DOWNLOAD PDF MODIFICATION OF THE FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION ACT OF 1938

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1 Chapter 1 : 22 U.S. Code  - Definitions US Law LII / Legal Information Institute The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is a United States law passed in requiring that agents representing the interests of foreign powers in a "political or quasi-political capacity" disclose their relationship with the foreign government and information about related activities and finances. It was used in 23 criminal cases during World War II. For cases not warranting prosecution, the Department of Justice sent letters advising prospective agents of the law. The amendments shifted the focus of the law from propaganda to political lobbying and narrowed the meaning of "foreign agent". This has resulted in a number of successful civil cases and administrative resolutions since that time. Keene, in which a California State Senator wanted to distribute three films from Canada about acid rain and nuclear war, but felt his reputation would be harmed if he distributed films that had been classified officially as "political propaganda". Du Bois was spreading propaganda as an agent of foreign governments. The trial judge dismissed the case for lack of evidence. John Joseph Frank D. Department of Justice won a court case forcing the committee to register with the IRA as its foreign principal, but the committee was allowed to include a written disclaimer against the court ruling. The Irish People, Inc. Southern Command and various Cuban-American groups thought to be committing terrorist acts in Cuba. Susan Lindauer et al involved a former U. Congressional staffer and journalist whom the U. During and after her one-year incarceration, she was twice judged incompetent to stand trial. The case was dropped in Under the act, RT will be required to disclose financial information. Others target specific agents, such as federal legislation shutting down the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, DC, in and Executive Order which prohibits fundraising within the United States on behalf of certain violent groups opposed to the Israeliâ Palestinian peace process. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of prohibits, among other things, fundraising which is done to benefit foreign organizations designated by the United States as terrorist. Allegations of selective enforcement[ edit ] Although the act was designed to apply to any foreign agent, it has been accused of being used to target countries out of favor with an administration. The Department of Justice later withdrew its demand. While Franklin pleaded guilty to passing government secrets to Rosen and Weissman, as well as to an Israeli government official, [46] [47] the cases against Rosen and Weissman were dismissed and no actions against AIPAC were instituted. Page 1

2 Chapter 2 : Foreign Agents Registration Act Enforcement JM Department of Justice Foreign Agents Registration Act of Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of is one of the first attempts in the U.S. at comprehensive lobbying reform. FARA's primary purpose was to limit the influence of foreign agents and propaganda on American public policy. Laws acquire popular names as they make their way through Congress. History books, newspapers, and other sources use the popular name to refer to these laws. How the US Code is built. The United States Code is meant to be an organized, logical compilation of the laws passed by Congress. At its top level, it divides the world of legislation into fifty topically-organized Titles, and each Title is further subdivided into any number of logical subtopics. In theory, any law -- or individual provisions within any law -- passed by Congress should be classifiable into one or more slots in the framework of the Code. On the other hand, legislation often contains bundles of topically unrelated provisions that collectively respond to a particular public need or problem. A farm bill, for instance, might contain provisions that affect the tax status of farmers, their management of land or treatment of the environment, a system of price limits or supports, and so on. Each of these individual provisions would, logically, belong in a different place in the Code. The process of incorporating a newly-passed piece of legislation into the Code is known as "classification" -- essentially a process of deciding where in the logical organization of the Code the various parts of the particular law belong. Sometimes classification is easy; the law could be written with the Code in mind, and might specifically amend, extend, or repeal particular chunks of the existing Code, making it no great challenge to figure out how to classify its various parts. And as we said before, a particular law might be narrow in focus, making it both simple and sensible to move it wholesale into a particular slot in the Code. But this is not normally the case, and often different provisions of the law will logically belong in different, scattered locations in the Code. As a result, often the law will not be found in one place neatly identified by its popular name. Nor will a full-text search of the Code necessarily reveal where all the pieces have been scattered. Instead, those who classify laws into the Code typically leave a note explaining how a particular law has been classified into the Code. It is usually found in the Note section attached to a relevant section of the Code, usually under a paragraph identified as the "Short Title". Our Table of Popular Names is organized alphabetically by popular name. So-called "Short Title" links, and links to particular sections of the Code, will lead you to a textual roadmap the section notes describing how the particular law was incorporated into the Code. Finally, acts may be referred to by a different name, or may have been renamed, the links will take you to the appropriate listing in the table. Page 2

3 Chapter 3 : [USC10] 2 USC Definitions Modification of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of Hearing before the Subcommittee on Administrative Law and Governmental Relations of the. Criminal Resource Manual FARA or the Act is a disclosure statute aimed at "agents of foreign principals" agents as defined, who are engaged in covered activities, on behalf of their foreign principal s, unless exempt. From its passage in until the amendments, FARA was focused on propagandists. The original Act included a fairly broad definition of the term agent, and a single felony penalty for the most serious transgressions. It was used in the World War II era to successfully prosecute some 23 criminal cases. After administration of the Act was transferred from the Department of State to the Department of Justice in, the Department developed the practice of attempting to achieve compliance with the statute in instances which did not on their face warrant prosecution by sending letters advising prospective agents of the existence of FARA and their possible obligations thereunder. The practice was not without its enforcement significance, since receipt of the letter could sometimes be used to help prove the willfulness of the failure to register, as, for example, in United States v. John Joseph Frank, D. In, FARA was significantly amended to focus on the integrity of the United States Government decision-making process, and to emphasize agents seeking economic or political advantage for their clients. The amendments were prompted by the excesses of lobbyists struggling over their share of the "sugar quotas" legislatively determined after trade with Cuba, the principal sugar producer, was prohibited. It required any person engaged in "political activities", as defined, as an agent on behalf of a foreign principal, to register. This is substantially narrower than the original act, which did not require that the activities be "for or on behalf of" the foreign principal. Since there have been no successful criminal prosecutions under FARA and only 3 indictments returned or informations filed charging FARA violations. The three criminal cases post were: In addition, there have been 2 other grand jury investigations that did not result in criminal charges. At the conclusion of the investigation, a recommendation was made to proceed with an injunctive action, but that recommendation was rejected by the Assistant Attorney General. In the second, a grand jury in Connecticut developed information that became the basis for a civil consent decree against the advertising firm Young and Rubicam in for failing to report a fee splitting agreement with a Jamaican firm associated with a Jamaican Government official. By way of contrast, there have been 17 civil cases in that period, of which 10 were successfully litigated and 7 ended by consent decree. The number of administrative resolutions is much greater. The threshold for a criminal investigation is the presence of reason to believe that a significant FARA offense has been committed and that sufficient evidence should be available to prove this. The common threads of the last four FARA criminal investigations were: The threshold for a civil action is sufficient credible evidence of a significant violation for which the civil injunctive remedy is judged appropriate in light of all the circumstances because time is of the essence or for some other reason. Civil actions often result from "Section 5" inspections of the books and records of registered agents. Section 5 of the Act, 22 U. Civil cases are always submitted to the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division for approval before filing. If the Department receives credible information establishing a prima facie registration obligation, where evidence of intent is lacking, the Department usually sends a letter advising the person of the existence of FARA and the possible obligations thereunder. The letter usually cites or provides the information prompting the inquiry. If this administrative route is chosen, and there is no response to the letter, or a seemingly false response, the only alternatives are to refer the matter to the FBI, which has the responsibility for FARA investigations, or to close the matter pending receipt of sufficient evidence to warrant some other action. The letter in that event will have served its purpose of putting the person on notice of the existence and reach of the Act. The Department has asked for authority to issue civil investigative demands CID to more effectively gather evidence in these situations. In the meantime, letters have been used as stated above. The oft-amended Foreign Agents Registration Act of, as amended, is the foundation for requiring the registration of, and disclosures by, Page 3

4 "agents of foreign principals," as defined, who are engaged in "political activities" as defined, or other defined activities of a quasi-political nature, and who are not exempt. It covers most lobbying, advertising, public relations, and fundraising for "foreign principals" as defined, that is not of a commercial nature, or performed by Embassy officials. The Act requires agents to make periodic public disclosure of their identities, agency, activities, receipts and disbursements. Disclosure of the required information facilitates evaluation by the government and the American people of the statements and activities of such persons in light of their status as foreign agents. The news media are the greatest users of the information filed under the Act, and give it further publicity, usually without attribution. There are numerous other federal statutes aimed at persons loosely called foreign agents See, e. Restricting the discussion to foreign agents engaged in political activities covered by the Act, there are both federal statutes which authorize the exemption of otherwise covered agents See, e. The Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, DC, for example, registered from to, but was closed in as a result of the passage of federal legislation. This includes the essentially administrative function of providing registration forms, with copies of the Act, Rules, Regulations, and guidelines for responses to the firms and individuals registered under the Act, as well as the members of the public, press and bar who write or call to request them. It also includes the more proactive outreach to the primarily professional communities law, advertising, political and public relations from which the majority of agents are drawn, as well as informing and educating prosecutors, and interested Departments and Agencies regarding the Act. Encouraging voluntary compliance and providing information on the identities of those registered generates "Rule 2" advisory opinion requests, 28 C. At another level, the Unit has established a number of routine enforcement initiatives, from reviewing a wide range of publications for indications of activities by unregistered agents to reviewing the filings of registered agents and conducting audits or inspections of their books and records. S, were developed in this fashion. The Unit also works closely with the law enforcement and intelligence community components who provide reports on potential violations of the Act. The Department has fared well in the Courts in its enforcement efforts, with the exception of the decision in United States v. This case shortened the statute of limitations for agents who refuse to register, contrary to the express language in Section 8 e of the Act. Hunt, Chief, and Clifford I. Rones and Robert E. Page 4

5 Chapter 4 : What is FARA? Understanding the Foreign Agents Registration Act Center for Public Integrity Modification of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of hearing before the Subcommittee on Administrative Law and Governmental Relations of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, first session, on H.R., H.R., and H.R. This is a civil action under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U. Rosenstein, and Robert S. The principle that government must be both limited in power and accountable to the people lies at the core of our constitutional traditions. That principle must be zealously guarded against creeping incursions. That law gave expansive prosecutorial authority to lawyers who were outside the Justice Department and thus lacked political accountability for their choices. The independent counsel statute expired in when Congress refused to reauthorize it. This case arises from an appointment in excess of that limited authorityâ specifically, Acting Attorney General Rod J. Mueller authority to investigate a specific matter: Mueller the additional authority to pursue Case 1: As explained below, that exceeds the scope of Mr. Indeed, the Appointment Order in effect purports to grant Mr. Mueller carte blanche to investigate and pursue criminal charges in connection with anything he stumbles across while investigating, no matter how remote from the specific matter identified as the subject of the Appointment Order. As a result of the ultra vires Appointment Order, Mr. Manafort to be returned. The indictment does not charge any links between Mr. Manafort and the Russian government. Instead, the Special Counsel has constructed an indictment that, at its essence, concerns failing to file certain informational reports of offshore bank accounts and failing to register as a foreign agent. None of the charges relate to Mr. The actions of DOJ and Mr. Rosenstein in issuing the Appointment Order, and Mr. By this action, Mr. Manafort asks this Court to hold those actions ultra vires and set them aside. Like the independent counsel Case 1: From late March until early August, he served as the campaign manager for then-presidential candidate Donald J. Defendant United States Department of Justice is an executive agency of the United States responsible for the enforcement of federal civil and criminal laws. At all times relevant to the facts alleged herein, Mr. Rosenstein is sued in his official capacity. Mueller is sued in his official capacity. This is an action seeking relief under the APA, 5 U. Because this action arises under the laws of the United States, this Court has subject-matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U. This Court has personal jurisdiction over all defendants pursuant to D. Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to 28 U. Section a of Title 28 of the U. DOJ has promulgated regulations implementing that provisionâ and restricting the scope of appointment authorityâ to protect against the excesses the Nation experienced under the independent counsel regime. Those DOJ special counsel regulations appear at 28 C. The jurisdiction of a Special Counsel shall be established by the Attorney General. The Special Counsel will be provided with a specific factual statement of the matter to be investigated. Those carefully crafted jurisdictional limitations serve critical values. They ensure that the scope of an investigation is limited to specific matters identified in advance by a politically accountable officialâ the Attorney General. They ensure that any additional matters beyond that are specifically approved by a politically accountable officialâ the Attorney General. Those limitations prevent the special counsel from becoming an unaccountable roving Case 1: This suit arises from an appointment and the exercise of authority in defiance of those jurisdictional limitations. Nor can the special counsel exercise jurisdiction that otherwise binding DOJ regulations prohibit. Those, however, are precisely the circumstances here. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the matter in March Rosenstein became the highest-ranking DOJ official with authority over the investigation. Rosenstein issued the Appointment Order authorizing Mr. Muellerâ then an attorney in private practiceâ to conduct an investigation as special counsel. Consistent with 28 C. But paragraph b ii of the Appointment Order purports to grant Mr. It also defies the principles of limited power and accountability that animate those limits Case 1: The Appointment Order purports to grant authority to the Special Counsel to expand the scope of his investigation to new matters without the consent ofâ indeed, without even consultingâ any politically accountable officer of the United Page 5

6 States. Early in the process, Mr. The investigation of Mr. The Special Counsel has paid particular attention to the involvement of Mr. Manafort allegedly made using funds earned from his political consulting work. Those alleged dealings had no connection whatsoever to the presidential election or even to Donald Trump. On the contrary, those allegations had been widely known since at least, when prominent news outlets reported that, in, Mr. Manafort had begun working for Viktor Yanukovych, a Ukrainian politician, to reinvent his Case 1: Other reports around the same time claimed that Mr. Yanukovych even though Mr. Manafort met with the United States Ambassador on Mr. On July 30,, Mr. During the interview, Mr. Manafort provided a detailed explanation of his activities in Ukraine, including his frequent contact with a number of previous U. Ambassadors in Kiev and his efforts to further U. He further discussed his offshore banking activity in Cyprus. Throughout the process, DOJ maintained that they were assisting the Ukrainian government in locating stolen assets. The investigation focused on the activities of a former Ukraine President and was closed soon after Mr. The Office of the Special Counsel charged Mr. Manafort with the very conduct he voluntarily disclosed to DOJ almost three years prior to the appointment of Mr. Mueller as Special Counsel. Again pursuing conduct with no relationship to the election, or collusion with Russians, in July, Mr. Mueller applied for, obtained, and caused to be executed a search warrant of Mr. The Special Counsel justified that search by asserting that the Appointment Order grants him jurisdiction and authority to obtain materials that purportedly evidence potential criminal tax and white-collar crimes Case 1: In August, Mr. Mueller issued more than one hundred subpoenas related to Mr. Manafort, requesting records dating back to January 1, On August 3,, a lead prosecutor in Mr. Manafort that the Special Counsel was authorized to prosecute Mr. Manafort for crimes committed during the tax year â five years before Mr. Trump launched his campaign on June 16, On September 12,, undersigned counsel for Mr. Manafort sent a letter to Mr. Rosenstein requesting that he confirm or deny that, prior to July 26,, he granted Mr. Mueller additional jurisdiction to investigate Mr. Manafort for potential tax crimes and other white-collar criminal offenses dating back to January 1,, and that prior to August 3,, he authorized Mr. Mueller to prosecute Mr. Manafort for tax crimes related to the tax year. Rosenstein has not responded; nor has anyone else from his office. On October 27,, Mr. Mueller signed an indictment, attached hereto as Exhibit B, charging Mr. Manafort and a business associate with several offenses pertaining to business dealings that, with limited exceptions, predate Mr. The indictment charged Mr. Manafort with the following offenses, many of which began nearly a decade before the Trump campaign launched: The indictment centers on an alleged scheme that began in when Mr. Manafort and a business associate started a company that engaged principally in political consulting and lobbying work on behalf of foreign clients, including the Government of Ukraine. According to the indictment, Mr. Manafort wired sums of money from offshore accounts into the United States, failed to report that money as income from his business, and failed to pay taxes on that money. Chapter 5 : TOPN: Foreign Agents Registration Act of US Law LII / Legal Information Institute The United States Code is meant to be an organized, logical compilation of the laws passed by Congress. At its top level, it divides the world of legislation into fifty topically-organized Titles, and each Title is further subdivided into any number of logical subtopics. Chapter 6 : Foreign Agents Registration Act Department of Justice We have observed a significant amount of confusion lately regarding the Foreign Agents Registration Act of, as amended (FARA), and when it theinnatdunvilla.com was originally enacted to counter Nazi propaganda just prior to World War II, and has remained largely unchanged since. Chapter 7 : Foreign Agents Registration Act of Law and Legal Definition USLegal, Inc. Page 6

7 The filing of this document is required for the Foreign Agents Registration Act of, as amended, 22 U.S.C. SS et seq., for the purposes of registration under the Act and public disclosure. Chapter 8 : Foreign Agents Registration Act - Wikipedia The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was enacted in FARA is a disclosure statute that requires persons acting as agents of foreign principals in a political or quasi-political capacity to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities. Page 7