FARA foreign agents reg act

619 belated

AN 11 24

...“In 2016, the Magyar Foundation of North America paid Grenell’s consulting firm, Capitol Media Partners, $103,750 for ‘public relations’ services, according to the foundation’s tax filing. The foundation was funded and supervised by Hungary’s government, according to records obtained by the Hungarian nonprofit news organization Atlatszo. The foundation’s director, Jo Anne Barnhart, had been a registered lobbyist for Prime Minister Viktor Orban,” ProPublica revealed.

“Grenell, however, did not register, even though public relations work on behalf of a foreign government falls squarely under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, according to lawyers specializing in the matter. FARA is the same law that Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and former deputy campaign manager, Rick Gates, were convicted of violating.”

...

---

an 1 24

republican-aligned lobbyist Barry Bennett — an adviser to former President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign — has admitted to violating a law pertaining to agents of foreign governments in a newly unveiled agreement with the Department of Justice.

According to Politico legal correspondent Kyle Cheney, Bennett and his associate Doug Watts entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ on Tuesday, agreeing to pay hefty fines and cease activity governed by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) for 18 months in exchange for avoiding a trial. Bennett will pay $100,000 for making false statements to federal authorities concerning his lobbying activities on behalf of foreign interests, and Watts — who worked on Ben Carson's 2016 presidential campaign — agreed to pay $25,000.

While the charging documents didn't state which country Bennett and Watts were assisting, the context of court documents suggests the violations relate to the lobbyists' work on behalf of the Qatari government in relation to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Bennett's firm, Avenue Strategies LLC — which he co-founded with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski — was under investigation by the DOJ in 2021 for his work on behalf of Qatar. That work involved setting up an advocacy group dubbed Yemen Crisis Watch, which was aimed at shaming Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their destabilization of Yemen that led to widespread hunger and poverty in the war-torn nation.

The Qatari embassy reportedly paid Bennett $250,000 for the campaign, and Bennett's failure to report the group as a project paid for by a foreign government was what first alerted federal investigators. The Hill additionally reported that Qatar paid Avenue Strategies Global in excess of $3 million for building inroads between the Middle Eastern nation and the Trump administration between 2017 and 2018. His firm brought in roughly $1 million in 2020, but his work tapered off after Trump lost his reelection bid that year.

Politico reported that in addition to his work with Yemen, Bennett's firm also worked with Ukrainian politician Yulia Tymoshenko, Veneuzuelan-owned oil company Citgo and the government of Zimbabwe. A Maryland judge froze his assets in 2021 after he was sued by Ying Ma — another Republican lobbyist — for refusing to pay finders' fees for new clients she helped bring in.

"Bennett has attempted to defend his illicit activities to federal authorities by, among other things, falsely accusing Ying Ma, a patriotic American citizen, of being an intelligence asset of the Chinese Communist government," read a 2021 filing Ma submitted. She added that his refusal to pay her was part of a "pattern of sleaziness and illegal behavior."

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2022/08/26/former-texas-rep-steve-stockmans-arrest-surfaces-as-feds-build-case-against-trump-ally/

paywall

no lnx

Politics

Former Texas Rep. Steve Stockman’s arrest surfaces as feds build case against Trump ally

Attorneys building a case against Barrack argue Stockman’s arrest is relevant.

U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman (standing) of Friendswood and musician Ted Nugent, a National Rifle...

By Emily Caldwell

Aug 26, 2022

WASHINGTON — The arrest timeline of former Houston-area Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, convicted in 2018 in a complex corruption scheme that involved misusing charitable funds, may be used as evidence by U.S. attorneys building a case against Trump allyTom Barrack.

Barrack, a private equity investor and close friend of former President Donald Trump, will go on trial with a business associate in September on charges ofillegally lobbying Trump on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.

In a brief submitted before Barrack’s trial, attorneys said they intend to introduce evidence showing that Barrack and his associate were directed, by the UAE, to meet with and advocate for the appointment of Stockman to the position of U.S. ambassador to the UAE, but were unable to because of Stockman’s arrest on March 16, 2017.

The attorneys argued that Stockman’s “arrest is relevant because it explains why the Defendants were not able to fulfill this request, despite agreeing to do so.”

“Without this information, the jury may mistakenly conclude that the Defendants willingly refused to follow through on the UAE’s direction, when, in fact, circumstances beyond their control deprived them of the opportunity to do so,” the attorneys wrote.

Though Stockman’s name has been redacted from the public brief, text describing him as a former congressman and his arrest date are clearly visible, and Stockman had, in the weeks before his arrest, indicated he was highly interested in securing the UAE ambassador position.

The 74-year-old Barrack, who was chairman of Trump’s 2017 inaugural fund, and his associate Matthew Grimes, 27, were arrested in July.

Both men have pleaded not guilty to charges of secretly advancing the UAE’s interests, at the direction of senior UAE officials, by influencing Trump’s 2016 campaign foreign policy positions and U.S. government stances during the first half of Trump’s presidency.

In 2018, Stockman was convicted in federal court of masterminding a wide-ranging fraud scheme, using significant charitable donations from big-shot conservative donors to cover campaign debts and personal expenses. He was found guilty of all but one of the 24 counts brought against him, including fraud, money laundering and violating federal election law.

In late 2020, Trump commuted the remainder of Stockman’s 10-year prison sentence, prompting his release from the Federal Correctional Institution, a low-security facility in Beaumont. His family had been worried about his health after he contracted COVID-19 while incarcerated.

Emily Caldwell

Emily Caldwell. Emily Caldwell is covering politics in Washington for The Dallas Morning News. She is from College Station, Texas, and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2021 with degrees in journalism and Latin American studies. She spent a number of years at The Daily Texan, UT's student newspaper, and was the editor-in-chief her senior year.

emily.caldwell@dallasnews.com

lobbyist Pleads Guilty to Failing to Register as a Foreign Agent for Ukraine

September 5, 2018

Following closely behind a string of recent enforcement actions under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), on August 31, 2018, Samuel Patten, a former associate of Paul Manafort and prominent Washington, DC lobbyist, pleaded guilty for failing to register as a foreign agent under FARA and other counts, including causing and concealing foreign payments.

Mr. Patten’s plea and cooperation agreement stipulates that starting around 2014, he formed a lobbying and political consulting services company in the United States, which was retained to advise the Opposition Bloc (a Ukrainian political party) and members of that party, including a prominent Ukraine oligarch who had funded the party. Among other activities, the company performed political consulting services in the United States on behalf of its Ukrainian clients, including contacting members of the U.S. Legislative and Executive branches, as well as the media. The lobbying activity was undertaken to promote the interests of the Ukrainian oligarch and to influence U.S. public opinion. Mr. Patten also assisted the Ukrainian oligarch in drafting op-eds targeting the U.S. press, without disclosing that he was acting as an agent of the Opposition Bloc.

Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Patten acknowledged engaging in one or more FARA registerable activities, including political activities, within the United States, and although aware that these activities triggered a registration obligation under FARA, Mr. Patten chose not to register under the statute. In addition to FARA violations, Mr. Patten also pleaded guilty to assisting the Ukrainian oligarch with illegally purchasing tickets to President Trump’s inauguration. Mr. Patten now faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. A sentencing date has yet to be set.

Mr. Patten’s prosecution is yet another example of the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on FARA enforcement. In 2017, Paul Manafort and Richard Gates were charged with knowingly and willfully violating FARA by failing to register as foreign agents of the government of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Party of Regions, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, and the Opposition Bloc. Shortly thereafter, in May 2018, Nisar Ahmed Chaudhry, a U.S. permanent resident and Pakistani national, pleaded guilty to charges that he failed to register as a foreign agent in connection with lobbying work he did for the Pakistani government to shape U.S. foreign policy from 2012 through 2018.

These recent prosecutions reinforce the importance of ensuring compliance with the statute – from registering as a foreign agent within the 10-day window for doing so to timely filing and labeling all informational materials that are disseminated to two or more persons. Indeed, foreign agents who intentionally and willfully violate any provision of the statute may be subject to significant criminal and/or civil penalties, including fines up to $10,000 and imprisonment for up to five years. Foreign agents who willfully make false statements or intentionally fail to provide material information in support of their registration or supplemental statements are also subject to these penalties.

nyt 3/19 note investigated, not charge (tho skanned settled something?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/23/us/trump-investigations-new-york.html?module=inline

The investigation into the Trump inaugural committee partly grew out of a recording that F.B.I. agents seized when they raided Mr. Cohen’s home and office. On the recording, Mr. Cohen is heard discussing potential irregularities with one of the main contractors for the inauguration. The Southern District is investigating, among other things, whether the committee made false filings with the Federal Election Commission and received illegal donations from foreign nationals, a subpoena from the investigation shows.

In addition, the Southern District took on two investigations stemming from the cases against Mr. Manafort, who was prosecuted by Mr. Mueller’s office and was recently sentenced to more than seven years in prison for a litany of crimes.

In one of the investigations, the prosecutors are weighing charges against the officer of a bank that Mr. Manafort has acknowledged defrauding, according to people briefed on the matter.

In the other, Mr. Mueller’s team referred investigations involving three firms that worked with Mr. Manafort — the lobbying firms Mercury Public Affairs and Podesta Group, and the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom — to the Southern District for potential prosecution under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Since then, Skadden reached a settlement with the Justice Department. But prosecutors in Washington are weighing charges against Skadden’s lead lawyer on the firm’s work in consultation with Mr. Manafort in 2012 on behalf of the Ukrainian government, while the Southern District has retained control of the investigations of Mercury and the Podesta Group, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Southern District’s reputation for nonpartisanship — and history of autonomy from the Justice Department in Washington, giving it the nickname “Sovereign District” — may make it less vulnerable to attacks from the president and his allies. The president’s lead lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, led the office from 1983 to 1989 and later became New York’s mayor.

The Southern District’s role in Trump-related cases comes at a time of transition for the office, which is led by Geoffrey S. Berman, who was appointed in January 2018 by the Trump administration.

Mr. Berman notified Justice Department officials early last year of a possible appearance of a conflict of interest in the Cohen investigation, and officials concluded that he should be recused, for reasons that have not been disclosed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Agents_Registration_Act

Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is a United States law passed in 1938 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. The purpose is to facilitate "evaluation by the government and the American people of the statements and activities of such persons." The law is administered by the FARA Registration Unit of the Counterespionage Section (CES) in the National Security Division (NSD) of the United States Department of Justice.^[1] As of 2007 the Justice Department reported there were approximately 1,700 lobbyists representing more than 100 countries before Congress, the White House and the federal government.^[2]

History

1938 Act ANTI-NAZI

The Act originally was administered by the Department of State until transferred to the Department of Justice in 1942.^[3] From passage in 1938 until 1966 when the Act was amended, enforcement focused on propagandists for foreign powers, even if it was not "for or on behalf of" those powers. 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.^[3][4]

1966 revision

In 1966 the Act was amended and narrowed to emphasize agents actually working with foreign powers who sought economic or political advantage by influencing governmental decision-making. The amendments shifted the focus of the law from propaganda to political lobbying and narrowed the meaning of "foreign agent".^[5] From that moment on, an organization (or person) could only be placed in the FARA database if the government proved that it (or he or she) was acting "at the order, request, or under the direction or control, of a foreign principal" and proved that it (or he or she) was engaged "in political activities for or in the interests of such foreign principal," including by "represent[ing] the interests of such foreign principal before any agency or official of the Government of the United States."^[6]

This increased the government's burden of proof; since 1966 there have been no successful criminal prosecutions under the FARA act.^[5] However, a civil injunctive remedy also was added to allow the Department of Justice to warn individuals and entities of possible violations of the Act, ensuring more voluntary compliance but also making it clear when the law has been violated. This has resulted in a number of successful civil cases and administrative resolutions since that time.^[3]

Later amendments

In 1995, the term "political propaganda" was removed from Subsection 611 following the 1987 Supreme Court case, Meese v. 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".^[4][7] The Court backed up an earlier lower court ruling in favor of one of the film's distributors in Block v. Meese.^[8] The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA), 2 U.S.C. § 1601, removed from the Act certain agents engaged in lobbying activities who register under that Act, which is administered by Congress.^[9]

An online search of FARA registrants was added by the United States Department of Justice (FARA Quick Search). In 2004 the Justice Department stated that the Foreign Agent Registration Unit's database for tracking foreign lobbyists was in disrepair.^[10] However, in 2007 The Justice Department launched an online database which can be used by the public to search filings and current reports.^[2]

Scope

The Act requires periodic disclosure of all activities and finances by:

people and organizations that are under control of
- a foreign government, or
- of organizations or of persons outside of the United States ("foreign principal"),
if they act "at the order, request, or under the direction or control" (i.e. as "agents")
- of this principal or
- of persons who are "controlled or subsidized in major part" by this principal.^[6]

Organizations under such foreign control can include political agents, public relations counsel, publicity agents, information-service employees, political consultants, fundraisers or those who represent the foreign power before any agency or official of the United States government.^[6]

The law does not include news or press services not owned by the foreign principal.^[6] It also provides explicit exemptions for organizations engaged in "religious, scholastic, academic, or scientific pursuits or of the fine arts," as well as for those "not serving predominantly a foreign interest."^[11]

Examples of organizations lobbying on behalf of foreign governments are DMP International,^[12] Flynn Intel Group,^[13][14] DLA Piper, Dickens & Madson Canada, Invest Northern Ireland, Japan National Tourism Organization and Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions,^[15] Ketchum Inc.^[16]

Prominent cases

There have been several dozen criminal prosecutions and civil cases under the Act.^[17] Among the most prominent are:

United States v. Peace Information Center (1951) which claimed that the peace organization led by Pan-Africanist W. E. B. Du Bois was spreading propaganda as an agent of foreign governments. The trial judge dismissed the case for lack of evidence.^[18]
United States v. John Joseph Frank (D.D.C. 1959) where Frank's lack of registration as an agent of the Dominican Republic was aggravated by the fact that the defendant had been notified by letter of his burden to register.^[3][19]
United States v. Park Tong-Sun (D.D.C. 1977) involved South Korea and was ended by a plea bargain.^[3][20]
Attorney General v. Irish Northern Aid Committee (1981) in which the government sought to compel the committee, which was already registered under FARA, to register more specifically as an agent of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The committee, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland which collected money from supporters in the U.S., denied a relationship with the IRA and claimed selective prosecution was based on the Attorney General's hostility towards their beliefs.^[21] While failing to do so in 1972, in May 1981, the U.S. 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.^[22]
Attorney General v. The Irish People, Inc. (1986) in which the court found that the Irish Northern Aid Committee's publication The Irish People also must register under the Act and with the IRA as its foreign principal.^[23][24]
United States v. McGoff: 831 F.2d 1071 (D.C. Cir. 1987) shortened the statute of limitations for agents who refuse to register, contrary to the express language in Section 8(e) of the Act.^[3]
"Cuban Five" (1998–2000) five Cuban intelligence officers were convicted of acting as an agents of a foreign government under FARA, as well as various conspiracy charges after entering the United States to spy on the U.S. Southern Command and various Cuban-American groups thought to be committing terrorist acts in Cuba.^[25][26]
United States v. Susan Lindauer et al(2004) involved a former U.S. Congressional staffer and journalist whom the U.S. government alleged had violated pre-war Iraq financial sanctions by taking payments from Iraqi intelligence operatives. In addition to charges under the FARA, Lindauer was indicted for Title 18 Section 2332d (financial crimes) and placed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). During and after her one-year incarceration, she was twice judged incompetent to stand trial. In court, Lindauer won against USDOJ efforts to forcibly drug her with anti-psychotic medication. The case was dropped in 2009.
United States v. Samir A. Vincent (2005) included a charge of conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign government^[27] in the "oil-for-food" scandal helping Saddam Hussein's government. Samir was fined $300,000 and sentenced to probation.^[28][29]
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, a U.S. citizen from Indian held Kashmir, was arrested in 2011 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for lobbying secretly for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.^[30] He later pleaded guilty to tax evasion and making false statements.^[31]
On November 13, 2017, RT America officially registered as a foreign agent in the United States with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Under the act, RT will be required to disclose financial information.^[32]

Related legislation

FARA is one of several federal statutes aimed at individuals called foreign agents.^[33] There are federal statutes authorizing the exemption of otherwise covered agents (e.g., the Taiwan Relations Act and the Compact of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.) Others target specific agents, such as federal legislation shutting down the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, DC, in 1981 and Executive Order 12947 (1995) which prohibits fundraising within the United States on behalf of certain violent groups opposed to the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 prohibits, among other things, fundraising which is done to benefit foreign organizations designated by the United States as terrorist.^[3]

Allegations of selective enforcement

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.^[34] This was stated by the Irish Northern Aid Committee in legal filings^[35] and in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in the case of associates of the Kashmiri American Council as compared to earlier treatment of the American Zionist Council.^[36] The 1980s Federal Bureau of Investigations operations against the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador also allegedly was based on selective enforcement of FARA.^[37] It has been noted that during the same period it investigated CISPES, the FBI ignored possible FARA violations like *Soldier of Fortune* magazine running back cover advertisement to help the Rhodesian national army recruit fighters.^[38]

In the 1950s President Eisenhower's administration repeatedly demanded the leaders of the American Zionist Council register as "agents of a foreign government."^[39] In November 1962 Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's Department of Justice ordered the American Zionist Council to register as a foreign agent because of FARA violations alleging it was being funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel and acting on behalf of Israel. The Department of Justice later withdrew its demand.^[29]

The American Zionist Council was reorganized as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In 1988 former Senator William Fulbright in the 1970s and former senior CIA official Victor Marchetti, unsuccessfully petitioned the Department of Justice to register the lobby under the Act.^[40]

The 2005 case of United States v. Franklin, Rosen, and Weissman against United States Department of Defense employee Larry Franklin and American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy director Steven Rosenand AIPAC senior Iran analyst Keith Weissman^[41][42] raised the possibility that AIPAC would come under greater scrutiny by the Department of Justice. While Franklin pleaded guilty to passing government secrets to Rosen and Weissman, as well as to an Israeli government official,^[43][44] the cases against Rosen and Weissman were dismissed and no actions against AIPAC were instituted.^[40]

Chronology of amendments

Chronology of amendments to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938.

Date of Enactment	Public Law Number	U.S. Statute Citation	U.S. Legislative Bill	U.S. Presidential Administration
August 7, 1939	P.L. 76-319	53 Stat. 1244	H.R. 5988	Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 29, 1942	P.L. 77-532	56 Stat. 248	S. 2399	Franklin D. Roosevelt
August 3, 1950	P.L. 81-642	64 Stat. 399	H.R. 4386	Harry S. Truman
October 4, 1961	P.L. 87-366	75 Stat. 784	H.R. 470	John F. Kennedy
July 4, 1966	P.L. 89-486	80 Stat. 244	S. 693	Lyndon B. Johnson

References

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/fara-law-explained-794340/

RS andy kroll

Last year, American Media, Inc., the scandal-plagued parent company of the National Enquirer, produced 200,000 copies of a :{special-edition magazine:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}: called “The New Kingdom.” On its cover was the new crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. The glossy magazine championed the young Saudi leader and touted his supposed “reform” agenda in the wake of bin Salman’s March 2018 visit to the United States.

Before AMI published “The New Kingdom,” it consulted with the Department of Justice. According to :{the :(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}:*:{Wall Street Journal:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}:*, the media company asked the DOJ if it would need to register as a foreign agent for the purposes of publishing its unabashedly pro-Saudi mag. DOJ lawyers ultimately said no, but the fact that AMI felt the need to ask at all shows how much a once-obscure law, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), has been revived in recent years as part of the government’s larger effort to expose foreign influence operations on American soil.... ...has used it repeatedly in his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The DOJ’s more aggressive enforcement of the law has led to more political consultants disclosing — voluntarily or not — their work to influence American politics and public opinions on behalf of foreign governments."

Congress passed FARA in 1938 to expose those believed to be behind pro-Nazi propaganda in the United States. The law requires people working on behalf of a foreign official to influence American policy, politics or public opinion to disclose a wealth of information: How much they’re getting paid, who they’re meeting with, the tactics they’re using to push their client’s message and how they’re spending said client’s money. All of that information is posted online, giving journalists, members of Congress and regular citizens the ability to see how foreign governments are trying to influence this country and its government.

But for much of FARA’s existence, the law resulted in few criminal prosecutions. Between 1966 and 2015, there were only seven FARA-related prosecutions. A 2016 DOJ inspector general’s report concluded that the unit overseeing the law “lacks a comprehensive FARA enforcement strategy.” It was treated, as one foreign lobbyist recently put it, like “a stop sign in the desert.” There have been almost as many criminal prosecutions under FARA brought in the last 18 months — five — as there were in the preceding 40 years.

In late 2014, David Laufman, a career DOJ lawyer, became the chief of the counterintelligence and export control section in the department’s national security division, which includes oversight of FARA enforcement. Laufman tells Rolling Stone that, soon after he took over, he realized that “there was a great deal more we could do to enforce the statute appropriately and in a more muscular way.” Under his watch, he says, the DOJ began to enforce FARA more aggressively. (He says the inspector general’s 2016 findings were “outdated and inapt.”)

Mueller’s investigation is a big reason for this. Almost one year ago, a D.C. grand jury convened by Mueller :{indicted the Internet Research Agency and 13 Russian nationals:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}: for carrying out an assortment of tactics to sow discord in American elections, including the use of fake American identities and social media platforms to organize rallies and spread disinformation. The first count in that indictment accused the Russians of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by failing to register as foreign agents under FARA.

As Laufman, who left the DOJ last year and now advises clients on FARA compliance, writes in a :{recent Law360 analysis:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}:, Mueller’s case against the IRA and its agents may be the first time foreign nationals on foreign soil were charged with criminal acts under the act. Laufman says this is a signal that the DOJ intends to be more aggressive with FARA prosecutions, especially as the weaponization of social media becomes more commonplace in our elections.

“We’re living in an era where foreign influence operations present novel and sometimes destabilizing threats to the United States,” Laufman tells Rolling Stone. “The manifestations of that are not always transparent. The whole purpose of the statute is to effect and maximize transparency through registration and disclosure with respect to who the real parties and interests are behind lobbying activities and content that is propagated within the United States.”

A week after the IRA indictment, Rick Gates, the former Trump deputy campaign chairman and Paul Manafort protege, :{pleaded guilty:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}: to a similar conspiracy charge, this time for :{failing to register:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}: for lobbying work he did on behalf of the government of Ukraine and the pro-Russia Party of Regions. Last fall, Manafort, who served as Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016, also :{pleaded guilty:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}: to not registering as a :{foreign agent:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}: for Ukraine, the Party of Regions and former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Mueller’s investigation has also apparently led to two other FARA-related guilty pleas brought by other law-enforcement offices. In August 2018, Samuel Patten, a political consultant and ex-Manafort associate,:{**pleaded guilty**:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased"):}:in D.C. federal court to violating the law for not registering for political work he did for the Ukraine’s Opposition Bloc party and an anonymous “prominent Ukraine oligarch.”Last December, in what appeared to be another spinoff from the Mueller investigation, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia:{charged:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased"):}: two men with ties to former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn for acting as foreign agents for the government of Turkey without registering under FARA.

The Justice Department has also ramped up its FARA enforcement in the form of more demands for information from potential foreign agents, and in some cases pressuring people and companies to register under the act. In the past two years, for instance, at the DOJ’s insistence, Russia Today (RT) and RIA Global, two TV networks with ties to the Kremlin that operate in the U.S., :{registered:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}: as :{foreign agents:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}:. This month, CGTN America, the U.S. affiliate of a Chinese state-owned media organization, :{begrudgingly registered:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}: under FARA as well.

In several instances, political operatives have retroactively registered under FARA after their work came under public scrutiny. In March 2017, Michael Flynn, the president’s former national security adviser, :{retroactively registered:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}: as a foreign agent working in the interests of the Turkish government. Last year, Joey Allaham, a New York restaurateur, worked for months to :{help burnish:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}:the image of the state of Qatar within the American Jewish committee and also :{retroactively registered:(style="box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-weight:400"):}: as a foreign agent.

Joshua Rosenstein, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who represents clients registered under FARA, tells Rolling Stonethat the DOJ’s more aggressive stance on FARA has led to a greater awareness by people working in and around the foreign influence industry.

“The two new changes we have seen are a large number of new clients all of a sudden asking for advice, and realizing they may need to get lawyers who understand this law,” Rosenstein says.