Why aren't they discussing this? or why aren't WE?

[Gabi Hayes]

http://lawnewz.com/opinion/heres-the-u-s-law-paul-manafort-may-have-broken-if-reports-of-foreign-lobbying-are-true/

According to a report by the Associated Press, Donald Trump‘s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, helped a Ukrainian political non-profit acquire the lobbying services of two American firms who never reported their activities with the Department of Justice. Manafort and Rick Gates, who also works for the Trump campaign, had worked with the party of then-President Viktor Yanukovych in 2012.

The report says that at that same time, Gates was working with a Ukrainian non-profit organization that supported Yanukovych, and that he and Manafort introduced the group, the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, to two Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firms that it ended up hiring for millions of dollars. A source told the AP that Gates described the Centre’s role as supplying funds that couldn’t be traced to Ukrainian politicians who were paying Gates and Manafort. Board members for the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine had included members of parliament who were part of Yanukovych’s party, and lobbying done on its behalf included pushing for U.S. policies that favored Yanukovych. According to the AP report, lobbyists hired by the organization worked to halt progress on a congressional resolution to call for Yankuovych to release a political opponent from prison. Gates and Manafort allegedly also consulted with the lobbying firms regarding Ukrainian politics.

Now, lobbying on behalf of a foreign body isn’t against the law, but failing to report it to the U.S. Department of Justice is. The report says that neither the Podesta Group nor Mercury LLC registered their activities under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA), even though from 2012 to 2014, the Ukrainian group paid Podesta Group $1.13 million for their services, and $1.07 million to Mercury.

FARA is comprised of a number of statutes in 22 U.S.C. §§ 611-621. It says, in Section 612(a), “No person shall act as an agent of a foreign principal unless he has filed with the Attorney General a true and complete registration statement.” The Act defines a foreign principal as a government or political party of a foreign country, a person outside the U.S. who is not a citizen domiciled in the U.S., or — and here’s the important one — “a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign country.” That last one means that even though the non-profit wasn’t officially affiliated with the Ukrainian government, it still qualifies as a foreign principal.

Section 611(c) defines an agent of a foreign principal as:

(1) any person who acts as an agent, representative, employee, or servant, or any person who acts in any other capacity at the order, request, or under the direction or control, of a foreign principal or of a person any of whose activities are directly or indirectly supervised, directed, controlled, financed, or subsidized in whole or in major part by a foreign principal, and who directly or through any other person—

(i) engages within the United States in political activities for or in the interests of such foreign principal;

(ii) acts within the United States as a public relations counsel, publicity agent, information-service employee or political consultant for or in the interests of such foreign principal;

(iii) within the United States solicits, collects, disburses, or dispenses contributions, loans, money, or other things of value for or in the interest of such foreign principal; or

(iv) within the United States represents the interests of such foreign principal before any agency or official of the Government of the United States; and

(2) any person who agrees, consents, assumes or purports to act as, or who is or holds himself out to be, whether or not pursuant to contractual relationship, an agent of a foreign principal as defined in clause (1) of his subsection.

lock podesta up, too. didn't realize he was involved in this til I read the link. they didn't mention his name today when they talked about this on the tube. what miserable slimes these people are. we so need a third party.

[yeoman6987]

1. Only political wonks like us even take the time to sorta understand it

You think the general public will get it? They'd snooze in six seconds. It's not a flashy scandal. Just saying the truth to your question.

[Wilms]

2. Well, Mr. Podesta. Isn't that interesting. n/t

[LWolf]

3. What would you like to say about it,

or like me to say about it, that hasn't already been said?

I agree with your summation.