www.FARA.us

On December 8, 2021, the National Security Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced it was seeking public comment on making “modernizing” changes to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), in advance of an anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

The DOJ will keep the notice period open for 60 days. It seeks comment on the following questions:

• Question 1: Should the Department incorporate into its regulations some or all of its guidance addressing the scope of agency, which is currently published as part of the FARA Unit’s FAQs on its website ...

The American Bar Association created a task force on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) made up of attorneys who deal with FARA related matters and inquiries. Yesterday, that task force released the report "FARA: Issues and Recommendations for Reform" which outlines in 53 pages the reforms they say are needed to fix the law.

Matthew Sanderson, editor of FARA.us and co-leader of the Political Law Group at Caplin & Drysdale, services as the co-chair of the Task Force on Foreign Agents Registration Act. Below is the executive summary from the report.

SECTION II: EXECUTIVE ...

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced on July 20 that several defendants—including Thomas Barrack, a former adviser to the 2016 Trump presidential campaign—were charged with engaging in a conspiracy to illegally advance and promote the interests of the United Arab Emirates in the U.S. while failing to notify the Attorney General that their actions were taken at the direction of senior UAE officials, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 951.

Barrack reportedly was an informal adviser and fundraiser to former president Trump’s 2016 campaign then chaired his presidential ...

Michael Flynn associate Bijan Rafiekian, whose conviction under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) was overturned in September 2019, had his conviction reinstated by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on March 18, 2021.

Rafiekian, who ran a consulting a consulting firm with Michael Flynn hired by the Turkish government to advocate for the extradition of Turkish dissident cleric Fethullah Gulden, was convicted of acting as an unregistered foreign agent in the U.S. and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The district court judge found ...

Former federal prosecutor Jennifer Gellie has been named the new head of the Foreign Agents Registration (FARA) Unit within the National Security Division of the Department of Justice. Ms. Gellie replaces Brandon Van Grack, who took over the role in 2019 and oversaw increased enforcement of FARA during his tenure.

Ms. Gellie, who has been with the National Security Division since 2016, has experience prosecuting foreign espionage cases. In 2018, she assisted in the prosecution of Kevin Patrick Mallory, a former CIA officer who was found guilty of conspiring to provide secret ...

On December 4, 2020, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division (“NSD”) of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Adam Hickey delivered remarks to the American Conference Institute’s 2^nd National Forum on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”). Hickey addressed how DOJ’s enforcement of FARA has evolved and responded to criticisms of the law. Caplin & Drysdale Member Matt Sanderson is a co-chair of the Forum.

Hickey discussed how the NSD has changed its approach to enforcing FARA since 2015, when the DOJ’s Inspector General audited ...

Elliot Brody, a former Republican fundraiser, pleaded guilty on October 20 to violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”).

According to the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), Broidy conspired with others to push the U.S. government to “drop one of the largest fraud and money laundering prosecutions ever brought and to deport a critic of the Chinese Communist Party, all the while concealing the foreign interests whose bidding he was doing.” Broidy, a former deputy finance chairman for the Republican National Committee, admitted that he accepted $9 million

Just as the United States uses the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) to try to shed light on foreign influence in American politics, Australia and Israel have laws that attempt to ensure similar transparency in their own governments.

Like FARA, Australia’s Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (“FITS”) Act defines the “registrable activities” that, if undertaken, require a person to register under the Act. These activities include lobbying, which the Act defines as representing the interests of any person in any government or political process or ...

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced on August 31, 2020, that a businesswoman who attempted to influence U.S. officials to drop civil forfeiture proceedings and a criminal investigation into the embezzlement of billions of dollars from a company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia pleaded guilty to a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”).

According to DOJ, Nickie Mali Lum Davis of Honolulu, Hawaii, along with her coconspirators, was paid at least $3 million by Foreign National A to lobby the President of the United States, the Attorney ...

In line with its increased focus on foreign funding for U.S. universities, the Department of Education (DOE) launched a new online portal to facilitate reporting of foreign gifts and contracts valued at more than $250,000. Such reporting is required by Section 117 of the Higher Education Act.

According to DOE, billions of dollars in funds from foreign sources to U.S. higher education institutions have gone unreported. The new online portal requires universities to provide more information about foreign funding, including answering specific questions about each transaction ...