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1/ Letter from @ChuckGrassley on point (#MAGA H/T)
Congress passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act in 1938 to unmask Nazi propaganda and identify foreign attempts to influence policy makers and the American public. But until recently, FARA has seldom been used.
Congress passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act in 1938 to unmask Nazi propaganda and identify foreign attempts to influence policy makers and the American public. But until recently, FARA has seldom been used.
2/ Only 15 violations have been criminally prosecuted since 1966, when the law was updated—and about half of those stemmed from Mr. Mueller’s investigation.
The small number of prosecutions is not owing to a lack of foreign influence. I first raised concerns about shoddy FARA
The small number of prosecutions is not owing to a lack of foreign influence. I first raised concerns about shoddy FARA
3/ enforcement in 2015, before Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign, when a former Clinton White House staffer and a lawyer for a Georgian political party failed to register as foreign agents.
4/ I also raised concerns about Paul Manafort and the Podesta Group’s work for Ukrainians, and again when the firm behind the discredited “Steele dossier,” Fusion GPS, failed to register for its lobbying work to repeal U.S. sanctions against Russia.
5/ As it turns out, that same lobbying effort was behind the bait-and-switch at Trump Tower in June 2016.
I even subpoenaed Mr. Manafort to testify at a Judiciary Committee hearing on lax FARA enforcement and praised Mr. Mueller for dusting off the law that had been ignored by
I even subpoenaed Mr. Manafort to testify at a Judiciary Committee hearing on lax FARA enforcement and praised Mr. Mueller for dusting off the law that had been ignored by
6/ lobbyists and prosecutors for so long. Mr. Manafort, his colleague Rick Gates, and former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig were among those indicted on charges of violating FARA.
It might have started as a creative tactic by an aggressive team of investigators to
It might have started as a creative tactic by an aggressive team of investigators to
7/ pressure Mr. Manafort into spilling nonexistent details on the Trump campaign, but Mr. Mueller’s probe had the positive effect of jolting to attention the Justice Department’s FARA Registration Unit, as well as drawing attention to lobbyists whose work for foreign clients had
8/ been flying under the radar.
The charges spurred a rush on K Street, with new foreign-agent registrations increasing by 50% in 2017 from 2016. Attorney General William Barr recently pledged to prioritize enforcement.
The charges spurred a rush on K Street, with new foreign-agent registrations increasing by 50% in 2017 from 2016. Attorney General William Barr recently pledged to prioritize enforcement.
9/ Congress passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act in 1938 to unmask Nazi propaganda and identify foreign attempts to influence policy makers and the American public. But until recently, FARA has seldom been used. Only 15 violations have been criminally prosecuted since 1966,
10/ when the law was updated—and about half of those stemmed from Mr. Mueller’s investigation.
The small number of prosecutions is not owing to a lack of foreign influence. I first raised concerns about shoddy FARA enforcement in 2015, before Donald Trump launched his
The small number of prosecutions is not owing to a lack of foreign influence. I first raised concerns about shoddy FARA enforcement in 2015, before Donald Trump launched his
11/ presidential campaign, when a former Clinton White House staffer and a lawyer for a Georgian political party failed to register as foreign agents. I also raised concerns about Paul Manafort and the Podesta Group’s work for Ukrainians, and again when the firm behind the
12/ discredited “Steele dossier,” Fusion GPS, failed to register for its lobbying work to repeal U.S. sanctions against Russia. As it turns out, that same lobbying effort was behind the bait-and-switch at Trump Tower in June 2016.
13/ I even subpoenaed Mr. Manafort to testify at a Judiciary Committee hearing on lax FARA enforcement and praised Mr. Mueller for dusting off the law that had been ignored by lobbyists and prosecutors for so long. Mr. Manafort, his colleague Rick Gates, and former
14/ Obama White House counsel Greg Craig were among those indicted on charges of violating FARA.
It might have started as a creative tactic by an aggressive team of investigators to pressure Mr. Manafort into spilling nonexistent details on the Trump campaign,
It might have started as a creative tactic by an aggressive team of investigators to pressure Mr. Manafort into spilling nonexistent details on the Trump campaign,
15/ but Mr. Mueller’s probe had the positive effect of jolting to attention the Justice Department’s FARA Registration Unit, as well as drawing attention to lobbyists whose work for foreign clients had been flying under the radar.
