DOJ's Recent Uptick in Enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act

[Budi]

*This Article is behind a paywall, so I'll provide as much as I can if readers don't have subscription access.

From Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/fara-foreign-agent-enforcement-justice-department-doj-rudy-giuliani-trump-2021-8

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Lobbyists are taking note of DOJ's recent uptick in enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Between FY 16 & FY 19, new registrations more than doubled, jumping from almost 70 to 150, a Justice Department official said.
Replying to
@dsamuelsohn
DOJ has also scrutinized whether registered foreign agents are adequately detailing their activities in regular disclosures. In those filings, registered foreign agents are required to list expenses & contacts w/ government officials, among other details of their advocacy.
As part of that effort, DOJ has stepped up inspections, in which officials scrutinize registered foreign agents' records to ensure they're fully disclosing their activities. During FY 19 DOJ conducted 20 such inspections, sometimes w/ the FBI present, per a DOJ official.

For the 1st time since 95, DOJ in 20 sent letters demanding foreign agents more fully detail influence activities or cease working for foreign clients. These deficiency notices give registered agents 10 days to address DOJ concerns or risk a civil lawsuit or criminal prosecution.
This year, DOJ's FARA unit brought in added resources to bolster its civil-enforcement authority. Of note:
The unit added to its ranks Margaret Harker, a longtime asst US attorney who specialized in civil litigation during stints in the US prosecutors' offices in Va and Tenn.
The FARA unit is housed within DOJ's national security division, which has broadly been adding trial attorneys.
But Harker is assigned specifically to the FARA unit, which signals the DOJ's increased willingness to bring civil lawsuits to force new foreign-agent registrations.

With the addition of Harker, the FARA unit now includes five full-time lawyers — an increase from the three it had in 2018, a Justice Department official said. The 12-person unit also includes a detailee, analysts and support staff.
They have augmented the attorney bench in the FARA unit with an experienced prosecutor," said David Laufman, a partner at Wiggin and Dana who previously oversaw FARA enforcement as a top official in the Justice Department's national security division.

Referring to the FARA unit's civil authority, Laufman added, "It wouldn't surprise me to see the Justice Department, in the right case, take that gun off the mantelpiece again."
DOJ may soon have such a case.
The WSJ reported in May, DOJ was eyeing casino mogul & GOP donor Steve Wynn to compel him to register as a foreign agent in connection w/ his 17 effort to persuade US officials to send Guo Wengui, a Chinese businessman living in NY back to China.
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AND THIS is the astute perfection of AG Merrick Garland



Now go after Pacs/Super/Pacs, Committees & Institutes hiding foreign & nefarious unlimited Money as Influence in 501C4s, that are funded without check by the FEC & IRS reporting.

(Now do Mercury Foreign Lobbying.)
Thanks.

[Florida Bull]

1. How

How is Mike Flynn getting away with being an unregistered foreign agent while serving as National Security Advisor?!

[Budi]

2. I'm guessing his tRump pardon has something to do with it, but I would bet he's closely watched.

The best answer I can give.
I don't know off hand, the details of his pardon, tho.

[Florida Bull]

3. Probably!

Trump’s pardon power and our country’s submissive disposition toward authoritarian Presidents protected Flynn with immunity. I don’t think he was ever criminally charged with it. I don’t know if Trump’s pardon was for everything he ever did or just what he was charged with either. In case it is only the latter, it was good to wait until Trump left office.

The same thing applies to the military. Now that Trump can’t intervene, the military can and should discipline him for being an unregistered foreign agent and advocating for the violent overthrow of the United States Government.