www.FARA.us

The Justice Department (DOJ) has stepped up enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) in recent years and has put much of its more recent focus on pressing Chinese and Russian state-run media companies to register as foreign agents under the Act.

FARA requires an “agent of a foreign principal” to register under the Act. While FARA excludes from the definition of “agent of a foreign principal” any news or press service, this exemption applies only if the company is at least 80% owned by U.S. citizens and is not owned, directed, supervised, controlled, or ...

DOJ National Security Division Announces Significant Appointment and Shift on FARA Enforcement

U.S. Department of Justice official John C. Demers, who heads the Department’s National Security Division, announced yesterday that Brandon Van Grack will now lead the team that enforces the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”).  Mr. Demers described the appointment as signaling a shift “from treating FARA as an administrative obligation and regulatory obligation to one that is increasingly an enforcement priority.”

This announcement is the prosecutorial ...