel D. Samson and Christopher J. Anderson from the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Their mission, she claims, was to gather ammunition to discredit the French legal process.

• The Meeting: During a sit-down in Paris, the Americans reportedly steered the conversation toward Le Pen's conviction, framing the embezzlement of EU funds as a "political conviction" designed to eliminate her from the ballot.
• The Verdict: Le Pen was sentenced to a five-year ban from public office for operating a "fake jobs" system. The US envoys appeared intent on challenging the legitimacy of this ruling.

A Transatlantic Rift

"They were seeking elements to support a theory of political persecution," Lafourcade told AFP, describing her shock at the encounter. She immediately reported the incident to the French Foreign Ministry, fearing a calculated attempt to "manipulate public debate" in France.

As Le Pen fights her appeal this week, these allegations suggest her support network extends far beyond Paris, reaching deep into the machinery of Washington. The courtroom battle is no longer just about EU funds; it is a proxy war for the future of Western populism.