Softpanorama

May the source be with you, but remember the KISS principle ;-)
Home Switchboard Unix Administration Red Hat TCP/IP Networks Neoliberalism Toxic Managers
(slightly skeptical) Educational society promoting "Back to basics" movement against IT overcomplexity and  bastardization of classic Unix

Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)

News Fifth column Recommended Links Wikipedia Article Reference Color revolutions
Anti-Protest Laws US anti-protest laws Canada anti-protest laws British anti-protest laws French anti-protest laws German Anti-protest laws
Compradors Russian compradors

Color revolution playbook

NGOs in Russia Revolving door between US government and human rights watch Sect of fraudulent election witnesses
Inside "democracy promotion" hypocrisy fair "Fight with Corruption" as a smoke screen for neoliberal penetration into host countries Anatol Leiven on American Messianism New American Militarism Humor Etc
 

Before WWII the USA was concerned about influence of Nazi Germany sponsored organization on the US government and the stability of the USA political system. This is when Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was adopted to suppress such an activities.

Later the USA became the major destabilizing force itself operating via network of NGO to sponsor color revolutions. For example, The NDI is a U.S. government financed organization. It is a "nonprofit organization" in the same sense that the U.S. Armed Forces are a "nonprofit organization", or, more correctly, CIA is a non-profit.

The CIA used to handle all the subversive activities of the US Government abroad until the Church and Pike commissions opened up that can of worms. That forced Reagan regime to repackage the US Government's efforts at subversion of foreign governments and make the State Department and NGO the  central actors in such efforts. Among organizations created for this purpose were: 

These were apparently modeled on the CIA's set of organizations that was founded in Germany, during the USA administration of West Germany after WWII:

Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was an important and innovative legislative efforts designed to protect the state from activities of the fifth column, and now to restrict activites of foreign NGOs.   Protection from NGO activities is vital as they are brain centers and sponsors of color revolutions.  Recently several countries reused the USA experience in this area and created law modeled of FARA that limits the degrees of freedom of such organization.  Among them Israel, Russia, Malaysia and in 2014 (successfully, just before the coup) Ukraine.

It proved to be a potent tool of fighting Color revolutions, a regime change scheme which became one of the major tools of the foreign policy of some states.  It make "bombing country with dollars for regime change substantially more difficult.  It is especially effective when regime change efforts are wrapped in democracy promotion hypocrisy as commitment to democratic values of financed local NGO and humal rights activists is often directly proportional to the dollar flow in the country.

The act declared that an agent of a foreign principal is any individual or organization which acts at the order, request, or under the direction or control of a foreign principal, or whose activities are directed by a foreign principal who:

  1. Engages in political activities.
  2. Acts in a public relations capacity for a foreign principal.
  3. Solicits or dispenses anything of value within the United States for a foreign principal.
  4. Represents the interests of a foreign principal before any agency or official of the U.S. government. [2]

In the USA FARA registrations and disclosures are administered by the FARA Registration Unit of the Counterespionage Section in the National Security Division of the Justice Department.

FARA disclosure forms require much more information than lobbyist disclosure forms filed under the Lobbyist Disclosure Act of 1995.

The analysis of Russian variant of FARA from the US positions can be found in Russia - NGO Law Monitor - Research Center - ICNL

Organizational Forms Non-commercial organizations; public associations; foundations; institutions; non-commercial partherships; and autonomous non-commercial organizations
Registration Body Ministry of Justice
Approximate Number Of 220,000 NCOs, 50% are public associations
Barriers to Entry Certain persons, including foreign persons and stateless persons, may not become founders, members, or participants.

Registration procedures are overly bureaucratic, with excessive documentation requirements.

Barriers to Activities Burdensome reporting requirements.

Supervisory power allowing for interference with internal affairs of public associations and NCOs

Barriers to Speech and/or Advocacy Potential restrictions against NCO advocacy activity may arise through application of criminal or administrative penalties codes
Barriers to International Contact No legal barriers
Barriers to Resources Foreign or international organizations wishing to make tax-exempt grants to Russian citizens or NCOs must be on a list of organizations approved by the Russian Government; access to this list is severely limited.

NCOs that carry out political activities and receive foreign funding are labeled "NCOs carrying functions of a foreign agent."

Pending NCO Legislative / Regulatory Initiatives

On December 19, the Duma passed in the second reading the draft of FEDERAL LAW № 186614-6 On Measures of Influence of Persons, Relating to Violation of Human Rights, Rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation. It was initiated by a large group of deputies and is designed as a countermeasure to the Magnitsky bill, which is intended to punish Russian officials that were thought to be responsible for the death of Russian attorney Sergei Magnitsky by prohibiting their entrance to the United States and use of their banking system. The present text includes provisions restricting American citizens who violated human rights or the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens from entering Russia and from owning property in Russia. In addition, the present text restricts the adoption of Russian children by American citizens and a number of other provisions restricting the activities of NGOs. Such provisions are summarized below:

The third reading and adoption is scheduled for December 21. It is likely that the law will come into effect shortly after.

Please help keep us informed; if you are aware of other pending initiatives, write to ICNL at [email protected].

 

Wikipedia Article

Foreign Agents Registration Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...Subsection 611 defines the term foreign principal as (1) a government of a foreign country and a foreign political party; (2) a person outside of the United States; or (3) a partnership, association, corporation, organization… organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign country.[3]

An agent of a foreign principal is defined as "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…whose activities are directly or indirectly supervised, directed, controlled, financed or subsidized in whole or in major part by a foreign principal."[4]

The term "political activities" means any activity that the person engaging in believes will, or that the person intends to, in any way influence any agency or official of the Government of the United States or any section of the public within the United States with reference to formulating, adopting, or changing the domestic or foreign policies of the United States or with reference to the political or public interests, policies, or relations of a government of a foreign country or a foreign political party; interests of such foreign principal (i) in the form of prints, or (ii) in any other form which is reasonably adapted to being, or which he believes will be, or which he intends to be, disseminated or circulated among two or more persons shall, not later than forty-eight hours after the beginning of the transmittal thereof, file with the Attorney General two copies thereof. (b) Identification statement It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States who is an agent of a foreign principal and required to register under the provisions of this subchapter to transmit or cause to be transmitted in the United States mails or by any means or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce any informational materials for or in the interests of such foreign principal without placing in such informational materials a conspicuous statement that the materials are distributed by the agent on behalf of the foreign principal, and that additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia.

The Attorney General may by rule define what constitutes a conspicuous statement for the purposes of this subsection. (c) Public inspection The copies of informational materials required by this subchapter to be filed with the Attorney General shall be available for public inspection under such regulations as he may prescribe. (d) Library of Congress For purposes of the Library of Congress, other than for public distribution, the Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Postal Service are authorized, upon the request of the Librarian of Congress, to forward to the Library of Congress fifty copies, or as many fewer thereof as are available, of all foreign prints determined to be prohibited entry under the provisions of section 1305 of title 19 and of all foreign prints excluded from the mails under authority of section 1717 of title 18. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1305 of title 19 and of section 1717 of title 18, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to permit the entry and the United States Postal Service is authorized to permit the transmittal in the mails of foreign prints imported for governmental purposes by authority or for the use of the United States or for the use of the Library of Congress. (e) Information furnished to agency or official of United States Government It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States who is an agent of a foreign principal required to register under the provisions of this subchapter to transmit, convey, or otherwise furnish to any agency or official of the Government (including a Member or committee of either House of Congress) for or in the interests of such foreign principal any political propaganda or to request from any such agency or official for or in the interests of such foreign principal any information or advice with respect to any matter pertaining to the political or public interests, policies or relations of a foreign country or of a political party or pertaining to the foreign or domestic policies of the United States unless the propaganda or the request is prefaced or accompanied by a true and accurate statement to the effect that such person is registered as an agent of such foreign principal under this subchapter. (f) Appearances before Congressional committees Whenever any agent of a foreign principal required to register under this subchapter appears before any committee of Congress to testify for or in the interests of such foreign principal, he shall, at the time of such appearance, furnish the committee with a copy of his most recent registration statement filed with the Department of Justice as an agent of such foreign principal for inclusion in the records of the committee as part of his testimony. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 4, 52 Stat. 632; Aug. 7, 1939, ch. 521, § 3, 53 Stat. 1246; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 255; Pub. L. 89–486, § 4, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 246; Pub. L. 91–375, § 4(a), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 773; Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(4)–(6), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 700.) CODIFICATION Section 1717 of title 18, referred to in subsec. (d), was in the original ''section 1 of title XII of the Act of June 15, 1917 (40 Stat. 230)'' which was classified to section 343 of former Title 18, Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure. ''Section 1717 of title 18'' substituted for ''section 343 of title 18'' on authority of act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 683, section 1 of which enacted Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. PRIOR PROVISIONS Prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942, section related to retention of statements as public records. Provisions on that subject were incorporated in section 616 of this title by 1942 amendment. AMENDMENTS 1995-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(4)(B), which directed striking out ''and a statement, duly signed by or on behalf of such an agent, setting forth full information as to the places, times, and extent of such transmittal'' after ''Attorney General two copies thereof'', was executed by striking out such language, which read in part ''on behalf of such agent'', to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(4)(A), substituted ''informational materials'' for ''political propaganda''. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(5), substituted ''informational materials for or'' for ''political propaganda for or'' and substituted ''without placing in such informational materials a conspicuous statement that the materials are distributed by the agent on behalf of the foreign principal, and that additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia. The Attorney General may by rule define what constitutes a conspicuous statement for the purposes of this subsection.'' for cls. (i) and (ii) and concluding provisions which made it unlawful for an agent of a foreign principal to transmit in the United States political propaganda unless the propaganda identified the agent and contained information about the registration of the agent and authorized the Attorney General to prescribe regulations relating to the information to be provided. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(6), substituted ''informational materials'' for ''political propaganda''. 1966-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 89–486, § 4(1), inserted ''for or in the interests of such foreign principal'' after ''political propaganda'' and substituted ''file with the Attor ney General two copies thereof'' for ''sent to the Librarian of Congress two copies thereof and file with the Attorney General one copy thereof''. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 89–486, § 4(2), inserted ''for or in the interests of such foreign principal'' after ''political propaganda'', where first appearing, and ''the relationship or connection between the person transmitting the political propaganda or causing it to be transmitted and such propaganda;'' after ''setting forth'' and substituted ''such foreign principal'' for each of his foreign principals''. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 89–486, § 4(3), substituted ''filed with the Attorney General'' for ''sent to the Librarian of Congress''. Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 89–486, § 4(4), added subsecs. (e) and (f). 1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally. 1939-Act Aug. 7, 1939, amended section generally. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1942 AMENDMENT Amendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS In subsec. (d), ''United States Postal Service'' substituted for ''Postmaster General'' in two places pursuant to Pub. L. 91–375, § 4(a), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 773, set out as a note under section 201 of Title 39, Postal Service, which abolished office of Postmaster General of Post Office Department and transferred its functions to United States Postal Service. § 615. Books and records Every agent of a foreign principal registered under this subchapter shall keep and preserve while he is an agent of a foreign principal such books of account and other records with respect to all his activities, the disclosure of which is required under the provisions of this subchapter, in accordance with such business and accounting practices, as the Attorney General, having due regard for the national security and the public interest, may by regulation prescribe as necessary or appropriate for the enforcement of the provisions of this subchapter and shall preserve the same for a period of three years following the termination of such status. Until regulations are in effect under this section every agent of a foreign principal shall keep books of account and shall preserve all written records with respect to his activities. Such books and records shall be open at all reasonable times to the inspection of any official charged with the enforcement of this subchapter. It shall be unlawful for any person willfully to conceal, destroy, obliterate, mutilate, or falsify, or to attempt to conceal, destroy, obliterate, mutilate, or falsify, or to cause to be concealed, destroyed, obliterated, mutilated, or falsified, any books or records required to be kept under the provisions of this section. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 5, 52 Stat. 633; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 256; Pub. L. 89–486, § 5, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 247.) PRIOR PROVISIONS Prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942, section related to penalties. Provisions on that subject were incorporated in section 618 of this title by 1942 amendment. AMENDMENTS 1966-Pub. L. 89–486 inserted ''in accordance with such business and accounting practices,'' after ''under the provisions of this subchapter,''. 1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1942 AMENDMENT Amendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title. § 616. Public examination of official records; transmittal of records and information (a) Permanent copy of statement; inspection; withdrawal The Attorney General shall retain in permanent form one copy of all registration statements furnished under this subchapter, and the same shall be public records and open to public examination and inspection at such reasonable hours, under such regulations, as the Attorney General may prescribe, and copies of the same shall be furnished to every applicant at such reasonable fee as the Attorney General may prescribe. The Attorney General may withdraw from public examination the registration statement and other statements of any agent of a foreign principal whose activities have ceased to be of a character which requires registration under the provisions of this subchapter. (b) Secretary of State The Attorney General shall, promptly upon receipt, transmit one copy of every registration statement filed hereunder and one copy of every amendment or supplement thereto filed hereunder, to the Secretary of State for such comment and use as the Secretary of State may determine to be appropriate from the point of view of the foreign relations of the United States. Failure of the Attorney General so to transmit such copy shall not be a bar to prosecution under this subchapter. (c) Executive departments and agencies; Congressional committees The Attorney General is authorized to furnish to departments and agencies in the executive branch and committees of the Congress such information obtained by him in the administration of this subchapter, including the names of registrants under this subchapter, copies of reg istration statements, or parts thereof, or other documents or information filed under this subchapter, as may be appropriate in the light of the purposes of this subchapter. (d) Public database of registration statements and updates (1) In general The Attorney General shall maintain, and make available to the public over the Internet, without a fee or other access charge, in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable manner, to the extent technically practicable, an electronic database that- (A) includes the information contained in registration statements and updates filed under this subchapter; and (B) is searchable and sortable, at a minimum, by each of the categories of information described in section 612(a) of this title. (2) Accountability The Attorney General shall make each registration statement and update filed in electronic form pursuant to section 612(g) of this title available for public inspection over the Internet as soon as technically practicable after the registration statement or update is filed. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 6, 52 Stat. 633; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 256; Pub. L. 89–486, § 6, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 247; Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(7), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 700; Pub. L. 110–81, title II, § 212(b), Sept. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 749.) PRIOR PROVISIONS Prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942, section related to rules and regulations. Provisions on that subject were incorporated in section 620 of this title by 1942 amendment. Provisions on this subject were contained in section 614 of this title prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942. AMENDMENTS 2007-Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 110–81 added subsec. (d). 1995-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(7)(A), struck out ''and all statements concerning the distribution of political propaganda'' after ''all registration statements''. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(7)(B), struck out '', and one copy of every item of political propaganda'' after ''supplement thereto''. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(7)(C), struck out ''copies of political propaganda,'' after ''parts thereof,''. 1966-Pub. L. 89–486 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsecs. (b) and (c). 1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2007 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 effective on the 90th day after Sept. 14, 2007, see section 212(c) of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 612 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1942 AMENDMENT Amendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title. § 617. Liability of officers Each officer, or person performing the functions of an officer, and each director, or person performing the functions of a director, of an agent of a foreign principal which is not an individual shall be under obligation to cause such agent to execute and file a registration statement and supplements thereto as and when such filing is required under subsections (a) and (b) of section 612 of this title and shall also be under obligation to cause such agent to comply with all the requirements of sections 614(a) and (b) and 615 of this title and all other requirements of this subchapter. Dissolution of any organization acting as an agent of a foreign principal shall not relieve any officer, or person performing the functions of an officer, or any director, or person performing the functions of a director, from complying with the provisions of this section. In case of failure of any such agent of a foreign principal to comply with any of the requirements of this subchapter, each of its officers, or persons performing the functions of officers, and each of its directors, or persons performing the functions of directors, shall be subject to prosecution therefor. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 7, 52 Stat. 633; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 256; Aug. 3, 1950, ch. 524, § 2, 64 Stat. 400.) PRIOR PROVISIONS Section 7 of act June 8, 1938, prior to the general amendment of that act by act Apr. 29, 1942, provided for the effective date of the 1938 act. See Effective Date note set out under section 611 of this title. AMENDMENTS 1950-Act Aug. 3, 1950, continued the obligation of officers, directors, and persons acting as such to comply with this subchapter despite the dissolution of a foreign agent. 1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1942 AMENDMENT Amendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title. § 618. Enforcement and penalties (a) Violations; false statements and willful omissions Any person who- (1) willfully violates any provision of this subchapter or any regulation thereunder, or (2) in any registration statement or supplement thereto or in any other document filed with or furnished to the Attorney General under the provisions of this subchapter willfully makes a false statement of a material fact or willfully omits any material fact required to be stated therein or willfully omits a material fact or a copy of a material document necessary to make the statements therein and the copies of documents furnished therewith not misleading, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, except that in the case of a violation of subsection (b), (e), or (f) of section 614 of this title or of subsection (g) or (h) of this section the punishment shall be a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. (b) Proof of identity of foreign principal In any proceeding under this subchapter in which it is charged that a person is an agent of a foreign principal with respect to a foreign principal outside of the United States, proof of the specific identity of the foreign principal shall be permissible but not necessary. (c) Removal Any alien who shall be convicted of a violation of, or a conspiracy to violate, any provision of this subchapter or any regulation thereunder shall be subject to removal pursuant to chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.]. (d) Repealed. Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(8)(B), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 700 (e) Continuing offense Failure to file any such registration statement or supplements thereto as is required by either section 612(a) or section 612(b) of this title shall be considered a continuing offense for as long as such failure exists, notwithstanding any statute of limitation or other statute to the contrary. (f) Injunctive remedy; jurisdiction of district court Whenever in the judgment of the Attorney General any person is engaged in or about to engage in any acts which constitute or will constitute a violation of any provision of this subchapter, or regulations issued thereunder, or whenever any agent of a foreign principal fails to comply with any of the provisions of this subchapter or the regulations issued thereunder, or otherwise is in violation of the subchapter, the Attorney General may make application to the appropriate United States district court for an order enjoining such acts or enjoining such person from continuing to act as an agent of such foreign principal, or for an order requiring compliance with any appropriate provision of the subchapter or regulation thereunder. The district court shall have jurisdiction and authority to issue a temporary or permanent injunction, restraining order or such other order which it may deem proper. (g) Deficient registration statement If the Attorney General determines that a registration statement does not comply with the requirements of this subchapter or the regulations issued thereunder, he shall so notify the registrant in writing, specifying in what respects the statement is deficient. It shall be unlawful unlawful for any person to act as an agent of a foreign principal at any time ten days or more after receipt of such notification without filing an amended registration statement in full compliance with the requirements of this subchapter and the regulations issued thereunder. (h) Contingent fee arrangement It shall be unlawful for any agent of a foreign principal required to register under this subchapter to be a party to any contract, agreement, or understanding, either express or implied, with such foreign principal pursuant to which the amount or payment of the compensation, fee, or other remuneration of such agent is contingent in whole or in part upon the success of any political activities carried on by such agent. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 8, as added Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 257; amended Sept. 23, 1950, ch. 1024, title I, § 20(b), 64 Stat. 1005; June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title IV, § 402(d), 66 Stat. 276; Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 849, § 1, 70 Stat. 899; Pub. L. 89–486, § 7, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 248; Pub. L. 98–620, title IV, § 402(26), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3359; Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(8), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 700; Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title III, § 308(e)(19), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–621.) REFERENCES IN TEXT The Immigration and Nationality Act, referred to in subsec. (c), is act June 27, 1952, ch. 477, 66 Stat. 163, as amended. Chapter 4 of title II of the Act is classified generally to part IV (§ 1221 et seq.) of subchapter II of chapter 12 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1101 of Title 8 and Tables. PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions on this subject were contained in section 615 of this title prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942. AMENDMENTS 1996-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–208 substituted ''removal pursuant to chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act'' for ''deportation in the manner provided by sections 1251 to 1253 of title 8''. 1995-Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(8)(A), struck out ''or in any statement under section 614(a) of this title concerning the distribution of political propaganda'' after ''or supplement thereto''. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(8)(B), struck out subsec. (d) which read as follows: ''The United States Postal Service may declare to be nonmailable any communication or expression falling within clause (2) of section 611(j) of this title in the form of prints or in any other form reasonably adapted to, or reasonably appearing to be intended for, dissemination or circulation among two or more persons, which is offered or caused to be offered for transmittal in the United States mails to any person or persons in any other American republic by any agent of a foreign principal, if the United States Postal Service is informed in writing by the Secretary of State that the duly accredited diplomatic representative of such American republic has made written representation to the Department of State that the admission or circulation of such communication or expression in such American republic is prohibited by the laws thereof and has requested in writing that its transmittal thereto be stopped.'' 1984-Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 98–620 struck out provision that the proceedings shall be made a preferred cause and expedited in every way. exception provision. Subsecs. (f) to (h). Pub. L. 89–486, § 7(2), added subsecs. (f) to (h). 1956-Act Aug. 1, 1956, amended credit to section by redesignating section 20(b) of act Sept. 23, 1950, as section 20. 1952-Subsec. (c). Act June 27, 1952, substituted ''sections 1251 to 1253 of title 8'' for ''sections 155 and 156 of title 8''. 1950-Subsec. (e). Act Sept. 23, 1950, added subsec. (e). EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–208 effective, with certain transitional provisions, on the first day of the first month beginning more than 180 days after Sept. 30, 1996, see section 309 of Pub. L. 104–208, set out as a note under section 1101 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98–620 not applicable to cases pending on Nov. 8, 1984, see section 403 of Pub. L. 98–620, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1657 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as an Effective Date of 1942 Amendment note under section 611 of this title. § 619. Territorial applicability of subchapter This subchapter shall be applicable in the several States, the District of Columbia, the Territories, the Canal Zone, the insular possessions, and all other places now or hereafter subject to the civil or military jurisdiction of the United States. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 9, as added Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 257; amended Proc. No. 2695, July 4, 1946, 11 F.R. 7517, 60 Stat. 1352.) REFERENCES IN TEXT For definition of Canal Zone, referred to in text, see section 3602(b) of this title. CODIFICATION Words ''including the Philippine Islands,'' omitted from section pursuant to Proc. No. 2695, which granted independence to the Philippine Islands under the authority of section 1394 of this title, under which section Proc. No. 2695 is set out as a note. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as an Effective Date of 1942 Amendment note under section 611 of this title. § 620. Rules and regulations The Attorney General may at any time make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as he may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this subchapter. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 10, as added Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 257.) PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions on this subject were contained in section 616 of this title prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as an Effective Date of 1942 Amendment note under section 611 of this title. § 621. Reports to Congress The Attorney General shall every six months report to the Congress concerning administration of this subchapter, including registrations filed pursuant to the subchapter, and the nature, sources and content of political propaganda disseminated and distributed. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 11, as added Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 258; amended Pub. L. 104–65, § 19, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 704.) AMENDMENTS 1995-Pub. L. 104–65 added text and struck out former text which read as follows: ''The Attorney General shall, from time to time, make a report to the Congress concerning the administration of this subchapter, including the nature, sources, and content of political propaganda disseminated or distributed.'' EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as an Effective Date of 1942 Amendment note under section 611 of this title. CHAPTER 12-CLAIMS COMMISSIONS §§ 661 to 672. Omitted CODIFICATION Sections 661 to 672, which established the American Mexican Claims Commission in 1942 for the settlement of certain claims, expired pursuant to the provisions of section 661(d), which provided that the authority of the Commission shall terminate at the expiration of four years after the date on which a majority of its members first appointed took office. Section 661, acts Dec. 18, 1942, ch. 766, § 2, 56 Stat. 1058; Apr. 3, 1945, ch. 52, § 5, 59 Stat. 50; Oct. 28, 1949, ch. 782, title XI, § 1106(a), 63 Stat. 972, established American Mexican Claims Commission, prescribed its composition, provided for compensation of its members, and specified its termination date. Acts Dec. 18, 1942, ch. 766, § 2, 56 Stat. 1058; Apr. 3, 1945, ch. 52, § 5, 59 Stat. 50,
Top Visited
Switchboard
Latest
Past week
Past month

Reference

The text of FARA

601. Repealed. June 25, 1948, ch. 645, § 21, 62 Stat. 862, eff. Sept. 1, 1948 Section, acts June 15, 1917, ch. 30, title VIII, § 3, 40 Stat. 226; Mar. 28, 1940, ch. 72, § 6, 54 Stat. 80, related to acting as a foreign agent without notice to Secretary of State. See section 951 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

SUBCHAPTER II REGISTRATION OF FOREIGN PROPAGANDISTS EX. ORD. NO. 9176. TRANSFER OF REGISTRATION FUNCTIONS FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO THE ATTORNEY

GENERAL

Ex. Ord. No. 9176, May 29, 1942, 7 F.R. 4127, provided: By virtue of the authority vested in me by Title I of the First War Powers Act, 1941, approved December 18, 1941 (Public Law No. 354, 77th Congress [section 601 et seq. of Title 50, Appendix, War and National Defense]), and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

1. All functions, powers and duties of the Secretary of State under the act of June 8, 1938 (52 Stat. 631), as amended by the act of August 7, 1939 (53 Stat. 1244), requiring the registration of agents of foreign principals, are hereby transferred to and vested in the Attorney General.

2. All property, books and records heretofore maintained by the Secretary of State with respect to his administration of said act of June 8, 1938, as amended, are hereby transferred to and vested in the Attorney General.

3. The Attorney General shall furnish to the Secretary of State for such comment, if any, as the Secretary of State may desire to make from the point of view of the foreign relations of the United States, one copy of each registration statement that is hereafter filed with the Attorney General in accordance with the provisions of this Executive order.

4. All rules, regulations and forms which have been issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to the provisions of said act of June 8, 1938, as amended, and which are in effect shall continue in effect until modified, superseded, revoked or repealed by the Attorney General.

5. This order shall become effective as of June 1, 1942. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT.

§ 611. Definitions

As used in and for the purposes of this subchapter-

(a) The term ''person'' includes an individual, partnership, association, corporation, organization, or any other combination of individuals;

(b) The term ''foreign principal'' includes -

(1) a government of a foreign country and a foreign political party;

(2) a person outside of the United States, unless it is established that such person is an individual and a citizen of and domiciled within the United States, or that such person is not an individual and is organized under or created by the laws of the United States or of any State or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and has its principal place of business within the United States; and

(3) 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.

(c) Expect 1 as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the term ''agent of a foreign principal'' means-

(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 this subsection.

(d) The term ''agent of a foreign principal'' does not include any news or press service or association organized under the laws of the United States or of any State or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, or any newspaper, magazine, periodical, or other publication for which there is on file with the United States Postal Service information in compliance with section 3611 2 of title 39, published in the United States, solely by virtue of any bona fide news or journalistic activities, including the solicitation or acceptance of advertisements, subscriptions, or other compensation therefore, so long as it is at least 80 per centum beneficially owned by, and its officers and directors, if any, are citizens of the United States, and such news or press service or association, newspaper, magazine, periodical, or other publication, is not owned, directed, supervised, controlled, subsidized, or financed, and none of its policies are determined by any foreign principal defined in subsection (b) of this section, or by any agent of a foreign principal required to register under this subchapter;

(e) The term ''government of a foreign country'' includes any person or group of persons exercising sovereign de facto or de jure political jurisdiction over any country, other than the United States, or over any part of such country, and includes any subdivision of any such group and any group or agency to which such sovereign de facto or de jure authority or functions are directly or indirectly delegated. Such term shall include any faction or body of insurgents within a country assuming to exercise governmental authority whether such faction or body of insurgents has or has not been recognized by the United States;

(f) The term ''foreign political party'' includes any organization or any other combination of individuals in a country other than the United States, or any unit or branch thereof, having for an aim or purpose, or which is engaged in any activity devoted in whole or in part to, the establishment, administration, control, or acquisition of administration or control, of a government of a foreign country or a subdivision thereof, or the furtherance or influencing of the political or public interests, policies, or relations of a government of a foreign country or a subdivision thereof;

(g) The term ''public-relations counsel'' includes any person who engages directly or indirectly in informing, advising, or in any way representing a principal in any public relations matter pertaining to political or public interests, policies, or relations of such principal;

(h) The term ''publicity agent'' includes any person who engages directly or indirectly in the publication or dissemination of oral, visual, graphic, written, or pictorial information or matter of any kind, including publication by means of advertising, books, periodicals, newspapers, lectures, broadcasts, motion pictures, or otherwise;

(i) The term ''information-service employee'' includes any person who is engaged in furnishing, disseminating, or publishing accounts, descriptions, information, or data with respect to the political, industrial, employment, economic, social, cultural, or other benefits, advantages, facts, or conditions of any country other than the United States or of any government of a foreign country or of a foreign political party or of a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of individuals organized under the laws of, or having its principal place of business in, a foreign country;

(j) Repealed. Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(1)(A), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 699.

(k) The term ''registration statement'' means the registration statement required to be filed with the Attorney General under section 612(a) of this title, and any supplements thereto required to be filed under section 612(b) of this title, and includes all documents and papers required to be filed therewith or amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto, whether attached thereto or incorporated therein by reference;

(l) The term ''American republic'' includes any of the states which were signatory to the Final Act of the Second Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics at Habana, Cuba, July 30, 1940;

(m) The term ''United States'', when used in a geographical sense, includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Territories, the Canal Zone, the insular possessions, and all other places now or hereafter subject to the civil or military jurisdiction of the United States;

(n) The term ''prints'' means newspapers and periodicals, books, pamphlets, sheet music, visiting cards, address cards, printing proofs, engravings, photographs, pictures, drawings, plans, maps, patterns to be cut out, catalogs, prospectuses, advertisements, and printed, engraved, lithographed, or autographed notices of various kinds, and, in general, all impressions or reproductions obtained on paper or other material assimilable to paper, on parchment or on cardboard, by means of printing, engraving, lithography, autography, or any other easily recognizable mechanical process, with the exception of the copying press, stamps with movable or immovable type, and the typewriter;

(o) The term ''political activities'' means any activity that the person engaging in believes will, or that the person intends to, in any way influence any agency or official of the Government of the United States or any section of the public within the United States with reference to formulating, adopting, or changing the domestic or foreign policies of the United States or with reference to the political or public interests, policies, or relations of a government of a foreign country or a foreign political party;

(p) The term ''political consultant'' means any person who engages in informing or advising any other person with reference to the domestic or foreign policies of the United States or the political or public interest, policies, or relations of a foreign country or of a foreign political party. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 1, 52 Stat. 631; Aug. 7, 1939, ch. 521, § 1, 53 Stat. 1244; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 249; Proc. No. 2695, July 4, 1946, 11 F.R. 7517, 60 Stat. 1352; Sept. 23, 1950, ch. 1024, title I, § 20(a), 64 Stat. 1005; Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 849, § 1, 70 Stat. 899; Pub. L. 87–366, § 1, Oct. 4, 1961, 75 Stat. 784; Pub. L. 89–486, § 1, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 244; Pub. L. 91–375, § 6(k), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 782; Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(1), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 699.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

For definition of Canal Zone, referred to in subsec. (m), see section 3602(b) of this title.

CODIFICATION

Words ''including the Philippine Islands,'' omitted from definition of ''United States'' in subsec. (m) pursuant to Proc. No. 2695, which granted independence to the Philippines under the authority of section 1394 of this title, under which section Proc. No. 2695 is set out as a note.

AMENDMENTS

1995-Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(1)(A), struck out subsec. (j) which read as follows: ''The term 'political propaganda' includes any oral, visual, graphic, written, pictorial, or other communication or expression by any person (1) which is reasonably adapted to, or which the person disseminating the same believes will, or which he intends to, prevail upon, indoctrinate, convert, induce, or in any other way influence a recipient or any section of the public within the United States with reference to the political or public interests, policies, or relations of a government of a foreign country or a foreign political party or with reference to the foreign policies of the United States or promote in the United States racial, religious, or social dissensions, or (2) which advocates, advises, instigates, or promotes any racial, social, political, or religious disorder, civil riot, or other conflict involving the use of force or violence in any other American republic or the overthrow of any government or political subdivision of any other American republic by any means involving the use of force or violence. As used in this subsection the term 'disseminating' includes transmitting or causing to be transmitted in the United States mails or by any means or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce or offering or causing to be offered in the United States mails;''.

Subsec. (o). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(1)(B), substituted ''any activity that the person engaging in believes will, or that the person intends to, in any way influence'' for ''the dissemination of political propaganda and any other activity which the person engaging therein believes will, or which he intends to, prevail upon, indoctrinate, convert, induce, persuade, or in any other way influence''.

Subsec. (p). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(1)(C), substituted a period for semicolon at end.

Subsec. (q). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(1)(D), struck out subsec.

(q) which read as follows: ''For the purpose of section 613(d) of this title, activities in furtherance of the bona fide commercial, industrial or financial interests of a domestic person engaged in substantial commercial, industrial or financial operations in the United States shall not be deemed to serve predominantly a foreign interest because such activities also benefit the interests of a foreign person engaged in bona fide trade or commerce which is owned or controlled by, or which owns or controls, such domestic person: Provided, That

(i) such foreign person is not, and such activities are not directly or indirectly supervised, directed, controlled, financed or subsidized in whole or in substantial part by, a government of a foreign country or a foreign political party, (ii) the identity of such foreign person is disclosed to the agency or official of the United States with whom such activities are conducted, and (iii) whenever such foreign person owns or controls such domestic person, such activities are substantially in furtherance of the bona fide commercial, industrial or financial interests of such domestic person.''

1970-Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 91–375 substituted ''file with the United States Postal Service information in compliance with section 3611 of title 39'' for ''file with the Postmaster General a sworn statement in compliance with section 2 of the Act of August 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 553), as amended''.

1966-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 89–486, § 1(1), redesignated former pars. (3) and (4) as (2) and (3), substituted in such par. (3) ''combination of persons'' for ''combination of individuals'' and struck out from definition of ''foreign principal'' former pars. (2), (5), and (6) which included ''(2) an individual affiliated or associated with, or supervised, directed, controlled, financed, or subsidized, in whole or in part, by any foreign principal defined in clause (1) of this subsection''; ''(5) a domestic partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of individuals, subsidized directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by any foreign principal defined in clause (1), (3), or (4) of this subsection''; and ''(6) a domestic partnership, association, corporation, or other combination of individuals, supervised, directed, controlled, or financed, in whole or in substantial part, by any foreign government or foreign political party''.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 89–486, § 1(2), amended provisions generally to redefine ''agent of a foreign principal'' by specifying four categories of activities creating the agency relationship where person acts as agent, employee, representative, or servant or at the order of, or under the control of, a foreign principal, by requiring a showing not only of foreign connections but also of certain activities performed by the agent for foreign interests, by making change as it relates to problem of indirect control exerted by foreign principals over their agents, by including political activities and actions as political consultant, by excluding attorneys from the relationship, by incorporating provisions of former par. (3) in par. (2) where a person assumes or purports to act as an agent of a foreign principal, and by eliminating the separate category for military or governmental officials contained in former par. (4).

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 89–486, § 1(3), struck out ''clause (1), (2), or (4) of'' before ''subsection (b)''.

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 89–486, § 1(4), inserted ''public relations'' before ''matter pertaining to'' and ''of such principal'' after ''or relations''.

Subsecs. (o) to (q). Pub. L. 89–486, § 1(5), added subsecs. (o) to (q).

1961-Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 87–366 added par. (6).

1956-Subsec. (c)(5). Act Aug. 1, 1956, repealed par. (5) which included within definition of ''agent of a foreign principal'' any person trained in foreign espionage systems with certain exceptions. See sections 851 and 852 of Title 50, War and National Defense.

1950-Subsec. (c)(5). Act Sept. 23, 1950, added par. (5). 1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally to redefine terms used in this subchapter.

1939-Act Aug. 7, 1939, amended section generally to redefine terms used in this subchapter.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1970 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 91–375 effective within 1 year after Aug. 12, 1970, on date established therefor by Board of Governors of United States Postal Service and published by it in Federal Register, see section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91–375, set out as an Effective Date note preceding section 101 of Title 39, Postal Service.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT

Section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486 provided that: ''This Act [enacting sections 219 and 613 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and amending this section and sections 612 to 616 and 618 of this title] shall take effect ninety days after the date of its enactment [July 4, 1966].''

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1942 AMENDMENT

Section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, provided that: ''This Act [amending this subchapter] shall take effect on the sixtieth day after the date of its approval, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act [amending this subchapter].''

EFFECTIVE DATE

Section 7 of act June 8, 1938, provided that: ''This Act [enacting this subchapter] shall take effect on the ninetieth day after the date of its enactment [June 8, 1938].''

SHORT TITLE

Section 14 of act June 8, 1938, as added by act Apr. 29, 1942, § 1, provided that: ''This Act [enacting this subchapter] may be cited as the 'Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended'.''

SEPARABILITY; EFFECT ON EXISTING LAW

Sections 12 and 13 of act June 8, 1938, as added by act Apr. 29, 1942, § 1, provided that:

''SEC. 12. If any provision of this Act [enacting this subchapter], or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act, and the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

''SEC. 13. This Act [enacting this subchapter] is an addition to and not in substitution for any other existing statute.''

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

Section 2 of act Apr. 29, 1942, provided that: ''Upon the effective date of this Act [see Effective Date of 1942 Amendment note above], all powers, duties, and functions of the Secretary of State under the Act of June 8, 1938 (52 Stat. 631), as amended [this subchapter], shall be transferred to and become vested in the Attorney General, together with all property, books, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations used by or available to the Secretary of State for carrying out the functions devolving on him under the above-cited Act. All rules, regulations, and forms which have been issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to the provisions of said Act, and which are in effect, shall continue in effect until modified, superseded, revoked, or repealed.''

POLICY AND PURPOSE OF SUBCHAPTER

Act Apr. 29, 1942, amending generally act June 8, 1938, added an opening paragraph preceding section 1 of the latter act and reading as follows: ''It is hereby declared to be the policy and purpose of this Act [enacting this subchapter] to protect the national defense, internal security, and foreign relations of the United States by requiring public disclosure by persons engaging in propaganda activities and other activities for or on behalf of foreign governments, foreign political parties, and other foreign principals so that the Government and the people of the United States may be informed of the identity of such persons and may appraise their statements and actions in the light of their associations and activities.''

§ 612. Registration statement

(a) Filing; contents 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 and supplements thereto as required by subsections (a) and (b) of this section or unless he is exempt from registration under the provisions of this subchapter. Except as hereinafter provided, every person who becomes an agent of a foreign principal shall, within ten days thereafter, file with the Attorney General, in duplicate, a registration statement, under oath on a form prescribed by the Attorney General. The obligation of an agent of a foreign principal to file a registration statement shall, after the tenth day of his becoming such agent, continue from day to day, and termination of such status shall not relieve such agent from his obligation to file a registration statement for the period during which he was an agent of a foreign principal. The registration statement shall include the following, which shall be regarded as material for the purposes of this subchapter: (1) Registrant's name, principal business address, and all other business addresses in the United States or elsewhere, and all residence addresses, if any;

(2) Status of the registrant; if an individual, nationality; if a partnership, name, residence addresses, and nationality of each partner and a true and complete copy of its articles of copartnership; if an association, corporation, organization, or any other combination of individuals, the name, residence addresses, and nationality of each director and officer and of each person performing the functions of a director or officer and a true and complete copy of its charter, articles of incorporation, association, constitution, and bylaws, and amendments thereto; a copy of every other instrument or document and a statement of the terms and conditions of every oral agreement relating to its organization, powers, and purposes; and a stat

(3) A comprehensive statement of the nature of registrant's business; a complete list of registrant's employees and a statement of the nature of the work of each; the name and address of every foreign principal for whom the registrant is acting, assuming or purporting to act or has agreed to act; the character of the business or other activities of every such foreign principal, and, if any such foreign principal be other than a natural person, a statement of the ownership and control of each; and the extent, if any, to which each such foreign principal is supervised, directed, owned, controlled, financed, or subsidized, in whole or in part, by any government of a foreign country or foreign political party, or by any other foreign principal;

(4) Copies of each written agreement and the terms and conditions of each oral agreement, including all modifications of such agreements, or, where no contract exists, a full statement of all the circumstances, by reason of which the registrant is an agent of a foreign principal; a comprehensive statement of the nature and method of performance of each such contract, and of the existing and proposed activity or activities engaged in or to be engaged in by the registrant as agent of a foreign principal for each such foreign principal, including a detailed statement of any such activity which is a political activity;

(5) The nature and amount of contributions, income, money, or thing of value, if any, that the registrant has received within the preceding sixty days from each such foreign principal, either as compensation or for disbursement or otherwise, and the form and time of each such payment and from whom received;

(6) A detailed statement of every activity which the registrant is performing or is assuming or purporting or has agreed to perform for himself or any other person other than a foreign principal and which requires his registration hereunder, including a detailed statement of any such activity which is a political activity;

(7) The name, business, and residence addresses, and if an individual, the nationality, of any person other than a foreign principal for whom the registrant is acting, assuming or purporting to act or has agreed to act under such circumstances as require his registration hereunder; the extent to which each such person is supervised, directed, owned, controlled, financed, or subsidized, in whole or in part, by any government of a foreign country or foreign political party or by any other foreign principal; and the nature and amount of contributions, income, money, or thing of value, if any, that the registrant has received during the preceding sixty days from each such person in connection with any of the activities referred to in clause (6) of this subsection, either as compensation or for disbursement or otherwise, and the form and time of each such payment and from whom received;

(8) A detailed statement of the money and other things of value spent or disposed of by the registrant during the preceding sixty days in furtherance of or in connection with activities which require his registration hereunderement of its ownership and control; and which have been undertaken by him either as an agent of a foreign principal or for himself or any other person or in conection 1 with any activities relating to his becoming an agent of such principal, and a detailed statement of any contributions of money or other things of value made by him during the preceding sixty days (other than contributions the making of which is prohibited under the terms of section 613 2 of title 18) in connection with an election to any political office or in connection with any primary election, convention, or caucus held to select candidates for any political office;

(9) Copies of each written agreement and the terms and conditions of each oral agreement, including all modifications of such agreements, or, where no contract exists, a full statement of all the circumstances, by reason of which the registrant is performing or assuming or purporting or has agreed to perform for himself or for a foreign principal or for any person other than a foreign principal any activities which require his registration hereunder;

(10) Such other statements, information, or documents pertinent to the purposes of this subchapter as the Attorney General, having due regard for the national security and the public interest, may from time to time require; (11) Such further statements and such further copies of documents as are necessary to make the statements made in the registration statement and supplements thereto, and the copies of documents furnished therewith, not misleading.

(b) Supplements; filing period Every agent of a foreign principal who has filed a registration statement required by subsection

(a) of this section shall, within thirty days after the expiration of each period of six months succeeding such filing, file with the Attorney General a supplement thereto under oath, on a form prescribed by the Attorney General, which shall set forth with respect to such preceding six months' period such facts as the Attorney General, having due regard for the national security and the public interest, may deem necessary to make the information required under this section accurate, complete, and current with respect to such period. In connection with the information furnished under clauses (3), (4), (6), and (9) of subsection (a) of this section, the registrant shall give notice to the Attorney General of any changes therein within ten days after such changes occur. If the Attorney General, having due regard for the national security and the public interest, determines that it is necessary to carry out the purposes of this subchapter, he may, in any particular case, require supplements to the registration statement to be filed at more frequent intervals in respect to all or particular items of information to be furnished.

(c) Execution of statement under oath The registration statement and supplements thereto shall be executed under oath as follows:

If the registrant is an individual, by him; if the registrant is a partnership, by the majority of the members thereof; if the registrant is a person other than an individual or a partnership, by a majority of the officers thereof or persons performing the functions of officers or by a majority of the board of directors thereof or persons performing the functions of directors, if any.

(d) Filing of statement not deemed full compliance nor as preclusion from prosecution The fact that a registration statement or supplement thereto has been filed shall not necessarily be deemed a full compliance with this subchapter and the regulations thereunder on the part of the registrant; nor shall it indicate that the Attorney General has in any way passed upon the merits of such registration statement or supplement thereto; nor shall it preclude prosecution, as provided for in this subchapter, for willful failure to file a registration statement or supplement thereto when due or for a willful false statement of a material fact therein or the willful omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or the willful omission of a material fact or copy of a material document necessary to make the statements made in a registration statement and supplements thereto, and the copies of documents furnished therewith, not misleading.

(e) Incorporation of previous statement by reference If any agent of a foreign principal, required to register under the provisions of this subchapter, has previously thereto registered with the Attorney General under the provisions of section 2386 of title 18, the Attorney General, in order to eliminate inappropriate duplication, may permit the incorporation by reference in the registration statement or supplements thereto filed hereunder of any information or documents previously filed by such agent of a foreign principal under the provisions of said section.

(f) Exemption by Attorney General The Attorney General may, by regulation, provide for the exemption-

(1) from registration, or from the requirement of furnishing any of the information required by this section, of any person who is listed as a partner, officer, director, or employee in the registration statement filed by an agent of a foreign principal under this subchapter, and

(2) from the requirement of furnishing any of the information required by this section of any agent of a foreign principal. where by reason of the nature of the functions or activities of such person the Attorney General, having due regard for the national security and the public interest, determines that such registration, or the furnishing of such information, as the case may be, is not necessary to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.

(g) Electronic filing of registration statements and supplements

A registration statement or supplement required to be filed under this section shall be filed in electronic form, in addition to any other form that may be required by the Attorney General.

(June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 2, 52 Stat. 632; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 251; Aug. 3, 1950, ch. 524, § 1, 64 Stat. 399; Pub. L. 89–486, § 2, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 245; Pub. L. 110–81, title II, § 212(a), Sept. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 749.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Section 613 of title 18, referred to in subsec. (a)(8), was repealed by Pub. L. 94–283, title II, § 201(a), May 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 496.

CODIFICATION

In subsec. (e), ''section 2386 of title 18'' was in the original ''the Act of October 17, 1940 (54 Stat. 1201)'', which had been classified to sections 14 to 17 of title 18. ''Section 2386 of title 18'' substituted for ''sections 14 to 17 of title 18'' on authority of act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 863, section 1 of which enacted Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

PRIOR PROVISIONS

Provisions on this subject were contained in sections 612 and 613 of this title prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942.

AMENDMENTS

2007-Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 110–81 added subsec. (g).

1966-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 89–486, § 2(1), struck out requirement for transmittal of registration statements by the Attorney General to the Secretary of State and provision declaring a failure of transmission not to be a bar to prosecutions, now covered in section 616(b) of this title.

Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 89–486, § 2(2), struck out '', unless, and to the extent, this requirement is waived in writing by the Attorney General'' after ''statement of the nature of the work of each'' and provided for a statement of the extent to which a foreign principal is supervised, directed, etc., by any other foreign principal.

Subsec. (a)(4), (6). Pub. L. 89–486, § 2(3), (4), inserted '', including a detailed statement of any such activity which is a political activity''.

Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 89–486, § 2(5), required certain information pertaining to control and financial arrangements with respect to those persons, not themselves foreign principals, who are so related to a foreign principal that their agents when engaged in political activities in the interests of the principal are required to register.

Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 89–486, § 2(6), inserted requirement that agent report the money or other things of value spent or disposed of in connection with his becoming the agent of his foreign principal and all political contributions made during the preceding sixty days, other than contributions made on behalf of their principals, such contributions being prohibited under section 613 of title 18.

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 89–486, § 2(7), added subsec. (f).

1950-Subsec. (a). Act Aug. 3, 1950, made failure to register a continuing offense.

1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2007 AMENDMENT

Pub. L. 110–81, title II, § 212(c), Sept. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 750, provided that: ''The amendments made by this section [amending this section and section 616 of this title] shall take effect on the 90th day after the date of the enactment of this Act [Sept. 14, 2007].''

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1942 AMENDMENT

Amendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

FEES FOR NECESSARY EXPENSES OF REGISTRATION UNIT

Pub. L. 102–395, title I, Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1831, provided in part that: ''In addition, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, for fiscal year 1993 and thereafter, the Attorney General shall establish and collect fees to recover necessary expenses of the Registration Unit (to include salaries, supplies, equipment and training) pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act [probably means Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended, 22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.], and shall credit such fees to this appropriation, to remain available until expended.''

§ 613. Exemptions

The requirements of section 612(a) of this title shall not apply to the following agents of foreign principals:

(a) Diplomatic or consular officers A duly accredited diplomatic or consular officer of a foreign government who is so recognized by the Department of State, while said officer is engaged exclusively in activities which are recognized by the Department of State as being within the scope of the functions of such officer;

(b) Officials of foreign government Any official of a foreign government, if such government is recognized by the United States, who is not a public-relations counsel, publicity agent, information-service employee, or a citizen of the United States, whose name and status and the character of whose duties as such official are of public record in the Department of State, while said official is engaged exclusively in activities which are recognized by the Department of State as being within the scope of the functions of such official;

(c) Staff members of diplomatic or consular officers Any member of the staff of, or any person employed by, a duly accredited diplomatic or consular officer of a foreign government who is so recognized by the Department of State, other than a public-relations counsel, publicity agent, or information-service employee, whose name and status and the character of whose duties as such member or employee are of public record in the Department of State, while said member or employee is engaged exclusively in the performance of activities which are recognized by the Department of State as being within the scope of the functions of such member or employee;

(d) Private and nonpolitical activities; solicitation of funds

Any person engaging or agreeing to engage only (1) in private and nonpolitical activities in furtherance of the bona fide trade or commerce of such foreign principal; or (2) in other activities not serving predominantly a foreign interest; or (3) in the soliciting or collecting of funds and contributions within the United States to be used only for medical aid and assistance, or for food and clothing to relieve human suffering, if such solicitation or collection of funds and contributions is in accordance with and subject to the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 9 of this title, and such rules and regulations as may be prescribed thereunder;

(e) Religious, scholastic, or scientific pursuits Any person engaging or agreeing to engage only in activities in furtherance of bona fide religious, scholastic, academic, or scientific pursuits or of the fine arts;

(f) Defense of foreign government vital to United States defense Any person, or employee of such person, whose foreign principal is a government of a foreign country the defense of which the President deems vital to the defense of the United States while, (1) such person or employee engages only in activities which are in furtherance of the policies, public interest, or national defense both of such government and of the Government of the United States, and are not intended to conflict with any of the domestic or foreign policies of the Government of the United States, (2) each communication or expression by such person or employee which he intends to, or has reason to believe will, be published, disseminated, or circulated among any section of the public, or portion thereof, within the United States, is a part of such activities and is believed by such person to be truthful and accurate and the identity of such person as an agent of such foreign principal is disclosed therein, and (3) such government of a foreign country furnishes to the Secretary of State for transmittal to, and retention for the duration of this subchapter by, the Attorney General such information as to the identity and activities of such person or employee at such times as the Attorney General may require. Upon notice to the Government of which such person is an agent or to such person or employee, the Attorney General, having due regard for the public interest and national defense, may, with the approval of the Secretary of State, and shall, at the request of the Secretary of State, terminate in whole or in part the exemption herein of any such person or employee;

(g) Persons qualified to practice law Any person qualified to practice law, insofar as he engages or agrees to engage in the legal representation of a disclosed foreign principal before any court of law or any agency of the Government of the United States: Provided, That for the purposes of this subsection legal representation does not include attempts to influence or persuade agency personnel or officials other than in the course of judicial proceedings, criminal or civil law enforcement inquiries, investigations, or proceedings, or agency proceedings required by statute or regulation to be conducted on the record.

(h) Agents of foreign principals Any agent of a person described in section 611(b)(2) of this title or an entity described in section 611(b)(3) of this title if the agent has engaged in lobbying activities and has registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 [2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.] in connection with the agent's representation of such person or entity. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 3, 52 Stat. 632; Aug. 7, 1939, ch. 521, § 2, 53 Stat. 1245; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 254; Pub. L. 87–366, § 2, Oct. 4, 1961, 75 Stat. 784; Pub. L. 89–486, § 3, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 246; Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(2), (3), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 700; Pub. L. 105–166, § 5, Apr. 6, 1998, 112 Stat. 39.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, referred to in subsec. (h), is Pub. L. 104–65, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 691, which is classified principally to chapter 26 (§ 1601 et seq.) of Title 2, The Congress. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of Title 2 and Tables.

PRIOR PROVISIONS

Prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942, section related to additional registration statements after each six months period. Provisions on that subject were incorporated in section 612 of this title by 1942 amendment.

AMENDMENTS

1998-Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 105–166 substituted ''has engaged in lobbying activities and has registered'' for ''is required to register and does register''.

1995-Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(2), substituted ''judicial proceedings, criminal or civil law enforcement inquiries, investigations, or proceedings, or agency proceedings required by statute or regulation to be conducted on the record'' for ''established agency proceedings, whether formal or informal''.

Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(3), added subsec. (h). 1966-Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 89–486, § 3(a), designated existing provisions as cls. (1) and (3), struck out ''financial or mercantile'' before ''activities'' in cl. (1), and inserted the cl. (2) exemption of any person engaging or agreeing to engage in other activities not serving predominantly a foreign interest.

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 89–486, § 3(b), added subsec. (g).

1961-Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 87–366 substituted ''private and nonpolitical financial or mercantile activities in furtherance'' for ''private, non-political, financial, mercantile, or other activities in furtherance''.

1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally.

1939-Act Aug. 7, 1939, amended section generally.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1942 AMENDMENT

Amendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

§ 614. Filing and labeling of political propaganda

(a) Copies to Attorney General; statement as to places, times, and extent of transmission Every person within the United States who is an agent of a foreign principal and required to register under the provisions of this subchapter and who transmits or causes to be transmitted in the United States mails or by any means or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce any informational materials for or in the interests of such foreign principal (i) in the form of prints, or (ii) in any other form which is reasonably adapted to being, or which he believes will be, or which he intends to be, disseminated or circulated among two or more persons shall, not later than forty-eight hours after the beginning of the transmittal thereof, file with the Attorney General two copies thereof.

(b) Identification statement It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States who is an agent of a foreign principal and required to register under the provisions of this subchapter to transmit or cause to be transmitted in the United States mails or by any means or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce any informational materials for or in the interests of such foreign principal without placing in such informational materials a conspicuous statement that the materials are distributed by the agent on behalf of the foreign principal, and that additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia. The Attorney General may by rule define what constitutes a conspicuous statement for the purposes of this subsection.

(c) Public inspection The copies of informational materials required by this subchapter to be filed with the Attorney General shall be available for public inspection under such regulations as he may prescribe.

(d) Library of Congress For purposes of the Library of Congress, other than for public distribution, the Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Postal Service are authorized, upon the request of the Librarian of Congress, to forward to the Library of Congress fifty copies, or as many fewer thereof as are available, of all foreign prints determined to be prohibited entry under the provisions of section 1305 of title 19 and of all foreign prints excluded from the mails under authority of section 1717 of title 18. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1305 of title 19 and of section 1717 of title 18, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to permit the entry and the United States Postal Service is authorized to permit the transmittal in the mails of foreign prints imported for governmental purposes by authority or for the use of the United States or for the use of the Library of Congress.

(e) Information furnished to agency or official of United States Government It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States who is an agent of a foreign principal required to register under the provisions of this subchapter to transmit, convey, or otherwise furnish to any agency or official of the Government (including a Member or committee of either House of Congress) for or in the interests of such foreign principal any political propaganda or to request from any such agency or official for or in the interests of such foreign principal any information or advice with respect to any matter pertaining to the political or public interests, policies or relations of a foreign country or of a political party or pertaining to the foreign or domestic policies of the United States unless the propaganda or the request is prefaced or accompanied by a true and accurate statement to the effect that such person is registered as an agent of such foreign principal under this subchapter.

(f) Appearances before Congressional committees Whenever any agent of a foreign principal required to register under this subchapter appears before any committee of Congress to testify for or in the interests of such foreign principal, he shall, at the time of such appearance, furnish the committee with a copy of his most recent registration statement filed with the Department of Justice as an agent of such foreign principal for inclusion in the records of the committee as part of his testimony. (June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 4, 52 Stat. 632; Aug. 7, 1939, ch. 521, § 3, 53 Stat. 1246; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 255; Pub. L. 89–486, § 4, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 246; Pub. L. 91–375, § 4(a), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 773; Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(4)–(6), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 700.)

CODIFICATION

Section 1717 of title 18, referred to in subsec. (d), was in the original ''section 1 of title XII of the Act of June 15, 1917 (40 Stat. 230)'' which was classified to section 343 of former Title 18, Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure. ''Section 1717 of title 18'' substituted for ''section 343 of title 18'' on authority of act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 683, section 1 of which enacted Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

PRIOR PROVISIONS

Prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942, section related to retention of statements as public records. Provisions on that subject were incorporated in section 616 of this title by 1942 amendment.

AMENDMENTS

1995-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(4)(B), which directed striking out ''and a statement, duly signed by or on behalf of such an agent, setting forth full information as to the places, times, and extent of such transmittal'' after ''Attorney General two copies thereof'', was executed by striking out such language, which read in part ''on behalf of such agent'', to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(4)(A), substituted ''informational materials'' for ''political propaganda''. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(5), substituted ''informational materials for or'' for ''political propaganda for or'' and substituted ''without placing in such informational materials a conspicuous statement that the materials are distributed by the agent on behalf of the foreign principal, and that additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia. The Attorney General may by rule define what constitutes a conspicuous statement for the purposes of this subsection.'' for cls. (i) and (ii) and concluding provisions which made it unlawful for an agent of a foreign principal to transmit in the United States political propaganda unless the propaganda identified the agent and contained information about the registration of the agent and authorized the Attorney General to prescribe regulations relating to the information to be provided.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(6), substituted ''informational materials'' for ''political propaganda''.

1966-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 89–486, § 4(1), inserted ''for or in the interests of such foreign principal'' after ''political propaganda'' and substituted ''file with the Attor ney General two copies thereof'' for ''sent to the Librarian of Congress two copies thereof and file with the Attorney General one copy thereof''.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 89–486, § 4(2), inserted ''for or in the interests of such foreign principal'' after ''political propaganda'', where first appearing, and ''the relationship or connection between the person transmitting the political propaganda or causing it to be transmitted and such propaganda;'' after ''setting forth'' and substituted ''such foreign principal'' for each of his foreign principals''.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 89–486, § 4(3), substituted ''filed with the Attorney General'' for ''sent to the Librarian of Congress''.

Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 89–486, § 4(4), added subsecs. (e) and (f).

1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally.

1939-Act Aug. 7, 1939, amended section generally.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1942 AMENDMENT

Amendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

In subsec. (d), ''United States Postal Service'' substituted for ''Postmaster General'' in two places pursuant to Pub. L. 91–375, § 4(a), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 773, set out as a note under section 201 of Title 39, Postal Service, which abolished office of Postmaster General of Post Office Department and transferred its functions to United States Postal Service.

§ 615. Books and records

Every agent of a foreign principal registered under this subchapter shall keep and preserve while he is an agent of a foreign principal such books of account and other records with respect to all his activities, the disclosure of which is required under the provisions of this subchapter, in accordance with such business and accounting practices, as the Attorney General, having due regard for the national security and the public interest, may by regulation prescribe as necessary or appropriate for the enforcement of the provisions of this subchapter and shall preserve the same for a period of three years following the termination of such status. Until regulations are in effect under this section every agent of a foreign principal shall keep books of account and shall preserve all written records with respect to his activities. Such books and records shall be open at all reasonable times to the inspection of any official charged with the enforcement of this subchapter. It shall be unlawful for any person willfully to conceal, destroy, obliterate, mutilate, or falsify, or to attempt to conceal, destroy, obliterate, mutilate, or falsify, or to cause to be concealed, destroyed, obliter records required to be kept under the provisions of this section.

(June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 5, 52 Stat. 633; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 256; Pub. L. 89–486, § 5, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 247.)

PRIOR PROVISIONS

Prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942, section related to penalties. Provisions on that subject were incorporated in section 618 of this title by 1942 amendment.

AMENDMENTS

1966-Pub. L. 89–486 inserted ''in accordance with such business and accounting practices,'' after ''under the provisions of this subchapter,''.

1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1942 AMENDMENT

Amendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

§ 616. Public examination of official records; transmittal of records and information

(a) Permanent copy of statement; inspection; withdrawal

The Attorney General shall retain in permanent form one copy of all registration statements furnished under this subchapter, and the same shall be public records and open to public examination and inspection at such reasonable hours, under such regulations, as the Attorney General may prescribe, and copies of the same shall be furnished to every applicant at such reasonable fee as the Attorney General may prescribe.

The Attorney General may withdraw from public examination the registration statement and other statements of any agent of a foreign principal whose activities have ceased to be of a character which requires registration under the provisions of this subchapter.

(b) Secretary of State

The Attorney General shall, promptly upon receipt, transmit one copy of every registration statement filed hereunder and one copy of every amendment or supplement thereto filed hereunder, to the Secretary of State for such comment and use as the Secretary of State may determine to be appropriate from the point of view of the foreign relations of the United States. Failure of the Attorney General so to transmit such copy shall not be a bar to prosecution under this subchapter.

(c) Executive departments and agencies; Congressional committees

The Attorney General is authorized to furnish to departments and agencies in the executive branch and committees of the Congress such information obtained by him in the administration of this subchapter, including the names of registrants under this subchapter, copies of reg istration statements, or parts thereof, or other documents or information filed under this subchapter, as may be appropriate in the light of the purposes of this subchapter.

(d) Public database of registration statements and updates

(1) In general The Attorney General shall maintain, and make available to the public over the Internet, without a fee or other access charge, in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable manner, to the extent technically practicable, an electronic database that-

(A) includes the information contained in registration statements and updates filed under this subchapter; and

(B) is searchable and sortable, at a minimum, by each of the categories of information described in section 612(a) of this title.

(2) Accountability The Attorney General shall make each registration statement and update filed in electronic form pursuant to section 612(g) of this title available for public inspection over the Internet as soon as technically practicable after the registration statement or update is filed.

(June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 6, 52 Stat. 633; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 256; Pub. L. 89–486, § 6, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 247; Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(7), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 700; Pub. L. 110–81, title II, § 212(b), Sept. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 749.)

PRIOR PROVISIONS

Prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942, section related to rules and regulations. Provisions on that subject were incorporated in section 620 of this title by 1942 amendment. Provisions on this subject were contained in section 614 of this title prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942.

AMENDMENTS

2007-Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 110–81 added subsec. (d).

1995-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(7)(A), struck out ''and all statements concerning the distribution of political propaganda'' after ''all registration statements''. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(7)(B), struck out '', and one copy of every item of political propaganda'' after ''supplement thereto''.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(7)(C), struck out ''copies of political propaganda,'' after ''parts thereof,''.

1966-Pub. L. 89–486 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsecs. (b) and (c).

1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2007 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 effective on the 90th day after Sept. 14, 2007, see section 212(c) of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 612 of this title.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title. Amendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

§ 617. Liability of officers

Each officer, or person performing the functions of an officer, and each director, or person performing the functions of a director, of an agent of a foreign principal which is not an individual shall be under obligation to cause such agent to execute and file a registration statement and supplements thereto as and when such filing is required under subsections (a) and (b) of section 612 of this title and shall also be under obligation to cause such agent to comply with all the requirements of sections 614(a) and (b) and 615 of this title and all other requirements of this subchapter. Dissolution of any organization acting as an agent of a foreign principal shall not relieve any officer, or person performing the functions of an officer, or any director, or person performing the functions of a director, from complying with the provisions of this section. In case of failure of any such agent of a foreign principal to comply with any of the requirements of this subchapter, each of its officers, or persons performing the functions of officers, and each of its directors, or persons performing the functions of directors, shall be subject to prosecution therefor.

(June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 7, 52 Stat. 633; Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 256; Aug. 3, 1950, ch. 524, § 2, 64 Stat. 400.)

PRIOR PROVISIONS

Section 7 of act June 8, 1938, prior to the general amendment of that act by act Apr. 29, 1942, provided for the effective date of the 1938 act. See Effective Date note set out under section 611 of this title.

AMENDMENTS

1950-Act Aug. 3, 1950, continued the obligation of officers, directors, and persons acting as such to comply with this subchapter despite the dissolution of a foreign agent.

1942-Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1942 AMENDMENT

Amendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

§ 618. Enforcement and penalties

(a) Violations; false statements and willful omissions Any person who-

(1) willfully violates any provision of this subchapter or any regulation thereunder, or

(2) in any registration statement or supplement thereto or in any other document filed with or furnished to the Attorney General under the provisions of this subchapter willfully makes a false statement of a material fact or willfully omits any material fact required to be stated therein or willfully omits a material fact or a copy of a material document necessary to make the statements therein and the copies of documents furnished therewith not misleading, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, except that in the case of a violation of subsection (b), (e), or (f) of section 614 of this title or of subsection (g) or (h) of this section the punishment shall be a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.

(b) Proof of identity of foreign principal In any proceeding under this subchapter in which it is charged that a person is an agent of a foreign principal with respect to a foreign principal outside of the United States, proof of the specific identity of the foreign principal shall be permissible but not necessary.

(c) Removal Any alien who shall be convicted of a violation of, or a conspiracy to violate, any provision of this subchapter or any regulation thereunder shall be subject to removal pursuant to chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.].

(d) Repealed. Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(8)(B), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 700

(e) Continuing offense Failure to file any such registration statement or supplements thereto as is required by either section 612(a) or section 612(b) of this title shall be considered a continuing offense for as long as such failure exists, notwithstanding any statute of limitation or other statute to the contrary.

(f) Injunctive remedy; jurisdiction of district court Whenever in the judgment of the Attorney General any person is engaged in or about to engage in any acts which constitute or will constitute a violation of any provision of this subchapter, or regulations issued thereunder, or whenever any agent of a foreign principal fails to comply with any of the provisions of this subchapter or the regulations issued thereunder, or otherwise is in violation of the subchapter, the Attorney General may make application to the appropriate United States district court for an order enjoining such acts or enjoining such person from continuing to act as an agent of such foreign principal, or for an order requiring compliance with any appropriate provision of the subchapter or regulation thereunder. The district court shall have jurisdiction and authority to issue a temporary or permanent injunction, restraining order or such other order which it may deem proper.

(g) Deficient registration statement If the Attorney General determines that a registration statement does not comply with the requirements of this subchapter or the regulations issued thereunder, he shall so notify the registrant in writing, specifying in what respects the statement is deficient. It shall be unlawful for any person to act as an agent of a foreign principal at any time ten days or more after receipt of such notification without filing an amended registration statement in full compliance with the requirements of this subchapter and the regulations issued thereunder.

(h) Contingent fee arrangement It shall be unlawful for any agent of a foreign principal required to register under this subchapter to be a party to any contract, agreement, or understanding, either express or implied, with such foreign principal pursuant to which the amount or payment of the compensation, fee, or other remuneration of such agent is contingent in whole or in part upon the success of any political activities carried on by such agent.

(June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 8, as added Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 257; amended Sept. 23, 1950, ch. 1024, title I, § 20(b), 64 Stat. 1005; June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title IV, § 402(d), 66 Stat. 276; Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 849, § 1, 70 Stat. 899; Pub. L. 89–486, § 7, July 4, 1966, 80 Stat. 248; Pub. L. 98–620, title IV, § 402(26), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3359; Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(8), Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 700; Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title III, § 308(e)(19), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–621.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

The Immigration and Nationality Act, referred to in subsec. (c), is act June 27, 1952, ch. 477, 66 Stat. 163, as amended. Chapter 4 of title II of the Act is classified generally to part IV (§ 1221 et seq.) of subchapter II of chapter 12 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1101 of Title 8 and Tables.

PRIOR PROVISIONS

Provisions on this subject were contained in section 615 of this title prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942.

AMENDMENTS

1996-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–208 substituted ''removal pursuant to chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act'' for ''deportation in the manner provided by sections 1251 to 1253 of title 8''.

1995-Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(8)(A), struck out ''or in any statement under section 614(a) of this title concerning the distribution of political propaganda'' after ''or supplement thereto''.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(8)(B), struck out subsec. (d) which read as follows: ''The United States Postal Service may declare to be nonmailable any communication or expression falling within clause (2) of section 611(j) of this title in the form of prints or in any other form reasonably adapted to, or reasonably appearing to be intended for, dissemination or circulation among two or more persons, which is offered or caused to be offered for transmittal in the United States mails to any person or persons in any other American republic by any agent of a foreign principal, if the United States Postal Service is informed in writing by the Secretary of State that the duly accredited diplomatic representative of such American republic has made written representation to the Department of State that the admission or circulation of such communication or expression in such American republic is prohibited by the laws thereof and has requested in writing that its transmittal thereto be stopped.''

1984-Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 98–620 struck out provision that the proceedings shall be made a preferred cause and expedited in every way. exception provision.

Subsecs. (f) to (h). Pub. L. 89–486, § 7(2), added subsecs. (f) to (h).

1956-Act Aug. 1, 1956, amended credit to section by redesignating section 20(b) of act Sept. 23, 1950, as section 20.

1952-Subsec. (c). Act June 27, 1952, substituted ''sections 1251 to 1253 of title 8'' for ''sections 155 and 156 of title 8''.

1950-Subsec. (e). Act Sept. 23, 1950, added subsec. (e).

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 104–208 effective, with certain transitional provisions, on the first day of the first month beginning more than 180 days after Sept. 30, 1996, see section 309 of Pub. L. 104–208, set out as a note under section 1101 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 98–620 not applicable to cases pending on Nov. 8, 1984, see section 403 of Pub. L. 98–620, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1657 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as an Effective Date of 1942 Amendment note under section 611 of this title. § 619. Territorial applicability of subchapter This subchapter shall be applicable in the several States, the District of Columbia, the Territories, the Canal Zone, the insular possessions, and all other places now or hereafter subject to the civil or military jurisdiction of the United States.

(June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 9, as added Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 257; amended Proc. No. 2695, July 4, 1946, 11 F.R. 7517, 60 Stat. 1352.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

For definition of Canal Zone, referred to in text, see section 3602(b) of this title.

CODIFICATION

Words ''including the Philippine Islands,'' omitted from section pursuant to Proc. No. 2695, which granted independence to the Philippine Islands under the authority of section 1394 of this title, under which section Proc. No. 2695 is set out as a note.

EFFECTIVE DATE

Section effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as an Effective Date of 1942 Amendment note under section 611 of this title.

§ 619. Territorial applicability of subchapter

This subchapter shall be applicable in the several States, the District of Columbia, the Territories, the Canal Zone, the insular possessions, and all other places now or hereafter subject to the civil or military jurisdiction of the United States.

(June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 9, as added Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 257; amended Proc. No. 2695, July 4, 1946, 11 F.R. 7517, 60 Stat. 1352.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

For definition of Canal Zone, referred to in text, see section 3602(b) of this title.

CODIFICATION

Words ''including the Philippine Islands,'' omitted from section pursuant to Proc. No. 2695, which granted independence to the Philippine Islands under the authority of section 1394 of this title, under which section Proc. No. 2695 is set out as a note.

EFFECTIVE DATE

Section effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as an Effective Date of 1942 Amendment note under section 611 of this title.

§ 620. Rules and regulations

The Attorney General may at any time make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as he may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this subchapter.

(June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 10, as added Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 257.)

PRIOR PROVISIONS

Provisions on this subject were contained in section 616 of this title prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942.

EFFECTIVE DATE

Section effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as an Effective Date of 1942 Amendment note under section 611 of this title.

§ 621. Reports to Congress

The Attorney General shall every six months report to the Congress concerning administration of this subchapter, including registrations filed pursuant to the subchapter, and the nature, sources and content of political propaganda disseminated and distributed.

(June 8, 1938, ch. 327, § 11, as added Apr. 29, 1942, ch. 263, § 1, 56 Stat. 258; amended Pub. L. 104–65, § 19, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 704.)

AMENDMENTS

1995-Pub. L. 104–65 added text and struck out former text which read as follows: ''The Attorney General shall, from time to time, make a report to the Congress concerning the administration of this subchapter, including the nature, sources, and content of political propaganda disseminated or distributed.''

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress.

EFFECTIVE DATE

Section effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules, regulations, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as an Effective Date of 1942 Amendment note under section 611 of this title.

CHAPTER 12-CLAIMS COMMISSIONS

§§ 661 to 672. Omitted

CODIFICATION

Sections 661 to 672, which established the American Mexican Claims Commission in 1942 for the settlement of certain claims, expired pursuant to the provisions of section 661(d), which provided that the authority of the Commission shall terminate at the expiration of four years after the date on which a majority of its members first appointed took office.

Section 661, acts Dec. 18, 1942, ch. 766, § 2, 56 Stat. 1058; Apr. 3, 1945, ch. 52, § 5, 59 Stat. 50; Oct. 28, 1949, ch. 782, title XI, § 1106(a), 63 Stat. 972, established American Mexican Claims Commission, prescribed its composition, provided for compensation of its members, and specified its termination date. Acts Dec. 18, 1942, ch. 766, § 2, 56 Stat. 1058; Apr. 3, 1945, ch. 52, § 5, 59 Stat. 50,


Top Visited
Switchboard
Latest
Past week
Past month

NEWS CONTENTS

Old News ;-)

[Dec 05, 2020] Butina blowback results in tightening of Russian FARA act

Dec 05, 2020 | www.rt.com

The Russian government is set to expel a prominent human-rights activist, with former president Dmitry Medvedev claiming there's a co-ordinated campaign by international organizations to stoke unrest in the world's largest state.

Vanessa Kogan, the director of the Stichting Justice Initiative project, told Britain's Guardian newspaper that Russian authorities had notified her of the revocation of her residency permit. She will now have two weeks to leave the country, where she has lived for more than ten years. She also has two children with a Russian national.

The Stichting Justice Initiative is an NGO which, it says, provides legal support to Russians in cases of perceived human rights abuses. It has been less open about its funding in recent years, but in 2010 and 2011, it was bankrolled by the Dutch government and the Hungarian billionaire George Soros. via his 'Open Society' pressure group, which has been banned in Russia and declared "undesirable."

ALSO ON RT.COM Prosecutors ban Soros Foundation as 'threat to Russian national security'

Kogan's work has previously focused on the North Caucasus region, where her group has represented people alleging victimization at the hands of authorities. Its activity in the majority Muslim area has reportedly brought tensions with local leaders, such as Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Republic of Chechnya.

Now the Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, Medvedev, who has also served as Russia's prime minister, told reporters on Thursday that well-funded foreign groups were using networks in Russia to "exacerbate the internal political situation in certain regions, including through Russian non-profit groups they associate with."

He went on to add that these NGOs "depend on internet media, and use various far-fetched reasons for rewriting the events of our national history." He called this a "large-scale information campaign, being conducted to discredit the leadership of some specific territories and Federal Subjects."

In November, the country's State Duma debated new legislation that would expand the definition of foreign agents, enabling the label to be applied not only to NGOs and media organizations, but also to ordinary citizensIn 2018, the United States imprisoned a Russian citizen, Maria Butina, claiming that she was a foreign agent operating on behalf of Moscow. Authorities allege that she had infiltrated conservative-leaning organizations to promote better ties between Washington and the Kremlin. She served five months in prison, some of it in solitary confinement, before being deported back to Russia.


Zeta029 43 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:01 PM

This is a most dangerous situation. Being unable to openly defeat Russia on a battlefield (not that they didnt try, most recently in Georgia, Ukraine and Syria), the Empire is focusing on certain NGO and people like Navalny to weaken the leadership of Russian Federation. This is the undisputed truth and so these measures should be swift and harsh, for National Security sake.
cangoroo Zeta029 16 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:28 PM
And those NGOs are funded with "printed money" in the Empire. Now Australia has joined the money-printing party of their big-brother US; at the rate of $5billion a week. Money-printing means PIRATING money from the holders of their money, including foreign CentralBnks like China's. It was SEA-PIRACY on which the Empire Britannia was built during the reign of QE1 in the 16th century. Genes, I guess.
Count_Cash Zeta029 18 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:26 PM
It's a multifaceted interference in Russia. The biggest play is economic , the next play is internal friction based on wealth disparity, the third is to create perception that westerners have better rights. The medium is external media, internal media, external courts, attacks on internal courts and political institutions - But there is one thing the western strategists haven't figured - nuclear weapons and their deterrent is aimed at preventing not only military attacks but also other attacks that attempt to politically and economically dominate Russia. While the west think all this activity has no cost, as was shown in the places you reference, there can be a military cost for the western games of interference and pushed far enough it could be a nuclear one. Nuclear Weapons their not just for countering military threats!
TheFishh 40 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:04 PM
Funded by Soros and Dutch government? There you have it. I wonder what Netherlands and the US would do, if some organizations operating there were getting money from Moscow. They'd lock up everyone involved in it. They wouldn't just be told to go back to Russia.
Nonenity TheFishh 16 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:28 PM
They ought to be in OP and making their reports on the war crimes and human rights abuses there - ongoing since before 1948...
Madbovineuk 1 hour ago 3 Dec, 2020 12:58 PM
Expel all NGOs from Russia especially those with American ties
WhoWantsAIDS Madbovineuk 13 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:31 PM
As an American if Putin wants to send Soros workers or sympathizers home in a box he would be doing the world a favor. 💯🔮
Count_Cash Madbovineuk 25 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:19 PM
Yes just boot her and the rest out. They are just trouble makers, if they were straight up they would be running to Iraq or Afghanistan to help people abused by the US.
Timothy-Allen Albertson 1 hour ago 3 Dec, 2020 12:56 PM
Soros, the nazi, needs to be hanged for Crimes Against Humanity. Too bad the Russian Federation did not imprison this Soros agitator for a long term at hard labor.
Zeta029 Timothy-Allen Albertson 41 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:03 PM
She should work all her life, and still I dont think she would repay the harm she did.
Badgecub 1 hour ago 3 Dec, 2020 01:25 PM
Kogan, if you are worried about human rights abuses go to the UK and help Julian Assage
Nonenity Badgecub 18 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:26 PM
And all of those many, many US folks in prison for long periods, mostly for minor offences, because it was their third time stealing a slice of pizza. You don't hear/read/see it on the MSM, but these prisoners are all but slave labor and usually for multinational companies like S...bucks... Indeed in at least two states they are slave labor because they do not even get the cents (well under a dollar) per hour that prisoners in most states do. And should the prisoners refuse to do this labor, they often end up in solitary confinement - well known to be psychological torture...And there are political prisoners as well (not called that, of course, given who and where they are)...not to mention Guantanamo and the various Black Sites around the world and controlled by the CIA.... Stephen Kinzer's book on The Poisoner in Chief...a good read about the post war decades and the human rights abuses by the exceptionalist nation...
TheFishh Badgecub 35 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:09 PM
Yes. And these sorts of contradictions is what gives away these so-called western human rights organizations as a bunch of nefarious fakes.
DoubleKnot 1 hour ago 3 Dec, 2020 01:14 PM
NGO - Non-Gentile Organization
TheFishh DoubleKnot 37 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:07 PM
BING!
Marko Podganjek 15 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:29 PM
I thought that such organizations and people were expelled from Russia long ago. Because on west they want to imprison people that were just on trip in Russia. Not to say if somebody would get money from Russia. The relations and approaches here has to be comparable on both sides.
Smanz 20 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:24 PM
Anything linked to Soros generally only exists to create chaos and ruin the country it is in.
dunkie56 8 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:36 PM
i will say it again...throw the West and it's agents provocateurs out of Russia...all Western companies must leave forthwith and restrict who comes into Russia and tighten the borders! Preferably raise up the iron curtain once again!
SrJustice 5 minutes ago 3 Dec, 2020 02:39 PM
Politicians in the US think that improving relations with other countries is a bad thing because they need enemies, enemies are better than friends to have for Washington, very twisted minds. They just want to scare their people so they can suck more tax money and spend on the weapons manufacturers, where most of those politician invest their money.

[Dec 04, 2019] Butina blowback: foreign agents law against Russian fifth column

Better late then never ;-)
Notable quotes:
"... That person then will land on a special list of "agents" and will be obliged to register as a company so that his or her funding is transparent to the state. A Russian journalist working for Voice of America also becomes a foreign agent under the law. ..."
"... Butina was charged under a different though similar statute , which also requires foreign agents to register with the U.S. government. Even U.S. officials sometimes confuse the regulations, and it's not easy for a layman to understand what actions make one a foreign agent under them. ..."
"... Butina, for example, was sentenced to 18 months for trying to establish contacts with Republican operatives and National Rifle Association members ..."
"... Putin was annoyed by the Butina case. "They grabbed the girl, put her behind bars, and they had nothing to show for it," he commented after her sentencing. ..."
"... Now comes the retaliation -- and as usual under Putin, mainly against Russians he sees as a Western fifth column ..."
Dec 04, 2019 | www.bloomberg.com

Putin's Russia Sees Foreign Agents Everywhere by Leonid Bershidsky

... ... ...

The new law makes it possible to apply the foreign agent label to individuals, specifically to those who spread content from media or other organizations determined to be foreign agents and who receive any kind of funding from a foreign or foreign-financed source...

That person then will land on a special list of "agents" and will be obliged to register as a company so that his or her funding is transparent to the state. A Russian journalist working for Voice of America also becomes a foreign agent under the law.

... ... ...

Failure to register, open a company or mark one's stories or posts as coming from a foreign agent will be punishable by a yet-undetermined fine.

Andrei Klimov, one of the drafters of the law, recently told the government-owned daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta:

Unlike our foreign counterparts, we envisage no criminal liability. We don't grab people, we don't toss them into torture chambers, like some other countries that do it for five or fifteen years. We are capable of getting results with administrative measures.

It's clear from his comment that the Russian law is a response to the sudden prominence of foreign-agent registration, a previously obscure requirement best known to professional lobbyists, in the Donald Trump-Russia investigations of special counsel Robert Mueller. He had political operatives Paul Manafort and Rick Gates indicted for violating the Foreign Agent Registration Act of 1938, previously a laxly enforced law.

Butina was charged under a different though similar statute , which also requires foreign agents to register with the U.S. government. Even U.S. officials sometimes confuse the regulations, and it's not easy for a layman to understand what actions make one a foreign agent under them.

Butina, for example, was sentenced to 18 months for trying to establish contacts with Republican operatives and National Rifle Association members on behalf of a Russian Central Bank official who may have wanted to set up a back channel between the Kremlin and the Republican elite in the U.S.

Putin was annoyed by the Butina case. "They grabbed the girl, put her behind bars, and they had nothing to show for it," he commented after her sentencing.

Now comes the retaliation -- and as usual under Putin, mainly against Russians he sees as a Western fifth column rather than against the U.S. as such. Also as usual under Putin, the response is asymmetrical.

... ... ...

[Aug 26, 2019] Russian version of FARA

Aug 26, 2019 | www.moonofalabama.org

BM , Aug 25 2019 16:42 utc | 15

The MoA Week In Review - OT 2019-50

Thanks for that Soros link, Snake:

On November 30th 2015, Zerohedge reported, Russian Prosecutor General's Office issued a statement in which it recognised George Soros's Open Society Institute and another affiliated organisation as "undesirable groups", banning Russian citizens and organisations from participation in any of their projects.

–prosecutors said the activities of the Open Society Institute and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation were a threat to the foundations of Russia's Constitutional order and national security.

...

The Law on Undesirable Foreign Organisations came into force in early June this year. It requires the Prosecutor General's Office and the Foreign Ministry to draw up an official list of undesirable foreign organisations and outlaw their activities. Once a group is recognised as undesirable, its assets in Russia must be frozen, its offices closed and the distribution of any of its materials must be banned.

Isn't it about time all other countries around the world enacted similar laws and policies against foreign-funded WMD NGOs? HK and Venezuela particularly come to mind, of course, and Brazil could have avoided the Bolsonaro nuclear explosion through such laws if they had been put into effect in time.

[Aug 15, 2019] Mueller Dragnet Snags Ex-Clintonista, Obama Lawyer The American Conservative

Aug 15, 2019 | www.theamericanconservative.com

Mueller Dragnet Snags Ex-Clintonista, Obama Lawyer Greg Craig took money from a pro-Russian regime, just like jailed ex-Trump aide Paul Manafort. Welcome to the swamp. By Barbara Boland August 15, 2019

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) greets White House counsel Gregory Craig (L) during an event on January 21, 2009.(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election has snagged its first high-profile Democrat: Gregory Craig, former special counsel to President Bill Clinton during his impeachment and Barack Obama's first White House counsel.

In a trial expected to last two weeks, a jury will hear how the former partner of the prestigious Washington firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP allegedly made false statements to the U.S. government and concealed the extent of his work for the pro-Russian Ukrainian regime. Due to a delay over jury selection, opening arguments are expected to begin Friday.

The case against Craig is the latest in a series of prosecutions arising from the Department of Justice's revamped enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires people to make fairly extensive disclosures if they engage in political or quasi-political activities on behalf of foreign governments or officials. Almost all high-profile cases against unregistered foreign agents in the last two years have stemmed from Mueller's investigation. Previously, the law had been lightly enforced.

Mueller's probe led to FARA charges against Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates. The charges against Manafort stem from work he did on behalf of President Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russia party. Mueller's team convicted Manafort, Gates, and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn. Manafort received a seven and a half year sentence for conspiracy and financial crimes, some of it related to his work for Yanukovych.

Advertisement

With Craig, "the Justice Department is going after some high-profile scalps," says Matthew T. Sanderson, a defense lawyer who specializes in foreign lobbying cases for the law firm Caplin and Drysdale.

Prosecutors say Craig was engaged by the Ukrainian regime to conduct an independent inquiry into the fairness of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko's 2011 conviction, with the hopes of quelling international concerns that it was politically motivated by then-president and rival Yanukovych.

Manafort was also working with the regime to improve Yanukovych's image. Craig's law firm received $4.6 million for his work.

After Craig briefed American journalists on the report, Manafort effusively praised him in an email.

"Well done," wrote Manafort to Craig. Officials in Kiev "are especially happy with the way the media is playing it. You are 'THE MAN.'"

Journalists who published stories citing Craig's work would not have known that he had been paid to write the report by a Ukrainian operative, as prosecutors now claim. Craig insists that he only discussed the document after it had become public to "correct misinformation," according to court filings.

"I never discussed the findings of our report with any U.S. officials and certainly did not lobby any U.S. officials on behalf of Ukraine," Craig said in a statement proclaiming his innocence. "I did not help Ukraine promote its spin when it released our report."

If journalists had known that the report had been paid for by Tymoshenko's rivals, it would have affected media coverage, points out Ben Freeman, director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the Center for International Policy.

According to the indictment, although the report concluded that the evidence presented at Tymoshenko's trial supported her conviction, in a memo for his own files, Craig wrote that the evidence against her was "virtually non existent."

Craig backdated a letter and invoice to hide who had really paid for the report, which aided the Ukrainian government's lies about its cost, prosecutors wrote in a 22-page indictment filed in April.

"I don't want to register as a foreign agent under FARA. I think we don't have to with this assignment, yes?" Craig wrote to another partner in the firm on February 13, 2012, reports Bloomberg .

In response to a partner's suggestion that another lawyer at the firm could decide whether he should register, Craig wrote, "I don't really care who you ask but we need an answer from someone who we can rely on with a straight face."

Firms that take clients from countries with human rights abuses and other public relations difficulties don't appear to have trouble attracting other clients, but they do charge a premium for that work, according to Freeman.

"Normally, if a Washington firm is going to write a report about a country, they can't get $4 million for it," Freeman says. "But a report written for someone who is friends with Vladimir Putin is going to cost more money."

Craig flouted FARA's reporting requirements and did not register because he did not want to limit his future career prospects, according to prosecutors.

The idea that registering as a foreign agent is a stigma, a "scarlet letter" that will prevent agents from getting other work, certainly prevails in Washington, "but the fact of the matter is, there's nearly 2,000 registered foreign agents walking the streets of America," says Freeman. "They're not exactly a rare breed, and a lot of the firms that work for foreign governments also work for domestic clients. They're lobbying for big American businesses too."

A big reason companies may prefer to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, as opposed to FARA, is that the latter requires significantly more disclosure. With FARA, agents need to list the member's offices they visited, everyone they spoke to, the days they met, and what issues were discussed -- and that's a lot of additional work, says Freeman.

In January, Skadden agreed to register under FARA and pay a $4.6 million fine, an amount that equals what it paid for the Ukraine report. Craig left the firm in April 2018.

The DOJ's renewed interest in investigating and prosecuting FARA crimes may make Washington insiders think twice about concealing what foreign interests they represent. FARA registrations jumped 46 percent from 2016 to 2017, the year after Mueller was appointed special counsel and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's home was raided.

"I think the Craig case and the other cases like it change the calculus for folks who work for foreign entities or are doing this type of lobbying and PR work," says Freeman. "It sends a clear message that if you're at all uncertain if you should register under FARA, it behooves you to play it safe."

Barbara Boland is 's foreign policy and national security reporter. Follow her on Twitter @BBatDC.

[Apr 26, 2019] Jared Kushner, Not Maria Butina, Is America's Real Foreign Agent by Philip Giraldi

Highly recommended!
Notable quotes:
"... FARA requires all individuals and organizations acting on behalf of foreign governments to registered with the Department of Justice and to report their sources of income and contacts. Federal prosecutors have claimed that Butina was reporting back to a Russian official while deliberating cultivating influential figures in the United States as potential resources to advance Russian interests, a process that is described in intelligence circles as "spotting and assessing." ..."
"... Selective enforcement of FARA was, ironically, revealed through evidence collected and included in the Mueller Report relating to the only foreign country that actually sought to obtain favors from the incoming Trump Administration. That country was Israel and the individual who drove the process and should have been fined and required to register with FARA was President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. As Kushner also had considerable "flight risk" to Israel, which has no extradition treaty with the United States, he should also have been imprisoned. ..."
"... Kushner reportedly aggressively pressured members of the Trump transition team to contact foreign ambassadors at the United Nations to convince them to vote against or abstain from voting on the December 2016 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements. The resolution passed when the US, acting under direction of President Barack Obama, abstained, but incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn did indeed contact the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice and asked for Moscow's cooperation, which was refused. Kushner, who is so close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the latter has slept at the Kushner apartment in New York City, was clearly acting in response to direction coming from the Israeli government. ..."
"... Another interesting tidbit revealed by Mueller relates to Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos's ties to Israel over an oil development scheme. Mueller "ultimately determined that the evidence was not sufficient to obtain or sustain a conviction" that Papadopoulos "committed a crime or crimes by acting as an unregistered agent of the Israeli government." Mueller went looking for a Russian connection but found only Israel and decided to do nothing about it. ..."
Apr 25, 2019 | ronpaulinstitute.org
The Mueller Special Counsel inquiry is far from over even though a final report on its findings has been issued. Although the investigation had a mandate to explore all aspects of the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election, from the start the focus was on the possibility that some members of the Trump campaign had colluded with the Kremlin to influence the outcome of the election to favor the GOP candidate. Even though that could not be demonstrated, many prominent Trump critics, to include Laurence Tribe of the Harvard Law School, are demanding that the investigation continue until Congress has discovered "the full facts of Russia's interference [to include] the ways in which that interference is continuing in anticipation of 2020, and the full story of how the president and his team welcomed, benefited from, repaid, and obstructed lawful investigation into that interference and the president's cooperation with it."

Tribe should perhaps read the report more carefully. While it does indeed confirm some Russian meddling, it does not demonstrate that anyone in the Trump circle benefited from it or cooperated with it. The objective currently being promoted by dedicated Trump critics like Tribe is to make a case to impeach the president based on the alleged enormity of the Russian activity, which is not borne out by the facts: the Russian role was intermittent, small scale and basically ineffective.

One interesting aspect of the Mueller inquiry and the ongoing Russophobia that it has generated is the essential hypocrisy of the Washington Establishment. It is generally agreed that whatever Russia actually did, it did not affect the outcome of the election. That the Kremlin was using intelligence resources to act against Hillary Clinton should surprise no one as she described Russian President Vladimir Putin as Hitler and also made clear that she would be taking a very hard line against Moscow.

The anti-Russia frenzy in Washington generated by the vengeful Democrats and an Establishment fearful of a loss of privilege and entitlement claimed a number of victims. Among them was Russian citizen Maria Butina, who has a court date and will very likely be sentenced tomorrow .

Regarding Butina, the United States Department of Justice would apparently have you believe that the Kremlin sought to subvert the five-million-member strong National Rifle Association (NRA) by having a Russian citizen take out a life membership in the organization with the intention of corrupting it and turning it into an instrument for subverting American democracy. Maria Butina has, by the way, a long and well documented history as an advocate for gun ownership and was a co-founder in Russia of Right to Bear Arms, which is not an intelligence front organization of some kind. It is rather a genuine lobbying group with an active membership and agenda. Contrary to what has been reported in the mainstream media, Russians can own guns but the licensing and registration procedures are long and complicated, which Right to Bear Arms, modeling itself on the NRA, is seeking to change.

Butina, a graduate student at American University, is now in a federal prison, having been charged with collusion and failure to register as an agent of the Russian Federation. She was arrested on July 15, 2018. It is decidedly unusual to arrest and confine someone who has failed to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA) , but she has not been granted bail because, as a Russian citizen, she is considered to be a "flight risk," likely to try to flee the US and return home.

FARA requires all individuals and organizations acting on behalf of foreign governments to registered with the Department of Justice and to report their sources of income and contacts. Federal prosecutors have claimed that Butina was reporting back to a Russian official while deliberating cultivating influential figures in the United States as potential resources to advance Russian interests, a process that is described in intelligence circles as "spotting and assessing."

Maria eventually pleaded guilty of not registering under FARA to mitigate any punishment, hoping that she would be allowed to return to Russia after a few months in prison on top of the nine months she has already served. She has reportedly fully cooperated the US authorities, turning over documents, answering questions and undergoing hours of interrogation by federal investigators before and after her guilty plea.

Maria Butina basically did nothing that damaged US security and it is difficult to see where her behavior was even criminal, but the prosecution is asking for 18 months in prison for her in addition to the time served. She would be, in fact, one of only a handful of individuals ever to be imprisoned over FARA, and they all come from countries that Washington considers to be unfriendly, to include Cuba, Saddam's Iraq and Russia. Normally the failure to comply with FARA is handled with a fine and compulsory registration.

Butina was essentially convicted of the crime of being Russian at the wrong time and in the wrong place and she is paying for it with prison. Selective enforcement of FARA was, ironically, revealed through evidence collected and included in the Mueller Report relating to the only foreign country that actually sought to obtain favors from the incoming Trump Administration. That country was Israel and the individual who drove the process and should have been fined and required to register with FARA was President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. As Kushner also had considerable "flight risk" to Israel, which has no extradition treaty with the United States, he should also have been imprisoned.

Kushner reportedly aggressively pressured members of the Trump transition team to contact foreign ambassadors at the United Nations to convince them to vote against or abstain from voting on the December 2016 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements. The resolution passed when the US, acting under direction of President Barack Obama, abstained, but incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn did indeed contact the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice and asked for Moscow's cooperation, which was refused. Kushner, who is so close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the latter has slept at the Kushner apartment in New York City, was clearly acting in response to direction coming from the Israeli government.

Another interesting tidbit revealed by Mueller relates to Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos's ties to Israel over an oil development scheme. Mueller "ultimately determined that the evidence was not sufficient to obtain or sustain a conviction" that Papadopoulos "committed a crime or crimes by acting as an unregistered agent of the Israeli government." Mueller went looking for a Russian connection but found only Israel and decided to do nothing about it.

As so often is the case, inquiries that begin by looking for foreign interference in American politics start by focusing on Washington's adversaries but then comes up with Israel. Noam Chomsky described it best "First of all, if you're interested in foreign interference in our elections, whatever the Russians may have done barely counts or weighs in the balance as compared with what another state does, openly, brazenly and with enormous support. Netanyahu goes directly to Congress, without even informing the president, and speaks to Congress, with overwhelming applause, to try to undermine the president's policies -- what happened with Obama and Netanyahu in 2015. Did Putin come to give an address to the joint sessions of Congress trying to -- calling on them to reverse US policy, without even informing the president? And that's just a tiny bit of this overwhelming influence."

Maria Butina is in jail for doing nothing while Jared Kushner, who needed a godfathered security clearance due to his close Israeli ties, struts through the White House as senior advisor to the president in spite of the fact that he used his nepotistically obtained access to openly promote the interests of a foreign government. Mueller knows all about it but recommended nothing, as if it didn't happen. The media is silent. Congress will do nothing. As Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi put it "We in Congress stand by Israel. In Congress, we speak with one voice on the subject of Israel." Indeed.

Reprinted with permission from Strategic Culture Foundation .

[Oct 31, 2017] Sorting Out the Russia Mess

Notable quotes:
"... Paul Manafort was indicted for supposedly establishing a relationship with a foreign government that was not covered by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). ..."
"... Speaking of FARA, when is someone in the US government or the totally corrupted and bought-off US Congress going to demand that Israel and AIPAC be registered under FARA? And then: When will investigations begin into some of the truly treasonous acts and legislation shepherded by this foreign agent called AIPAC: -- like its interference with Free Speech protections in the US Bill of Rights, and this latest: Something about residents of some town in Texas forced to sign a loyalty pledge in support of Israel in order to receive funds to rebuild their stricken landscape ??? Is Israel putting up the money for disaster relief projects in America? If so, how did this come about? ..."
www.strategic-culture.org

Knomore , October 31, 2017 at 2:20 pm

A sardine is hauled in and the big fish swim away. This story seems to suggest either massive chutzpah on the part of the Clinton campaign or stupidity fueled by desperation.

That they would allow Mueller's investigation to go forward when they were sitting on a mountain of graft, collusion and other malfeasance (i.e., uranium sold to Russia for among other things half a million straight into Billl's pocket) all of it, really quite amazing.

We got two uniformly bad candidates in the 2016 elections, both of whom were/are ardent supporters of Israel. How did that happen?

And Paul Manafort was indicted for supposedly establishing a relationship with a foreign government that was not covered by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Speaking of FARA, when is someone in the US government or the totally corrupted and bought-off US Congress going to demand that Israel and AIPAC be registered under FARA? And then: When will investigations begin into some of the truly treasonous acts and legislation shepherded by this foreign agent called AIPAC: -- like its interference with Free Speech protections in the US Bill of Rights, and this latest: Something about residents of some town in Texas forced to sign a loyalty pledge in support of Israel in order to receive funds to rebuild their stricken landscape ??? Is Israel putting up the money for disaster relief projects in America? If so, how did this come about?

[Jan 31, 2015] Finding the Foreign Agents By Philip Giraldi

January 30, 2015 | The American Conservative

In monitoring the activities of foreign organizations, the DOJ often gives powerful political lobbies a pass.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Meets with AIPAC Leaders on January 14, 2015. Kobi Gideon / GPO

In high school civics classes, Americans are brought up to believe that in their nation a rule of law prevails. Justice is depicted as blind and the rules apply to everyone. All Americans will receive the same fair hearing in court or at the hands of the government. Of course the reality is that experience tells us that those who trust in impartial justice are somewhat delusional as the criminal justice and regulatory systems do not operate in a reliably mechanical fashion. Many factors determine whether a suspect actually goes to trial or whether an organization is regulated or investigated and there are a number of roadblocks along the way that influence the outcome.

One of the federal government regulatory bodies that few have heard about is the board at the United States Department of Justice's Counterespionage Section that administers the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The original FARA was passed in 1938 just before the outbreak of war in Europe and was intended to monitor the activities of front organizations being directed by the German and Italian governments. From its inception FARA was politicized and selective. Rome and Berlin were potential enemies while the extremely active British government efforts to draw the United States into what eventually became a European and then a world war were largely ignored.

The original act was loosely worded to include anyone propagandizing for a foreign power but an amended version in 1966 narrowed the definition of whom would be covered to include only actual "agents of a foreign principal" working directly for a foreign government in an attempt to influence U.S. economic or political decision making. Since 1966 there have been no successful criminal prosecutions under FARA and nearly all compliance has been more-or-less voluntary. There have, however, been a number of civil cases and administrative resolutions in which the government asserted the viability of the act. In 2004, for example, Susan Lindauer, a former congressional staffer, was charged with taking payments from an Iraqi government source. Her case was finally dropped in 2009.

There are somewhat less than 2,000 foreign agents registered under the act representing more than 100 countries. Their names and their periodic financial and activities filings are accessible by the public at the FARA Unit office in Washington. Most are associated with law or lobbying firms that represent foreign governments as part of their business. Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was, for a time, a registered agent for Turkey when he held that account while working for the Dickstein Shapiro law firm, which he joined after leaving congress. Former Congressman Dick Gephardt also headed a company engaged in lobbying for Turkey. Both Gephardt and Hastert were involved in lobbying Congress to oppose pending legislation calling the First World War massacre of Turkish Armenians a "genocide."

The disadvantage of registering under FARA is that you have to disclose your sources of income and you also have to detail what you are doing on behalf of the foreign government. Organizations that do not consider that they are actually directed by a foreign government or who assess their relationship to be borderline are consequently reluctant to comply.

FARA inevitably is selective in its targeting. Agents of nations hostile to the United States are pursued with some vigor while organizations linked to powerful domestic political lobbies tend to get a pass. This has been historically true of Irish republican groups as well as of the predecessor of the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which was founded in 1949 as the American Zionist Council. The American Zionist Council was funded directly by the Jewish Agency for Israel. Attorney General Robert Kennedy ordered the group to register in 1962 but the death of his brother led to an intense lobbying campaign to influence his strongly pro-Israel successor Lyndon B. Johnson who obligingly instructed the Justice Department to stand down.

Since that time repeated efforts to compel AIPAC to register have failed due to White House and Justice Department unwillingness to confront the issue but a new initiative by the Israeli government might well be construed as having crossed the line in violation of FARA. In early January the Prime Minister's Office of the Israeli government funded a joint project to be run by the government's National Information Directorate and StandWithUS, which has been described as an "American hasbara organization." In Hebrew the name, hasbara, means literally "public explanation" but the expression is generally applied to anyone involved in generating pro-Israeli propaganda. It is also sometimes more politely described as a program of "perception management," a euphemism made popular by the Donald Rumsfeld Pentagon in 2004.

Israel has long been paying students as part-time bloggers or exploiting diaspora Jews as volunteers to get its message out. In 2009 the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote to a number of pro-Israel organizations emphasizing the "importance of the internet as the new battleground for Israel's image." Haaretz reported in 2013 how Prime Minister Netanyahu's office collaborated with the National Union of Israeli Students to create "semi-military covert units" at the seven national universities organized to work in situation rooms. Students use different names and IP addresses, which enable them to make multiple posts, and are paid as much as $2,000 monthly to work the online targets.

The hasbara program includes recruitment, training, Foreign Ministry-prepared information sheets, and internet alerts to potential targets. It is essentially an internet-focused "information war." It is supported by a desktop tool called Megaphone that provided daily updates on articles appearing on the internet that are singled out for confrontation or attack. The hasbara commenters flood websites where commentary critical of Israel is observed in the belief that if something is repeated often enough in many different places it will gain credibility and create doubts regarding contrary points of view. They also can hound critics and even destroy careers in journalism. Veteran CNN reporter Jim Clancy was forced to resign last week after an exchange of tweets with hasbara over the Paris terror attacks.

The joint enterprise between the American foundation and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office is more of the same. It reportedly is intended to strengthen "Israeli hasbara on social media platforms," with StandWithUs running "interactive media war rooms." The National Information Directorate's role will be to draft the talking points and monitor the progress of the "war."

StandWithUs, which was founded to "educate others about Israel," originated in Los Angeles. It now has 18 chapters in the U.S., Canada, Britain, and also in Israel. Incorporated as the Israel Emergency Alliance, StandWithUs is a 501(c)(3) organization, which means it has successfully claimed to be a tax exempt educational foundation. It is reportedly largely funded by Las Vegas multi billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who also has been active in supporting Republican candidates perceived as particularly friendly to Israel. StandWithUs is aggressive in its defense of Israel, to include a secret program to compile critical dossiers on pro-Palestinian speakers as part of an effort to help "Israel advocates respond to and counter anti-Israel speakers who come to your campus."

The project is ostensibly being run through the StandWithUs chapter in Israel, but it will include the training of British and American students, and the parent organization is itself American in both funding and its incorporation. As it has no other function than promoting the Israeli government point of view so as to influence decision making in the United States and in the United Kingdom. It would be a clear case where registry with FARA would be mandatory as the political direction and half the funding for the project are coming directly from the Israeli government. If StandWithUS is compelled to register under FARA it will have to reveal all its funding and its tax exempt status will presumably be revoked by the Internal Revenue Service.

And StandWithUs is far from alone. Israel is certainly entitled to make its case to the American and international audience and one might observe that it has done so extremely tenaciously and very effectively. But a number of organizations in the Israel Lobby are little more than fronts for promoting the Israeli right wing government talking points in an attempt to shape American policy, which indisputably makes them foreign agents as defined by FARA. As foreign agents, they should be subject to some supervision of and restraints on their activities and there would also be a certain transparency in terms of who they are and what they represent which just might make the media less inclined to go to them for commentary.

One suspects that the Barack Obama/Eric Holder Justice department has little stomach for going after any organization linked to Israel and that reticence is regrettable, particularly as Israel will undoubtedly be using the upcoming Netanyahu visit to ratchet up the intensity of its own campaign to convince the American public that war with Iran should be a compelling U.S. national interest. If the American public were made aware that much of the war fever is being drummed up by organizations that are actually acting as agents of a foreign government it just might make a difference in how that sales pitch is perceived. But even if that were not the case, it would not be a bad thing to observe that the United States government does indeed, at least occasionally, play by its own rules.

Philip Giraldi, a former CIA officer, is executive director of the Council for the National Interest.

Petition AIPAC MUST REGISTER AS FOREIGN AGENT!

AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, describes itself as the most important organization affecting the U.S. relationship with Israel. With a budget of $65 million, and membership now standing at over 100,000, it is no wonder that congressional staffers consider it one of the most powerful and effective lobbies on Capitol Hill.

This 100,000-strong group has been described as an agent of the Israeli government, and those accusations were substantiated in 2005 when a pentagon analyst plead guilty to passing military secrets to two AIPAC employees en route to Israel. After some political wrangling, all charges were dropped against the two Jewish AIPAC employees in 2009, even though the analyst agreed to testify against the AIPAC employees, and the government had overwhelming evidence to prosecute. It was reported by Time magazine that Jane Harman, a Jewish congresswoman, was bribed by AIPAC to lobby the Department of Justice to drop the spying charges against the AIPAC employees. In 2009, CQ politics reported that Harman was caught on a NSA wiretap telling an Israeli agent that she would lobby the Department of Justice to drop the case.

The Foreign Registration Act clearly states that any lobby that acts on behalf of a foreign government must register as a foreign agent. Even though AIPAC: has been caught spying for Israel, shamelessly campaigns to give American tax dollars to Israel for weapons that are used to kill Palestinian civilians, and lobbies for American soldiers to die in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran for Israel's hegemony of the Middle East, it is still the only foreign lobby in Washington that does not have to register under the act. We must Abolish AIPAC NOW. If they wish to lobby, they too must be required to register as lobbyist for a foreign agent!

Through back room dealings, bribery, and corruption, AIPAC has secured Israel hundreds of billions of dollars in aid since the 1950′s. Some Americans are aware of the annual $3 billion in direct foreign aid to Israel, but very few Americans know about the tens of billions of dollars that are given every year under the table in terms of valuable military equipment deemed "scrapped," loan guarantees, preferential contracts, and upfront payments that should be distributed over the course of a year. In the most recent affront to justice, AIPAC had US approve 1 BILLION for Israeli missile systems while US states go broke! Read Full Declaration... http://solidarityus.org/AIPAC.html

Sic Semper Tyrannis DOJ asked to register AIPAC as Foreign Agent

19 March 2010

News release:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-department-of-justice-asked-to-regulate-aipac-as-a-foreign-agent-of-the-israeli-government-88190712.html

***************************Release************************************

US Department of Justice Asked to Regulate AIPAC as a Foreign Agent of the Israeli Government

Washington, DC - The US Department of Justice has been formally asked to begin regulating the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as the foreign agent of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A 392 page legal filing presented by a four person IRmep delegation in a two hour meeting with top officials of the Internal Security Section substantiated the following case for AIPAC's immediate registration:

1. AIPAC is a spinoff of an organization already ordered by the DOJ to register as an Israeli foreign agent. In November of 1962 the American Zionist Council was ordered by the Attorney General to begin filing disclosures as an Israeli foreign agent under the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act. http://www.IRmep.org/1962Order.pdf Six weeks later, former AZC employees incorporated the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, DC, taking over the AZC's lobbying activities. http://www.IRmep.org/AIPAC.pdf AIPAC did not register as a foreign agent.

2. AIPAC's founder Isaiah L. Kenen was the chief information officer for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in New York and for a time duly registered in that role. http://www.IRmep.org/Kenen.pdf The Justice Department ordered Kenen to personally re-register after he formally left the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to head up private lobbying and publicity for the Israeli government at the nonprofit American Zionist Council. Kenen never complied with the order. http://www.IRmep.org/order.pdf

3. Espionage related FBI investigations in 1984 and 2005 reveal AIPAC's ongoing stealth foreign agency activities. Declassified FBI files released on the Internet last week reveal that in 1984 AIPAC and the Israeli Ministry of Economics were investigated for jointly obtaining and circulating classified US economic data to obtain favorable trade benefits for Israel. http://www.irmep.org/ila/economy In 2005 Pentagon Colonel Lawrence Franklin pled guilty and two AIPAC employees were indicted for obtaining and circulating classified US national defense information to Israeli government officials allegedly in the interest of fomenting US action against Iran.

4. AIPAC's executive committee consists of the original member organizations of the AZC in addition to newer members. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the umbrella group of AIPAC's executive committee, is housed in the same New York office as the World Zionist Organization - American Section, a registered foreign agent that is heavily involved in illegal settlement expansion according to Israeli prosecutor Thalia Sasson.

According to Grant F. Smith, director of IRmep, the case for reregulating AIPAC as a foreign agent immediately is compelling. "AIPAC was designed to supplant the American Zionist Council as the arm of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the United States after the DOJ ordered the AZC to register as a foreign agent. As such, Americans should have full public access to biannual FARA registrations detailing AIPAC's publicity campaigns, lobbying expenditures, funding flows, activities of its offices in Israel and internal consultations with its foreign principals-particularly over such controversial issues as illegal settlements and US foreign aid."

Concerned organizations and individuals who wish to supplement the Department of Justice filing or participate in future negotiations with law enforcement officials should contact the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, Inc. at [email protected] or 202-342-7325. IRmep is a private nonprofit that studies how warranted law enforcement and civil action can improve U.S. Middle East policy.

AIPAC and Foreign Agent Status The Washington Note by Steven Clemons

March 23, 2007

(Israeli Ambassador to Italy and former Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General for Public Affairs Gideon Meir: AIPAC can help so much it hurts)
Even the best informed of us can be just real dumb on Friday mornings. I never knew that AIPAC was NOT compelled to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Apparently, the criminal investigation of two AIPAC employees, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, has many in the US-Israel policy community worried that a conviction would compel FARA registration for the organization. I had not seen this debate previously.

One would think that it was obvious that AIPAC was an agent for Israel's interests and thus would have to register as such.

Then again, to take the alternative position, I guess that there can be "undirected" agents of interest and that AIPAC members are simply advocating policies that they feel are good for the United States with regards to Israel - without direction from Jerusalem.

There is some sense in this. If I wanted to advocate on behalf of smarter U.S. policy towards Cuba, towards Japan, towards Palestine, or towards the United Arab Emirates, then I should be able to do so without a need to register as an agent of foreign interests - particularly since I am taking no direction from those foreign interests.
This is fascinating and explains a mystery that has bothered me for some time.

Pat Choate's famous book, Agents of Influence: How Japan's Lobbyists Manipulate America's Political and Economic System, has an appendix listing all of the known lawyers and lobbyists operating in Washington on behalf of foreign interests.

But Israel is one of the very few nations not listed. One might have surmised that Pat Choate had enough trouble taking on the Japan lobby at that time that he didn't want to take on the Israeli lobby as well - but the reason seems to be that AIPAC was not required to file as a foreign agent and thus would not be listed in the book's appendix.

There are others who can weigh in on whether or not AIPAC is taking instructions from Israel's government and political leaders. If former Prime Minister Netanyahu is giving orders from his Likud seat, or Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is making requests of AIPAC in its roster of political action efforts, then AIPAC should be registered appropriately. It's an interesting question.

But one thing that I can report from my trip to Israel last year is that there are some in the Israeli government who do not want to own AIPAC's actions and advocacy.

Then Israeli Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General for Public Affairs Gideon Meir (and now Israel's Ambassador to Italy) told me that "AIPAC does not represent the interests of the Israeli government. This organization may mean well but these diaspora organizations - in order to keep and retain their members - present battles in black and white and see only two sides. I have to deal with five sides - or seven sides - to a problem; and sometimes AIPAC and these diaspora groups undermine our efforts."

This would argue against AIPAC registering as a foreign agent. But if memos came down the pike that Israel is giving AIPAC clear instructions, then the requirement of registration should be implemented.

– Steve Clemons

The DOJ Orders the American Zionist Council to Register as a Foreign Agent

"Attached hereto is the entire file relating to the American Zionist Council and our efforts to obtain its registration under the terms of the Foreign Agents Registration Act..."

Documents

In the early 1960's Israel funneled $5 million (more than $35 million in today's dollars) into US propaganda and lobbying operations. The funds were channeled via the quasi governmental Jewish Agency's New York office into an Israel lobby umbrella group, the American Zionist Council. Senate Foreign Relations Committee investigations and hearings documented funding flows, propaganda, and public relations efforts and put them into the record. But the true fate of the American Zionist Council was never known, except that its major functions were visibly shut down and shifted over to a former AZC unit known as the "Kenen Committee," called the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (or AIPAC) in the late 1960's. The following chronology provides links to images of original Department of Justice case files released on June 10, 2008 under a Freedom of Information Act filing.

John F. Kennedy President, Robert F. Kennedy Attorney General

Document/File Date Contents
08/27/1962 AZC internal memo - Lenore Karp to Rabbi Jerome Unger about AZC Department of Public Information literature distribution.
Undated 1962-1963 AZC Public Relations Plan summary
10/31/1962 Assistant Attorney General and Director of the Internal Security Division J. Walter Yeagley notifies Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy "...we are soliciting next week the registration of the American Zionist Council under the Foreign Agents Registration Act...You may be aware that the American Zionist Council is composed of representatives of the various Zionist organizations in the United States including the Zionist Organization of America."
11/06/1962 Nathan B. Lenvin, head of the FARA section, memo to central files, about a meeting with Jewish Agency representative Maurice M. Boukstein who asks about FARA applicability to AZC. "...in his view it was doubtful that any great protest would be made since in the discussions he has had with various officials connected both with the Zionist Council and the Jewish Agency he had made it clear in his view an agency relationship would result which may require registration.'"
11/14/1962 Edwin Guthman letter to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach about future AZC FARA registration order. "I doubt very much there will be any fuss. I don't think the American Zionist Council is in any position to do so...the Council has compromised its position." OK'd by Robert F. Kennedy.
11/21/1962 DOJ orders AZC to register under FARA "...receipt of such funds from the American Section of the Jewish Agency for Israel constitutes the Council an agent of a foreign principal...the Council's registration is requested."
12/06/1962 AZC President Rabbi Irving Miller response to DOJ "The request for registration contained in your letter raises many questions of fact and of relationships which first must be resolved by us before compliance can be made. Therefore, it is requested that you be good enough to grant us a delay of 120 days..."
01/02/1963
Archive
Isaiah L. Kenen incorporates the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, DC
01/24/1963

DOJ draft file memo about 01/23/1963 DOJ meeting with AZC head legal counsel Simon H. Rifkind "...he had advised his client to discontinue completely the agency relationship and cut off the receipt of any additional funds...Mr. Lenvin pointed out specifically that the termination of the 'activities' on the part of AZC did not absolve it of its obligation to register..."

01/25/1963 Article in the National Jewish Post, filed in FARA Section - "AZC Gives Up $ to Avoid Foreign Agent Registration"
02/01/1963 DOJ Executive Assistant Thomas Hall memo to Nathan Lenvin updating meeting notes "Mr. Hall emphasized that a contrary conclusion would not of course be reached during the course of this meeting and suggested that the subject submit a detailed argument as to why it was of the opinion it should not be required to register...."
02/08/1963 DOJ AZC January 23, 1963 meeting notes by Nathan Lenvin filed "discontinuance of receipt of such funds thus terminating the agency relationship did not absolve the Council of its obligation to register."
02/19/1963 American Council for Judaism (AJC) newsletter. "The American Zionist Council (coordinating political action arm of all U.S. Zionist organizations) was asked last month by the Justice Department to register as a 'foreign agent' of the State of Israel."
03/07/1963 New York Times reporter Tony Lewis calls FARA section to verify AZC foreign agent order state AJC press release.
3/23/1963 AZC Counsel "Memorandum of Law in support of our position that the American Zionist Council is not required to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938."
04/01/1963 Nathan Lenvin file memo of DOJ AZC meeting on April 1, 1963- AZC Memorandum of Law rejected. "...if necessary I would be willing to recommend, if the representatives of the Council insisted upon these points, that the matter be litigated."
04/05/1963 Thomas Hall memo with J. Walter Yeagley notes "Okay, but let's get it concluded. Have we sent them J.A. reg[istration] statement?"
05/02/1963 Nathan Lenvin file memo of DOJ AZC meeting on May 2, 1963 "Finally, Judge Rifkind raised the point...that the vast number of Jews who adhered to the principles of Zionism could not understand how 'our administration' could do such harm to the Zionist movement and impair the effectiveness of the Council by insistence on registration. He appealed to the discretionary power of the Department...Mr. Katzenbach then noted that if the Council made a full disclosure of the receipt and expenditure of the funds it had received from the Jewish Agency so that such information would then be available for public inspection the purposes and objectives of the Registration Act might well be accomplished and very likely there would be nothing further for the Government to do..."
05/23/1963 First Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearings on Israeli Foreign Agents (Senate Records)
06/28/1963 Wall Street Journal article "Federal lawyers near decision on whether to require the American Zionist Council to register as an agent of the Israeli government. High Justice Department officials weigh the risk of offending Jewish opinion in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Fulbright also eyes the council's activities."
06/28/1963-07/26/1963 Citizen telegrams and letters urging FARA decision based on legal merits rather than political considerations.
07/02/1963 Irene Bowman FARA section file memo on a June 28, 1963 DOJ AZC meeting, "Mr. Adrian W. DeWind and a Mr. Kahn (ph) of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison ...for the purpose of submitting for the Department's examination a stack of publications and several books prepared by the American Zionist Council....Prior to Mr. DeWind's departure he said he was disturbed by what he described as the speed with which the American Council on Judaism learned that the Department had solicited the registration of the American Zionist Council. He wondered whether there was a leak in the Department."
07/15/1963 Congressman Donald Rumsfeld letter to Robert F. Kennedy about status of AZC FARA registration.
07/19/1963 Thomas K. Hall Memo to Deputy AG Katzenbach and J. Walter Yeagley on Wall Street Journal Article. Yeagley notes "I called Judge Rifkind Thursday July 18. He said he thought the material had been submitted and was 'embarrassed.' Fri[day] someone else from the firm called asking for still another 2 or 3 weeks as their controller or someone is in Europe."
07/19/1963 J. Walter Yeagley responds to Rumsfeld "ultimate determination will be based on the law as applied to the facts...not on any consideration of its effect on the public opinion of the Jewish community..."
07/26/1963 American Council for Judaism Letter to RFK about AZC FARA registration "I am enclosing latest issue of our newsletter, Brief, featuring our comments on the Department of Justice investigation of the American Zionist Council..."
07/26/1963 Theresa Green FARA memo about AZC phone call request for two week filing deadline extension.
7/30/1963 Routing memo from Deputy AG Nicholas Katzenbach to J. Walter Yeagley "I guess this is the correct response. Rifkind should be needled, but much depends on Fulbright, too."
8/1/1963 Second Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearings on Israeli Foreign Agents (Senate Records)
08/14/1963 FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover offers J. Walter Yeagley FBI assistance to investigate the AZC "In view of recent public hearings...it is requested that you advise whether any investigation is desired...."
8/14/1963 J. Walter Yeagley response to 7/30/1963 Katzenbach routing memo (copy from above) "Mr. Hall - is it time to write Rifkind-or send memo to A.G. or send in FBI?"
08/15/1963 Thomas K. Hall internal FARA memo about AZC legal counsel "stalling hoping that time will resolve the difficulties faced by the AZC...We should go on record with the AG (copy to deputy) outlining the posture of this matter and indicate the need for more drastic action..."
8/16/1963 Irene Bowman, FARA section analysis on alleged AZC FARA violations derived from Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings. "...the Department should insist on the immediate registration of the American Zionist Council under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and if such registration is not forthcoming, appropriate action should be taken to enforce such a request."
08/17/1963 AZC Executive Director Rabbi Jerome Unger letter and filing to FARA Section "Enclosed wherewith are the two reports of Income and Expenditures of the American Zionist Council..."
08/20/1963 Nathan Lenvin query asking if Irene Bowman would accept as FARA registration, Bowman: "Absolutely not!"
08/22/1963 J. Walter Yeagley memo to Nicholas Katzenbach: "There is also attached a proposed letter from me to Judge Rifkind requesting a registration to be filed within ten days."
08/23/1963 J. Walter Yeagley to FBI Director "..registration was originally solicited by letter dated November 21, 1962...Pending a determination as to whether further letter should be written insisting on registration no investigation will be required. You will be kept advised of developments in this matter."
10/11/1963 DOJ Demand for AZC Registration "the Department expects a response from you within 72 hours with regard to this matter."
10/17/1963 J. Walter Yeagley notes of DOJ AZC meeting attended by Nicholas Katzenbach. "Judge Rifkind then made a plea for no registration, stating it was the opinion of most of the persons affiliated with the Council that such registration would be so publicized by the American Council on Judaism that it would eventually destroy the Zionist movement...he did not believe his clients would file any papers or sign any papers indicating that the organization was an agent of a foreign principal. I told him that any such information or material that is supplied on that basis would be made part of the Department's public files available for inspection by the public..."

Lyndon B. Johnson President, Robert F. Kennedy Attorney General

12/11/1963 AZC Counsel to DOJ "...our client is not prepared to register as an agent of a foreign government. It has, however, no reluctance to make this information available voluntarily..."
01/02/1964 Deputy AG Katzenbach asks DOJ FARA section to prepare a "reply for his signature in a friendly rather than a hostile tone...to the effect that the material he submitted is not satisfactory..."
01/10/1964 Deputy AG Katzenbach letter to AZC counsel "The material you submitted is much less useful than what I had expected you were going to submit and of course there is no disclosure unless the data is available for public inspection."
01/16/1964 AZC counsel Rifkind to Katzenbach "I shall try to accommodate my trip to Washington to some occasion when I am there on other business.."
02/03/1964 Nathan Lenvin meetings with AZC counsel Rifkind "Judge Rifkind opened the meeting by showing me a pamphlet distributed by the American Council for Judaism which contained charges that Zionists were acting as propaganda agents for the State of Israel...he was concerned that any disclosure which were being made should not be such as to substantiate these charges made by the American Council [for Judaism]... Mr. Rothenberg made one caviat, that they would have to be sure anything they submitted would not ultimately prejudice the organization in the eyes of the public."
02/10/1964 Ed Guthman Letter to J. Walter Yeagley "I don't see how we can accept a caveat that an organization won't submit information that might prejudice it publicly."
02/10/1964 J. Walter Yeagley letter to AZC counsel Rothenberg "the Department is not concerned with the Council's expenditures in connection with exempt activities such as Hebrew education and culture but requests that the Council submit a statement detailing its other expenditures and particularly those under the category of the Department of Information and Public Relations..."
02/12/1964 AZC counsel Rothenberg acknowledgement "I acknowledge receipt of your letter..."
03/16/1964 AZC counsel Rothenberg letter to Lenvin - "You are familiar, I know, with the agreement reached between Judge Rifkind and Mr. Katzenbach, in the presence of Mr. Yeagley, with regard to additional information to be furnished your Section. Such agreement was reached, as I understand it, in the realization by Mr. Katzenbach that with the present size of the staff of the Council it would be indeed burdensome to furnish your department with itemization of expenses of the past two years. A sample itemization was therefore forwarded to you for a period of approximately three months."
03/16/1964 James Weldon FARA letter to Rothenberg "it is requested you advise of your progress in this matter".
04/28/1964 AZC counsel Rothenberg letter to Weldon "Reference is made to my letter of March 16 addressed to Mr. Nathan B. Lenvin."
04/30/1964 Assistant AG Yeagley note to Deputy Attorney General Katzenbach "This is the most blatant stall we have encountered. Do you mind suggesting what we do next because all of us here would call their records before a grand jury."
05/4/1964 Assistant AG Yeagley note to Katzenbach forwarding 3/16/1964 Rothenberg inquiry "Here is tickler from Rothenberg about his March 16 letter on the American Zionist Council. Do you want me to do something on this?"

Lyndon B. Johnson President, Nicholas Katzenbach acting Attorney General

10/07/1964 Acting AG Katzenbach letter to AZC counsel Rothenberg "While we have endeavored to make our requests as reasonable as possible, we cannot accept your suggestion since the information offered is not in compliance with the Act or what we thought our understanding was with Judge Rifkind."
10/20/1964 Irene Bowman FARA section review of AZC filing for 1962 and 1962 - "sample itemization deemed deficient."
10/30/1964 Nathan Lenvin notes October 22, 1964 DOJ-AZC meeting - "Mr. Katzenbach had to excuse himself shortly after the meeting commenced because of urgent business elsewhere, but before he left he made clear to Mr. Rothenberg that, in response to the latter's assertion that to submit all of the financial information we had previously requested for a two- to two-and-a-half year period would be a great burden on the subject, we would accept a statement as to a typical three month expenditure projected for the entire period concerned." Assistant AG Yeagley notes "They are to include the names for confid[ential] info of the Dept.-not for public file."
11/04/1964 AZC counsel Rothenberg letter "Pursuant to understanding reached at our meeting...I write to give you an outline of the information to be submitted."
11/09/1964 Nathan Lenvin FARA section cover memo to Bowman "looks okay to me, please prepare a reply"
11/18/1964 J. Walter Yeagley letter to AZC counsel Rothenberg "Your proposed outline of the information to be contained in the report appears to be in accordance with our understanding."
11/23/1964 AZC counsel Rothenberg letter to Nathan Lenvin, FARA section - "In accordance with our understanding I have asked the American Zionist Council to proceed with the preparation of the report."
01/19/1965 Irene Bowman FARA section memo to Nathan Lenvin - "To date to my knowledge no such report has been submitted."

Lyndon B. Johnson President, Nicholas Katzenbach Attorney General

02/25/1965 Nathan Lenvin FARA memo to files - "The delay, according to Mr. Rothenberg, was caused by the inability of the subject to collect all of the information we wanted in the detail it was indicated..."
03/02/1965

Harry A. Steinberg, Executive Director AZC cover letter and filing to FARA section "There is also enclosed herewith, in duplicate, a listing of persons who have received funds as shown in the record of disbursements. Mr. Rothenberg has requested of you that this listing be kept separate and apart from the record of disbursements in any public files in your Section."

03/02/1965 AZC FARA section filing for April 1, 1962 to June 30, 1962 (public)
03/02/1965 AZC FARA section filing for April 1, 1962 to June 30, 1962 (non-public)
03/23/1965 Irene Bowman, FARA memo that AZC filing is in "substantial compliance" Irene Bowman handwritten note "I agree with the conclusion that the material be accepted and put into form for public examination."
03/24/1965 Irene Bowman, FARA retraction and list of AZC filing inadequacies "While it appears possible to make up a registration statement from documents furnished by a prospective registrant, these documents should furnish all of the information required by the Act to be stated in a registration statement. The above material, none of which is executed under oath, fails to provide the following information which is material for the purpose of the Act...:"
03/31/1965 Nathan Lenvin file transfer to J. Walter Yeagley - "Attached hereto is the entire file relating to the American Zionist Council and our efforts to obtain its registration under the terms of the Foreign Agents Registration Act...In her memorandum to Files, Mrs. Bowman points out certain lacunae, which fail to establish all of this material as meeting all of the requirements for registration...we were well aware that no full and complete registration statement in the ordinary sense would ever be received...only alternative to a refusal to accept what has been submitted as compliance with the Act would be to institute prosecutive proceedings, which would be impractical...no useful purpose would be served by including these names in the material which would be made available for public inspection."
4/08/1965 Nathan Lenvin instruction memo to Ulda Eldred, FARA section "The material filed by the American Zionist Council (AZC) was filed in accordance with an understanding between the Department and the AZC...If you should receive inquiries as to whether the AZC is registered under the Act, you should respond in the negative. You should advise, however, that the AZC has filed information with this Section which is available for public examination.
05/17/1965 Nathan Lenvin / J. Walter Yeagley notice to files - "...material of the AZC was placed in an expandable portfolio to distinguish it in appearance from the registration statements which are filed in manila folders. In the event Mrs. Eldred receives inquiries as to whether the AZC is registered under the Act, she has been instructed to respond in the negative."
05/14/1965 J. Walter Yeagley Yeagley requests closure of AZC case at the FBI "the material does not comprise a registration statement but does supply basic information regarding the activities of the AZC financed in part by the Jewish Agency..."
05/20/1965 Nathan Lenvin to J. Walter Yeagley on special handling/case closure - Yeagley handwritten note "OK. This seems to be what attorney Gen[eral] Kennedy and the then Dep[uty] AG Katzenbach had in mind."
06/22/1965 05/17/1965 New York Times article: AZC convenes a major meeting at Jewish Agency New York headquarters "revising its program to strengthen every phase of Jewish religious and cultural life in this country....there should be no appeasement at the expense of Israel." FARA section file copy, reviewed by DOJ officials.
11/27/1967
Archive
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee AIPAC applies for a federal tax exemption. The US Treasury Department grants it-backdated to 1953.

'Outrageous': Critics angered by new law making it illegal to wear a mask at unlawful protests

National Post

New law makes it illegal to wear a mask at unlawful protests

OTTAWA – A new change to the Criminal Code that makes it illegal to wear a mask at a protest or riot is likely to be challenged in the courts as limiting freedom of expression, experts say.

The clause makes it a crime for a person to attend an unlawful protest "while wearing a mask or other disguise to conceal their identity without lawful excuse." Supporters say it is one more tool to help the police maintain order, while civil liberties advocates say it tramples constitutional freedoms.

"It's outrageous, there's all kinds of legitimate reasons to mask your face in terms of a protest," said Micheal Vonn, policy director with the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association.

The bill, which just passed the Senate and awaits royal assent, is similar to a bylaw in Montreal that restricts mask-wearing during protests. A challenge to the constitutionality of that bylaw is before Quebec's Superior Court.

Is Israel's Controversial NGO Law Simply a 'Foreign Agent Registration Act'

Commentary Magazine

Israel's deputy minister of foreign affairs, Danny Ayalon, has written a persuasive defense of the Knesset's new inquiry panel that will investigate whether Israeli NGOs involved in the anti-Israel delegitimization movement are funded by foreign governments. Critics of the initiative have compared it to McCarthyism and say that it unfairly targets groups for their political beliefs. But Ayalon argues that the law is no different from the U.S. Foreign Agent Registration Act:


The Knesset panel of inquiry is simply about transparency. If there are groups who receive funds from foreign nations then the Israeli public deserves the right to know. Some voices have mistakenly declared that this type of inquiry is reminiscent of undemocratic regimes. Perhaps they should take a look at America's Foreign Agents Registration Act which is, according to the U.S. Department of Justice website, 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."

But while FARA laws apply equally to all individuals and organizations, regardless of political affiliation, it's unclear whether Israel's new law will apply only to groups involved in the delegitimization movement. Plus, FARA rules put the onus on foreign agents to register and disclose their own affiliations, while the whole concept of an investigative government panel is much more proactive. The American Jewish Committee, which normally doesn't comment on Israeli domestic policy, issued a harsh criticism of the new initiative yesterday.

"The selective targeting of groups critical of the IDF runs counter to Israel's legal and political tradition, and does no service to the one state that is a beacon of democracy in the Middle East," said AJC executive director David Harris in a press release. "If there is a concern that foreign, and possibly malign, forces are funding civic or political groups in Israel, then let there be a debate on the advisability of requiring full disclosure of the revenues, and their sources, of all such groups across the political spectrum."

I definitely applaud the idea of a FARA law for Israel, but I agree with the AJC that the policy shouldn't be based on the politics of the organization. News reports have indicated that the law singles out left-wing delegitimization groups; but from Ayalon's defense, I get the sense that it applies to all NGOs.

Of course, the Knesset obviously doesn't have time to investigate every NGO in Israel, and I'm sure politics will play a sizable role in which organizations ultimately get scrutinized.

In Ukraine participation in peaceful protest in masks and helmets is now prohibited

Google translation... The law was quickly repealed and its repletion was instrumental in overthouth of legitimate (abeit corrupt) government of President Yanukovich and installation of far right junta with neofascist Galician nationalists such as Parubiy holding prominent positions.
January 18, 2014

Another innovation for the rules of conduct during public events. Participate in peaceful protest with guns or fireworks, as well as masks and helmets - will be banned . Penalty - a fine of up to four thousand two hundred hryvnia or 15 days jail term. The police say that such a rule is typical for the EU countries , in particular, Germany.

[Jan 18, 2014] To Protect the Public, Government Plans to "Make" NGOs Foreign Agents

16 January 2014 | risu.org.ua

Today the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law "Introducing Amendments to the Law of Ukraine 'On the Judicial System and Status of Judges' and to Procedural Laws for Additional Measures to Protect the Security of Citizens," which envisages changes to the new law on NGOs concerning "public associations performing the functions of a foreign agent," Hromadskyi Prostir informs.

The law is supposed to strengthen security measures in respect to certain categories of persons and subjects, to increase penalties for certain criminal and administrative offenses, establish additional enforcement measures for the protection of public order, the rights and legitimate interests of citizens.

However, the bill includes the following:

2) Paragraph 14.1 in Article 14 will be supplemented with the sub-paragraph 14.1.371:

"14.1.371. A public association performing the functions of a foreign agent is a public association that in order to carry out its activity receives money or property from foreign states, their state structures, NGOs of other countries, international NGOs, foreign nationals, stateless persons or their authorized representatives who receive money or other property from specified sources, and is also involved in, including in the interest of foreign sources, political activity in Ukraine."

It seems that the Russian scenario for NGOs is being introduced here:

"A public association that has a legal status and intends to receive money or other property from foreign sources and to participate in political activities in the territory of Ukraine is obliged to submit (send), before it begin such activities, to the competent authority responsible for registration, with which it is registered, an application for inclusion in the Register of Public Associations information on a public association's activities as a public association performing the functions of a foreign agent. Information on a public association carrying out its activities with the status of a public association performing the functions of a foreign agent shall be included in the Register of Public Associations within five days of receiving the relevant application by the competent authority responsible for registration."

The definition of "a public association performing the functions of a foreign agent" is to appear in the new law on NGOs if the president signs the bill.

Amendments to the same bill affect articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Extremist activity, Article 1511. Slander and much more which puts an end to democratic rights and freedoms.

In July 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the federal law "Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Regarding the Regulation of Activities of Non-commercial Organizations Performing the Functions of Foreign Agents."

[Jan 18, 2014] Ukraine: Repeal Repressive New Legislation

January 18, 2014 | www.hrw.org

... new legislation that requires some independent groups to register as "foreign agents" and introduces numerous restrictions on public demonstrations, media, and the Internet. The legislation, which consists of dozens of amendments to numerous laws, was rammed through parliament in two days.

The amendments require Ukrainian groups that receive funding from foreign sources and participate in "political activities" to register as "foreign agents." They also criminalize libel, impose additional restriction on mass media and the Internet, and introduce administrative and criminal penalties for a wide range of violations related to protest activities.

"These amendments are a serious blow to basic freedoms, association, and expression," said Yulia Gorbunova, Ukraine researcher at Human Rights Watch. "They are obviously a response to the recent protests and are the biggest setback to rights in Ukraine in years."

... ... ...

During the morning of the session on January 16, several opposition deputies blocked the podium and prevented the parliament's chairman from leaving his office. Once the session started, and several minutes after the vote on the 2014 budget, the vice speaker proposed adding to the agenda other draft laws in the remaining time. The vice speaker also announced that since the opposition was trying to block the parliament's work, the voting on remaining laws would continue without debate and with a show of hands instead of using the electronic voting system.

Within 20 minutes, parliament had approved all the amendments and seven additional laws.

The amendments affect a series of Ukrainian laws, including the Code of Administrative Offenses, the Criminal Code, the Law on Civic Associations, the Law on Security Services, the Tax Code, the Law on the Status of Judges, and the Law on Telecommunications.

The amendments borrow heavily from similar legislation adopted in 2012 in Russia and used for cracking down on independent groups there. They require nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign funding and participate in "political activity" to register as "foreign agents" and include the words "foreign agent" in their names and all their materials. Political activities are broadly defined as involvement in "decision-making by state bodies, changing their defined public policy, and for forming public opinion for the above purposes."

Groups will have three months to register, and failure to comply may lead to the organization being disbanded by a court. "Foreign agent" groups will have additional tax burdens and extensive additional reporting requirements.

... ... ...

The amendments also introduce criminal responsibility for libel, decriminalized in Ukraine in 2001. They further criminalize "extremist activity," broadly defined as production, possession, and dissemination of "extremist" materials that may contain calls to capture state power by force or "interfere with activities of state authorities," including through media and the Internet as well as at public gatherings and rallies. Penalties range from a fine to up to three years in prison.

... ... ...

The law also introduces harsh criminal sanctions for certain violations – for example, up to five years in prison for blocking administrative buildings and premises.

The new legislative amendments introduce mandatory licensing of Internet providers and require all mass media that provides information services to the public to obtain state registration as an "information agency." They further allow the state to limit access to an information agency or an Internet resource that disseminates information that is "against the law" or operates without a license, including by blocking access to Internet sites without a court decision.

[Jan 18, 2014] Countering Color Revolutions: NGOs to get 'foreign agent' tag in Russia

July 2, 2012 | stratrisks.com

The ruling United Russia party, which sponsored the bill, says it is aimed at preventing foreign states from influencing Russia's domestic politics and emulates US legislation on foreign-funded NGOs.

"Obviously there are gaps in our legislation," one of the bill's authors, Alexander Sidyakin, a member of parliament for United Russia, told AFP on Monday.

He said the first reading was scheduled for Friday, while the second and third readings will take place next week. Under the broad bill, all Russian NGOs that are funded from abroad and ruled to be involved in politics or acting in the interests of foreign states and other international donors will have to register as "foreign agents" and submit to more rigorous checks by the authorities. A breach of the law would be punishable by hefty fines or jail time. Lyudmila Alexeyeva, 84-year-old head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, one of the first rights campaigners to appear in the Soviet Union, said her organisation would not register as a "foreign agent."

"They could cancel our registration - then we will work without registration like in Soviet times," she said. "The notion of 'a besieged fortress' has a strong hold on the minds in our country, and a 'foreign agent' is a stigma." The label "foreign agent" in Russian does not necessarily implicate the individual or organisation in espionage but does signal they receive finances from abroad and are acting in the interests of a foreign power.

Sidyakin is also an author of a controversial law that sharply raised fines for opposition protesters. It was rushed through parliament last month despite pleas from rights activists. In the run-up to parliamentary elections in December, Putin lashed out at Western attempts to "influence the course of the election campaign" through Russian NGOs, warning this was "money thrown to the wind".

His stinging criticism was widely seen as being directed at Moscow-based Golos, a small foreign-funded election observer which said the December parliamentary campaign and March presidential polls were riddled with irregularities.

[Jan 18, 2014] Foreign-Funded Nonprofits in Russia Face New Hurdle By ELLEN BARRY

July 2, 2012 | NYT

The bill would also put new burdens on nonprofit groups with foreign financing that are judged to be involved in politics, including annual audits and unannounced checks for the use of "extremist speech" in published materials. Organizations could face fines of as much as 1 million rubles, or $30,000, for violations.

Rights activists have excoriated the proposal as an attempt to discredit their work, arguing that Russian donors are afraid to support organizations that criticize the government, which then leaves them dependent on foreign sources for money.

... ... ...

The bill's sponsors say the law is no more restrictive than the Foreign Agents Registration Act, an American law requiring organizations to disclose foreign support. That law, however, applies only to entities that represent governments; the Russian proposal includes individual and private financial support as well.

Aleksandr Sidyakin, a United Russia deputy who also sponsored the law on demonstrations, has said that Russians need to be able to distinguish between civic initiatives and "the influence of foreign capital and foreign ideas."

"The ultimate goal of funding nonprofit organizations, as a form of 'soft power,' is a colored revolution," like the street protests that toppled leaders in Georgia and Ukraine, Mr. Sidyakin wrote on his blog on Friday. "This is not a myth of government propaganda, it is objective political reality. The United States is trying to affect Russian politics."

Mr. Sidyakin specifically mentioned nonprofit organizations that monitor elections - an activity that took on added relevance after widespread reports of election fraud set off protests in December. The most prominent such organization, Golos, has been monitoring Russian elections for 11 years and is financed by two American agencies, the National Endowment for Democracy and the United States Agency for International Development. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia seemed to single out Golos in a speech late last year, attacking "so-called grant recipients" and adding, "Judas is not the most respected biblical figure among our people."

... ... ...

Russia - NGO Law Monitor - Research Center - ICNL

The analysis of Russian variant of FARA from the US positions.
Organizational Forms Non-commercial organizations; public associations; foundations; institutions; non-commercial partherships; and autonomous non-commercial organizations
Registration Body Ministry of Justice
Approximate Number Of 220,000 NCOs, 50% are public associations
Barriers to Entry Certain persons, including foreign persons and stateless persons, may not become founders, members, or participants.

Registration procedures are overly bureaucratic, with excessive documentation requirements.

Barriers to Activities Burdensome reporting requirements.

Supervisory power allowing for interference with internal affairs of public associations and NCOs

Barriers to Speech and/or Advocacy Potential restrictions against NCO advocacy activity may arise through application of criminal or administrative penalties codes
Barriers to International Contact No legal barriers
Barriers to Resources Foreign or international organizations wishing to make tax-exempt grants to Russian citizens or NCOs must be on a list of organizations approved by the Russian Government; access to this list is severely limited.

NCOs that carry out political activities and receive foreign funding are labeled "NCOs carrying functions of a foreign agent."

Pending NCO Legislative / Regulatory Initiatives

On December 19, the Duma passed in the second reading the draft of FEDERAL LAW № 186614-6 On Measures of Influence of Persons, Relating to Violation of Human Rights, Rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation. It was initiated by a large group of deputies and is designed as a countermeasure to the Magnitsky bill, which is intended to punish Russian officials that were thought to be responsible for the death of Russian attorney Sergei Magnitsky by prohibiting their entrance to the United States and use of their banking system. The present text includes provisions restricting American citizens who violated human rights or the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens from entering Russia and from owning property in Russia. In addition, the present text restricts the adoption of Russian children by American citizens and a number of other provisions restricting the activities of NGOs. Such provisions are summarized below:

The third reading and adoption is scheduled for December 21. It is likely that the law will come into effect shortly after.

Please help keep us informed; if you are aware of other pending initiatives, write to ICNL at [email protected].

Pending NCO Legislative / Regulatory Initiatives

On December 19, the Duma passed in the second reading the draft of FEDERAL LAW № 186614-6 On Measures of Influence of Persons, Relating to Violation of Human Rights, Rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation. It was initiated by a large group of deputies and is designed as a countermeasure to the Magnitsky bill, which is intended to punish Russian officials that were thought to be responsible for the death of Russian attorney Sergei Magnitsky by prohibiting their entrance to the United States and use of their banking system. The present text includes provisions restricting American citizens who violated human rights or the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens from entering Russia and from owning property in Russia. In addition, the present text restricts the adoption of Russian children by American citizens and a number of other provisions restricting the activities of NGOs. Such provisions are summarized below:

The third reading and adoption is scheduled for December 21. It is likely that the law will come into effect shortly after.

Please help keep us informed; if you are aware of other pending initiatives, write to ICNL at [email protected].

Legal Analysis

Organizational Forms

The Russian Federation (Russia) recognizes a large number of organizational forms of non-governmental, non-commercial organizations (NCOs), resulting in a complex and oftentimes contradictory regulatory framework. The Civil Code and the Federal Law on Non-commercial Organizations (NCO Law) establish the primary NCO legal framework and define a variety of NCO forms (approximately 27), including public organizations, foundations, institutions, non-commercial partnerships; and autonomous non-commercial organizations. The primary requirements are that NCOs, whatever their type, do not have the generation of profit as their primary objective and do not distribute any such profit among their participants (Article 50(1), Civil Code). The Federal Law on Public Associations builds upon this framework and carves out a sub-category of NCOs called "public associations" which consist of public organizations, mass movements, public foundations, public institutions, and several other forms. Some 220,000 NCOs are registered in Russia; approximately 50% of them are public associations.

Public Benefit Status

NCOs may register as a charity pursuant to the Charities Law. Federal law, however, does not provide any benefits that are particular to registered charities. Although legislation at the regional and local levels offers tax benefits to charities, they do not necessarily require the organization to be registered as a charity at the federal level. Tax benefits under Russian law are primarily tied to the support or performance of particular activities specified in the Tax Code. Registration of an NCO as a charity pursuant to the Charities Law provides the organization with a particular status and subjects the organization to heightened scrutiny, but this status does not in itself provide any unique tax benefits.

Amendments enacted to the NCO Law in April 2010 introduced the status of "socially oriented" organizations ("SOOs"). Under the new law, SOOs are potentially eligible for governmental support. SOOs engage in a broad range of activities, including traditional charitable work, the provision of free-of-charge legal aid and the protection of human rights.

Barriers to Entry

Russian law defines certain restrictions regarding potential founders of NCOs. Regarding non-citizens, only those foreign nationals and stateless persons who are "legally domiciled in the Russian Federation" may be founders, members, or participants in public associations or NCOs. Certain persons may not become founders, members or participants, including:

Public associations, such as public organizations and public foundations, by definition can be created only by natural persons. These organizations cannot be founded by legal persons, but other public organizations may join as members (Articles 18 and 19, Law on Public Associations). By comparison, legal persons, including commercial entities, may found all other forms of NCOs.

A non-commercial organization shall be subject to state registration in compliance with the NCO law. Public associations shall be subject to state registration in compliance with the Law on Public Associations. The registration process for all types of NCOs is overly bureaucratic, with a long list of documents required to be submitted to the authorized governmental body. The same is true for foreign NCOs seeking to establish a branch office.

Barriers to Operational Activity

Non-commercial organizations, as a rule, have virtually no restrictions on the activities they may pursue as their primary objectives including mutual benefit activities (Article 6(1), NCO Law, and Articles 5, 8, Law on Public Associations).

All foundations are required to engage in public benefit activities (Article 118(1), Civil Code, Article 7(1), NCO Law, and Article 10, Law on Public Associations). The primary activities of institutions are broadly defined as any managerial, socio-cultural or other activities of a not-for-profit nature (Article 120, Civil Code, Article 9, NCO Law, and Article 11, Law on Public Associations). Charities are required to promote at least one of the enumerated charitable activities indicated in the law (Article 2, Charities Law). Certain restrictions apply to activities of certain specialized organizations, such as political organizations and labor unions.

Articles 29 and 38 of the Law on Public Associations impose burdensome reporting requirements on public associations (PAs), by requiring them to submit information about the funding and property they receive from foreign and international organizations and foreign persons to the registration authority. Article 32 of the Law on NCOs imposes reporting requirements for NCOs and requires NCOs to report on their use of funds and other assets received from both foreign and local sources. Repeated failure on the part of a PA or an NCO to provide the information required in a timely fashion is grounds for the registration authority to bring a claim in court requesting a ruling that the organization terminate its activities as a legal entity, which then leads to its exclusion from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. More recently, new electronic reporting forms for NCOs, prepared by the Ministry of Justice, have substantially simplified the reporting process.

Articles 29 and 38 of the Law on Public Associations and Article 32 of the NCO Law authorize governmental registration authorities to engage in highly intrusive means of scrutiny of public associations and NCOs without appropriate procedural protections. The registration authority may use the following tools to interfere in the internal operations of a PA or NCO:

Article 23 of the NCO Law also provides the registration authority with two additional intrusive supervisory powers over the branches, representative offices, and affiliates of foreign NCOs. The government can issue a written decision banning the implementation of any existing program of a branch office of a foreign NCO. The Law does not provide any guidance with respect to the grounds on which the government may make this decision, which appear to be entirely discretionary. Upon receipt of a decision, the office of the foreign NCO must terminate the activity, and if it fails to do so, it risks exclusion from the register and liquidation of the office. The Law also allows the registration authority to issue a written decision banning the transfer by an foreign NCO's branch, representative office, or affiliate of funds or other resources to particular recipients for the purposes of protecting the basis of the Constitutional system, morality, health, rights and lawful interests of other persons, and with the aim of defending the country and the state security. The Law does provide foreign NCOs the right to appeal against actions taken against them by the government.

Recent changes to the NCO Law and to the Law on Public Associations, which relate to NCOs performing functions of "foreign agents," further increase the administrative burden on NCOs by requiring NCOs designated as "foreign agents" to: 1) maintain separate accounting of funds and other property generated through local and foreign sources; 2) submit activity reports on a biannual basis; and 3) submit reports on expenditures of funds and other property on a quarterly basis (unlike other Russian NCOs which are required to submit activities and expenditures reports annually) . NCOs-foreign agents are also required to pass through an annual independent audit. Reporting forms are to be determined by the authorized government agency and could be burdensome if overly complex. In addition, the Law gives to the government invasive powers to interfere in the internal operations of an NCO and even to suspend their activities. These include:

( Article 32.3, NCO Law)
The MoJ has the discretion to decide whether an NCO qualifies as a "foreign agent" (i.e. whether an NCO received or has the intent to receive funding from foreign sources and whether a NCO conducted or has the intent to conduct political activities). An authorized government official, at his/her discretion, can decide to suspend the activities of any NCO, if, according to his/her opinion, the NCO carried out the functions of a foreign agent but failed to apply for registration in the registry of NCOs carrying out the functions of foreign agents, regardless of how defensible this decision might be.

An NCO whose activities have been suspended has the right to appeal the MoJ's suspension decision to either the highest body of the MoJ or to a court. The NCO Law does not determine what will happened to a NCO if, after the suspension of its activities, it does not apply for registration within the timeframe set by the MOJ. The NCO Law also provides an unclear description of legal consequences of suspending an NCO's activities. An NCO whose activities have been suspended will also be prohibited from conducting mass actions and public events and making bank deposits, with the exception of settling accounts related to economic activities and labor contracts, paying assessed damages, resulting from its activities, and paying taxes, dues and penalties.

Under the NCO Law, foreign organizations operating in Russia through registered offices will be subject to the following new requirements:

Barriers to Speech / Advocacy

Neither the Civil Code nor the NCO Law limits the ability of NCOs to engage in advocacy or political activities. All forms of public associations may participate in advocacy and lobbying activities. Under the law, NCOs generally may also engage in election campaigns for federal and local elections, subject to federal election laws (Article 27, Law on Public Associations).

Recent amendments to the NCO Law, relating to NCOs performing functions of a foreign agent, may potentially restrict political activities of NCOs. According to these amendments NCOs carrying political activities and receiving foreign funding, or, even intending to do so, are required to register in a special registry, maintained by the Ministry of Justice. Such registration, and, especially, labeling as "foreign agent" may result in additional administrative burdens for NCOs, as well as in damaging reputation of NCOs ( i"foreign agent" in Russian translation is perceived by general public as a "foreign spy). The threat of being labeled a "foreign agent" may discourage many organizations to carry political activities.

An NCO is considered to carry out political activity, if, regardless of its statutory goals and purposes, it participates (including through financing) in organizing and implementing political actions aimed at influencing the decision-making by state bodies intended for the change of state policy pursued by them, as well as in the shaping of public opinion for the aforementioned purposes. Such activities are considered political, regardless of whether a NCO is conducting them in the interest of foreign funding sources or without such purpose. A NCO carries political activities for the purpose of the Law if such activity takes place on the territory of the Russian Federation. (Article 2, NCO Law). An NCO is considered to be carrying out political activity if it even participates in such activities organized and financed for by other organizations.

Charities are expressly prohibited from using their assets to support political parties, movements, and campaigns (Article 2(2), Charities Law). In addition, religious organizations, governmental and municipal institutions, international public associations, and international movements are prohibited from making donations to candidates (Article 58 (6), Federal Law No. 19-FZ "On RF President elections," January 10, 2003, and Article 66 (7), Federal Law No. 175-FZ "On RF State Duma deputies elections," July 20, 2002, as amended). However, these prohibitions do not appear to extend to involvement in lobbying or other politically-related activities.

In June 2012, increases to existing fines for violating rules on participation in and organization of public protests were enacted when President Putin signed into law amendments to Code of the Russian Federation on administrative violations and to the Federal Law "On Assemblies, Meetings, Demonstrations, Marches and Picketing on June 8. These fines have a deterrent effect on the right to peaceful assembly. Fines for breaching provisions on holding public assemblies were increased by 150 times for individuals and 300 times for organizations. The new maximum penalty for participation in a protest that is not in accordance with government regulations is up to 300,000 rubles (approximately $9,000) for individuals and up to one million rubles (approximately $32,000) for organizations.

In July 2012, defamation was reintroduced as a criminal offence in Russia. The law was likely enacted to inhibit media criticism of Russia's leaders since media outlets can be fined up to two million rubles (approximately $61,000) for producing defamatory public statements.

Also in July 2012, changes introduced to the Law on Protecting Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development mandated the creation of a registry of websites that contain information which has been prohibited by a court order. Once a website is placed on this registry it can then be shut down without a court order. Government officials can interpret the law in a way that would increase Internet censorship and curb the freedom of expression of organizations that hold views that are different from the government's or the majority's views.

Barriers to International Contact

There are no legal barriers to international communication and contact.

Barriers to Resources

Foreign Funding

Russia enacted the law On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Regarding the Regulation of Activities of Non-commercial Organizations, Performing the Functions of Foreign Agents in November 2012. According to these amendments, NCOs carrying out "political activities" and receiving foreign funding, or, even intending to do so, are required to register in a special registry maintained by the Ministry of Justice. Such registration, and, especially, being labeled as a "foreign agent" may result in additional administrative burdens for NCOs, as well as in damaging the reputation of NCOs. The threat of being labeled a "foreign agent" may discourage many organizations to seek foreign funding.

Another formidable legal barrier against foreign funding relates to the giving of tax-exempt grants. Foreign or international organizations wishing to make tax-exempt grants to Russian citizens or NCOs must be on a list of organizations approved by the Russian Government. Such grants may be made only for purposes specified by Russian Tax Code: for the implementation of specific programs in the sphere of education, art, culture, health care (AIDS, drug addiction, children oncology, including oncohematology, children endocrinology, hepatitis, tuberculosis) environmental protection, protection of human and civil rights, social services of the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of citizens, as well as for holding specific scientific research.

In June of 2008, the Russian Government adopted Decree #485, regarding the Government's pre-approved list of foreign grantors (hereinafter referred to as the "List"). Decree #485 contained a reduced number of approved international organizations and made clear that as of January 1, 2009, only international organizations mentioned in the Decree could remain on the List. Grants from foreign organizations not included on the List are considered taxable income for Russian recipients, unless they otherwise qualify as donations under Russian law. (The current regulation is applicable only to grants; donations, including those from foreign organizations to non-commercial organizations are tax exempt.)

On March 24, 2009, Prime Minister Putin signed Decree #252, amending Decree #485. Decree #485 empowered the Ministry of Finance to make changes and additions to the List. Decree #252 instead authorizes interested ministries – and not solely the Ministry of Finance – to initiate changes and additions to the List.

In addition, NCOs must provide information regarding donations obtained from foreign organizations to the Ministry of Justice.

Domestic Funding

An NCO may engage in economic activities to the extent they advance the purposes for which the organization was created, but may not pursue the generation of profit as its primary purpose (Article 50(3), Civil Code, Articles 2 and 24(2), NCO Law, Article 37, Law on Public Associations, and Article 12, Charities Law). Profit from the economic activities of NCOs, including charities, is generally taxed in the same manner as for commercial organizations. Lower tax rates may be offered by regional or local authorities for qualifying NCOs. Registration as a charity does not affect or limit the right of an NCO to engage in economic activities (Article 12, Charities Law).

In July 2011, the Russian Parliament adopted amendments to the Russian Tax Code that substantially improve the taxation of NCOs. For example, NCOs no longer have to pay profit tax or value added tax (VAT) on the value of in-kind contributions (services or property rights) they receive. Moreover, the amendments extend VAT exemptions previously applied to state budget funded institutions providing social services (i.e. in the areas of culture, art, health care, education, and services to the needy) to NCOs providing the same services.

Foreign agents under Russia's NGO Law and its US doppelganger

Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI).
Tags: Legislation, RAPSI exclusive, U.S, Russia

12:57 27/07/2012

by Ingrid Burke, RAPSI

President Putin signed off on a high-profile bill that will relegate politically active NGOs receiving funding from abroad to a registry of "foreign agents." Once registered, these NGOs will face heightened scrutiny. They will be required to file regular disclosures with the government and to label all materials disseminated through major channels with their "foreign agent" status.

Responding to critics, Duma legislator and bill co-sponsors Alexander Sidyakin has pointed to the similarities between the law and the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a similarly worded US statute. In an effort to add depth to public discourse on the law, we have decided to take a look first at the similarities and differences between the law and its purported US counterpart, and then at the direct impact that the law will have on top Russian NGOs.

FARA and the NGO law: a brief comparison

The glaring similarities between these two laws are found in the nearly identical language used to describe certain provisions. Under both laws, individuals and organizations that meet their respective statutory definitions are designated as "foreign agents." Both laws are aimed at exposing actors engaged in political activity, and thus the supporters of both claim that the key benefit of each is in its capacity to increase transparency.

Another key similarity is in the hefty criminal sanctions that both laws carry if violated. FARA's sentencing guidelines provide for a fine of up to $10,000 or five years in prison for its violation. Violation of the NGO law can lead to a fine of up to one million rubles ($33,000) or a prison sentence of up to four years. Note, however, that the administrative sanctions and the penalty scheme will be thoroughly reviewed in the Duma's Fall session

Despite the similar wording of certain provisions of FARA and the NGO law, two key distinctions emerge when comparing the two side by side. First: whereas FARA - in its current form - is geared toward lobbying firms, the NGO law is geared directly and explicitly toward NGOs. Second: whereas under FARA the burden of proof for actions taken under the statute lies with the government, it is unclear who carries the burden of proof under the NGO law.

With regard to the first point, NGOs can theoretically be held to account under FARA if funded by a foreign principle and if failing to meet one of the very broad exemptions. Still, this has been extremely rare in practice. The purpose of the law is to reveal the amount of money paid to lobbyists in order to impact US government policy on behalf of foreign principles. And as discussed above, the exemptions are far-reaching enough to generally weed out organizations that weren't meant to fall within the law's scope, such as members of civil society.

If the NGO law was a mirror image of FARA, top Russian NGOs GOLOS and Transparency International Russia (TI-R) would likely fall under the FARA exemption that reaches organizations engaged in "activities not serving predominantly a foreign interest." To get a sense of the practical implications the law might carry for these NGOs, RAPSI spoke with GOLOS Association Deputy Executive Director Grigory Melkonyants and TI-R Director Elena Panfilova.

Doubts harbored by NGOs

Speaking to the comparison between the NGO law and FARA, Panfilova noted, "We have TI-USA, which is in an absolutely similar position with my organization. It receives domestic funding, it receives corporate funding, and of course… like [TI-R] - they receive funding from abroad from the TI secretariat [and it has not been targeted under the law.]" This owes both to the wording of this specific provision, and to our next point: the burden of proof.

Melkonyants believes that the differences might be even further reaching, speculating that the problem lies in the very attempt to juxtapose a US law with the Russian codes in the first place. He explained, "When copying a law from abroad, [the government] must consider the general population, and the underlying philosophy of the legal system, and the law's relationship to other laws, and the citizens to whom it will apply. If FARA had been adopted in the form in which it is applied in the US, it would not have affected GOLOS or any other human rights organizations. So Russia's 'analog' of the law has nothing to do with FARA."

Defending Russia's national interests

Critics of the law have expressed concern over the term "foreign agent" itself. Many fear that identification as a foreign agent will discredit NGOs at best, or cast them as spies at worst. Sidyakin dismissed these concerns while speaking about the law with RIA Novosti earlier this month, reasoning that, "the idea that 'foreign agent' means 'spy' is…. a hangover from the Soviet period in which our parents grew up…. "I don't think younger generations see the expression this way. We should try to get over Cold War terminology. I believe there is nothing insulting in this term."

Sidyakin went on to explain that the law was drafted in response to attempts to "affect Russian politics." He specifically called GOLOS out in a parliamentary meeting earlier this month, lambasting the "$2 million given to the organization in 2011 to dirty the Russian authorities."

Federation Council speaker Valentina Matvienko has voiced her support for the law. She explained in an interview with RIA Novosti that in her view, "the necessity of the law is obvious because any state is obligated to defend its national interests from foreign influence."

Vice-speaker of the State Duma Sergei Zheleznyak explained that there is currently a need for the law because "it is unclear in whose interest and on whose dime these NGOs were operating."

The USDOJ on FARA

The US Department of Justice (USDOJ) National Security Division spokesman Dean Boyd took the time to speak with RAPSI about FARA. Boyd stressed two major points about the law: its utility - as a public disclosure statute - in increasing legislative transparency, and the extent to which it is narrowly tailored to reach only as far as it needs to in order to serve the spirit of the law.

Speaking to the first point, Boyd explained, "The US Foreign Agents Registration Act is a public disclosure statute designed to ensure that the US Government and the people of the United States are informed of the source of information and the identity of persons attempting to influence US public opinion, policy, and laws. It is certainly appropriate for foreign governments and foreign political parties to lobby the United States - as long as they register with the Justice Department and publicly disclose their foreign affiliation with the U.S. government pursuant to FARA."

Another way to view this point is in terms of transparency. The measure is generally considered to promote transparency by virtue of the fact that it enables the general public to educate itself on the sources of income of powerful lobbies. In other words, the electorate has a right to know if a foreign government or other such entity is spending large amounts of money in the US for the sole purpose of influencing the policies established by their elected officials.
When asked about the effectiveness of the Act toward this end, Dean explained, "We believe FARA has been successful in helping the American public and the US government evaluate the information from and activities of such persons in light of their foreign associations."

On the second point, Boyd explained that FARA contains enough exemptions to ensure that individuals and organizations targeted under the law reflect the spirit of the law. "For example, diplomats and officials of foreign governments, and their staffs, are exempt if properly recognized by the US State Department. Persons whose activities are of a purely commercial nature or solely of a religious, scholastic, academic, scientific or fine arts nature are exempt," he explained.

Humanitarian relief efforts are exempt from the law as well. As Boyd noted, "Certain soliciting or collecting of funds to be used for medical aid, or for food and clothing to relieve human suffering are also exempt."

Foreign lawyers are protected as well. "Lawyers engaged in legal representation of foreign principals in the courts or similar type proceedings, so long as the attorney does not try to influence policy at the behest of his client, are exempt," he added.

Vagueness issues with the NGO law

Melkonyants and Panfilova are both currently bracing for the NGO law's impact. GOLOS and TI-R informed us of their respective plans to challenge the law.

Panfilova told us that TI-R is prepared to seek clarification on the meaning of "political activity" under the law once it has been enacted. Besides, "the… law is still pretty vague and [it is] difficult to comprehend what it means to influence public opinion," she explained. Finally, Panfilova noted that TI-R is going to ask the Constitutional Cort for clarification: "We are going to the Constitutional Court because it's not clear to what extent actions will be voluntary and at what point…. actions against those who are not going to get registered voluntarily will start."

On a whole, Panfilova explained that the law's biggest problem is a moral one. "It is altogether only a moral problem because I do believe that it's not right to label an organization which is not a foreign agent [as one]… But it's all about the dignity of an organization. It's all about the integrity of the organization and our name. Nothing else. And even signing things [with "foreign agent" status will be] okay."

GOLOS plans to pursue clarification on the meaning of "political activity" as well, but will seek this information out from the Justice Ministry.

Meanwhile, both NGOs would seek to challenge efforts to compel their adoption of foreign-agent status on the basis of the vague wording of "political activity." Melkonyants explained that GOLOS does not plan to be included in the registry because, "We are not engaged in political activities."

Funding options

When asked whether GOLOS would entertain the idea of foregoing foreign funding in order to escape the reach of the NGO law, Melkonyants answered, "It is entirely possible that GOLOS will have to consider [cutting its receipt of foreign support].... However, such a decision must be made responsibly and assume the presence of domestic sources capable of offering financial support comparable to foreign sources." Reflecting on the law's practical implications, Melkonyants explained, "At GOLOS people work for an ideal, and money is only a means of doing this work more efficiently. Of course, in the event of funding cuts, the scope of election observation may be affected. However, we will do our best to raise more funds domestically and to be more efficient."

TI-R, however, lacks the option of foregoing foreign funding based on its status as a branch of an international organization. According to Panfilova, "The format in which we exist doesn't provide us with the possibility not to have any [foreign funding] because we are part of an international organization, and of course [many of our activities are] covered by Transparency International as a big organization…. Love it or leave it, we do have foreign funding and it's not something we can do anything about."

In its current form, the law leaves Russian NGOs understandably anxious. The sanctions for its violation are steep, and its wording is fairly misleading. These provisions, however, are not yet set in stone. TI-R and GOLOS' readiness to seek clarification from Constitutional Court and the Justice Ministry, respectively, may help to reduce the tension. The sanctions may be fleeting, as the Duma plans to revisit them in the Fall

Foreign agent filings - Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group Lobbying Tracker

Which foreign agents have to register with the Feds By Brendan Koerner

July 10, 2003 | Slate Magazine

Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi, an Iraqi immigrant living outside Chicago, was arrested yesterday for having provided Saddam Hussein with intelligence on opposition figures residing in the United States. He was charged not with espionage, but rather for "acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government." Who qualifies as a foreign agent, and why do they have to register?

The Foreign Agent Registration Act stipulates that anyone in the United States who "acts at the order, request, or under the direction or control of a foreign principal" must make his connections known to the Department of Justice. The law was passed in 1938, in response to covert efforts by Nazi Germany to spread propaganda through American intermediaries. The most infamous of these was public-relations pioneer Ivy Lee. Ostensibly employed by the German Dye Trust, Lee actually worked for the Third Reich, which was looking to burnish its image in the United States; among Lee's ideas was a campaign to portray the Nazi rearmament program as integral to "preventing for all time the return of the Communist peril." FARA was drafted to ensure that the American public would know who was really funding such flackery.

The law requires that people representing "foreign principals"-primarily governments, but also some opposition parties, state companies (such as tourist boards or airlines), and individuals-register with the DOJ, make public all their related income and expenditures, and keep copious records of all activities. Any statements that the registrant publishes on behalf of her client must include a footnote stating that the author is acting as an agent of a foreign principal.

Lobbyists for a few foreign corporations, like Japan's Hitachi, are registered under FARA, but most such K Street habitués opt instead to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. This law allows people representing nongovernmental foreign clients to register with Congress rather than the DOJ, and its reporting requirements are considered far less stringent. Diplomats, academics, and charity workers are also exempt from FARA.

Many FARA registrants belong to white-shoe PR firms like Hill & Knowlton or Burson-Marsteller, which specialize in creating positive images inside the Beltway. For example, according to the last FARA report, the DCI Group has the unenviable task of "improving relations between the Governments of the United States and the Union of Myanmar." (The company was paid at least $100,000 for its communications work.) Also among past FARA registrants is Bob Dole, who signed up in 1998 while advising the government of Taiwan.

Before Dumeisi's arrest, there had been only three criminal cases involving FARA violations, which now carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; none of the three ended in a conviction.

[Jun 06, 2013] 18 USC § 219 - Officers and employees acting as agents of foreign principals Title 18 - Crimes and Criminal Procedure U.S.

law.cornell.edu

a) Whoever, being a public official, is or acts as an agent of a foreign principal required to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 or a lobbyist required to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 in connection with the representation of a foreign entity, as defined in section 3(6) of that Act shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

(b) Nothing in this section shall apply to the employment of any agent of a foreign principal as a special Government employee in any case in which the head of the employing agency certifies that such employment is required in the national interest. A copy of any certification under this paragraph shall be forwarded by the head of such agency to the Attorney General who shall cause the same to be filed with the registration statement and other documents filed by such agent, and made available for public inspection in accordance with section 6 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended.

(c) For the purpose of this section "public official" means Member of Congress, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, either before or after he has qualified, or an officer or employee or person acting for or on behalf of the United States, or any department, agency, or branch of Government thereof, including the District of Columbia, in any official function, under or by authority of any such department, agency, or branch of Government.

Foreign Agents Registration Act

OpenCongress Wiki

Online access

In May 2007, the Justice Department launched a searchable online database of filings under the act. A spokesperson stated "This has been underway for years...Part of the statute calls for this to be publicly available and we are just doing it in a way that is more user-friendly." Previously, the FARA database had been available to the public only at the agency's Washington D.C. office, during limited hours.[3]

Contact details

Department of Justice
Registration Unit
1400 New York Avenue, N.W.
1st Floor - Public Office
Suite 100
Washington, D.C. 20005
Website: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fara

Sheldon I. Cohen - FOREIGN INFLUENCE AND FOREIGN PREFERENCE CONSIDERATIONS

0671743392

Institutionalized corruption in America's political system, July 22, 1997 By A Customer

This review is from: Agents Of Influence (Hardcover) A onetime Vice Presidential Candidate of Ross Perot's, political expert and Washington insider Pat Choate exposes the roots of political corruption endemic in America's highest elected offices.

Mr. Choate tries to shock us awake with examples of how American interests are being quashed by paid lobbyists working for foreign entities who repeatedly beat us by our own rules of political accessibility.

The style is typically dry, but the subject matter is truly horrifying. You won't believe how our highest government officials are selling us out.

Super Committee Under the (Foreign) Influence

Every year foreign governments spend hundreds of millions of dollars hiring lobbying and public relations firms to increase their influence in the United States. Lobbyists working on behalf of these foreign governments (foreign lobbyists) contact policymakers thousands of times annually, and the members of the "Super Committee" are no exception. Through lobbyists, foreign governments safeguard their interests in Washington. This is critically important now as some of the proposals currently being considered, such as cuts to foreign aid and U.S. subsidies to the security of foreign nations, would affect foreign interests. Foreign lobbyists have taken note and are already beginning their efforts to shape the work of the Super Committee.

For instance, lobbyists for South Korea have muscled in on Super Committee action. The top foreign lobbying firm in the U.S., Patton Boggs, LLP, was hired in February 2010 on behalf of both the non-profit Korean International Trade Association and the Embassy of South Korea to advocate for passage of the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement. They targeted committee co-chair Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) in a September 14, 2011 letter at least partly on the basis of her work on the Super Committee. The letter from Patton Boggs' senior partner Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr., to Murray states:

Ambassador Han would like to discuss the status of the pending US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), including in the context of the ongoing deficit reduction discussions in which you play a crucial role…The Ambassador is anxious to discuss these matters, as well as to update you on KORUS's benefits for the United States, particularly the State of Washington.

Senator Murray's office confirmed that her office met with lobbysts with Patton Boggs on September 29, according to an article by Janie Lorber of Roll Call. Lorber noted that the Super Committee "itself is not expected to address the pending deals in its budget reduction proposal, but Murray, who has supported past free-trade deals, could have access to information about how the timing of the debt deliberations could affect passage of the free-trade agreements."

Foreign Lobbyists Have Lobbied Current Super Committee Members in the Past

Murray's meeting with foreign lobbyists is not unique: in the past year, all twelve members of the Super Committee have been contacted by at least one foreign lobbyist. Over that same period, all but two members, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), have received campaign contributions from foreign lobbyists, according to Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) records.

From contacting Representative Dave Camp (R-MI) about promoting the sale of F-16's to Taiwan, to meeting with Senator Rob Portman's (R-OH) chief of staff to promote U.S.-Philippines trade legislation, the agents of foreign governments have had these legislators in their cross-hairs.

Based upon FARA records filed in 2011, members of the Super Committee have also received more than $50,000 in direct campaign contributions from foreign lobbyists, and untold more through fundraisers held by these lobbying firms. While this is just a fraction of the more than $6 million the members of the Super Committee have raised in the 2012 election cycle, according to data from the non-profit Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), the timing of these contributions raises questions as they often coincide with Congressional contacts.

Israel strikes a blow to foreign influence of its policies - israel today

israel today

Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved two bills that will significantly hinder the ability of foreign governments and organizations to influence Israeli politics.

The first bill passed by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation puts an NIS 20,000 (approx. $5,500) annual limit on the amount of foreign donations that can be received by an Israeli NGO that seeks to influence Israeli government policy.

The second bill then slaps a 45 percent tax on any of those donations that came from foreign governments. NGOs that also receive direct funding from the Israeli government - such as educational or social welfare organizations - will remain tax-exempt.

The bills were hotly debated both in the cabinet and by the Israeli public.

Opponents of the bills, including six government ministers, argued that they were detrimental to the democratic nature of the Jewish State, and could be perceived as discrimination against certain sectors of society.

Proponents argued that the bills do not target any particular sector of society - all NGOs will be subject to the new rules - and that they are perfectly in line with similar laws in other Western democracies.

For instance, the American Foreign Agent Registration Act requires NGOs supported by foreign funds to register as "foreign agents" and to make public their relationship to their foreign donors. It is also prohibited for foreign governments and organizations to contribute financially to the election campaigns of American officials.

Still, many in Israel argued that the Netanyahu government had gone a step too far by cutting off the foreign money lifeline of many NGOs, a move they insisted would limit free speech.

But do foreign governments have a right to free speech within the political framework of a sovereign nation?

Writing for the popular conservative blog Volokh Conspiracy, David Bernstein responded to European pressure that Netanyahu shelf the NGO bills:

"So the idea here, obviously is that a 'democratic' country must allow foreign governments, who represent foreign citizens and not Israelis, to interfere in its domestic politics by supporting organizations that range from the fringe left to beyond the fringe left. ...Imagine if Israel was funneling millions of Euros annually to Basque separatists in Spain, Flemish nationalists in Belgium, or to one of numerous neo-fascist fronts in Norway and France. I have a very strong feeling that the EU's views of what 'democratic' countries must tolerate from foreign governments would change rather quickly."

The NGOs that are likely to be most affected by these new bills are left-wing organizations that receive much of their funding from the European Union, often from the governing body itself. It is telling that these NGOs are often unable to raise significant funds among the Israeli public.

Recommended Links

Google matched content

Softpanorama Recommended

Top articles

[Apr 26, 2019] Jared Kushner, Not Maria Butina, Is America's Real Foreign Agent by Philip Giraldi Published on Apr 25, 2019 | ronpaulinstitute.org

Sites



Etc

Society

Groupthink : Two Party System as Polyarchy : Corruption of Regulators : Bureaucracies : Understanding Micromanagers and Control Freaks : Toxic Managers :   Harvard Mafia : Diplomatic Communication : Surviving a Bad Performance Review : Insufficient Retirement Funds as Immanent Problem of Neoliberal Regime : PseudoScience : Who Rules America : Neoliberalism  : The Iron Law of Oligarchy : Libertarian Philosophy

Quotes

War and Peace : Skeptical Finance : John Kenneth Galbraith :Talleyrand : Oscar Wilde : Otto Von Bismarck : Keynes : George Carlin : Skeptics : Propaganda  : SE quotes : Language Design and Programming Quotes : Random IT-related quotesSomerset Maugham : Marcus Aurelius : Kurt Vonnegut : Eric Hoffer : Winston Churchill : Napoleon Bonaparte : Ambrose BierceBernard Shaw : Mark Twain Quotes

Bulletin:

Vol 25, No.12 (December, 2013) Rational Fools vs. Efficient Crooks The efficient markets hypothesis : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2013 : Unemployment Bulletin, 2010 :  Vol 23, No.10 (October, 2011) An observation about corporate security departments : Slightly Skeptical Euromaydan Chronicles, June 2014 : Greenspan legacy bulletin, 2008 : Vol 25, No.10 (October, 2013) Cryptolocker Trojan (Win32/Crilock.A) : Vol 25, No.08 (August, 2013) Cloud providers as intelligence collection hubs : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : Inequality Bulletin, 2009 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Copyleft Problems Bulletin, 2004 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Energy Bulletin, 2010 : Malware Protection Bulletin, 2010 : Vol 26, No.1 (January, 2013) Object-Oriented Cult : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2011 : Vol 23, No.11 (November, 2011) Softpanorama classification of sysadmin horror stories : Vol 25, No.05 (May, 2013) Corporate bullshit as a communication method  : Vol 25, No.06 (June, 2013) A Note on the Relationship of Brooks Law and Conway Law

History:

Fifty glorious years (1950-2000): the triumph of the US computer engineering : Donald Knuth : TAoCP and its Influence of Computer Science : Richard Stallman : Linus Torvalds  : Larry Wall  : John K. Ousterhout : CTSS : Multix OS Unix History : Unix shell history : VI editor : History of pipes concept : Solaris : MS DOSProgramming Languages History : PL/1 : Simula 67 : C : History of GCC developmentScripting Languages : Perl history   : OS History : Mail : DNS : SSH : CPU Instruction Sets : SPARC systems 1987-2006 : Norton Commander : Norton Utilities : Norton Ghost : Frontpage history : Malware Defense History : GNU Screen : OSS early history

Classic books:

The Peter Principle : Parkinson Law : 1984 : The Mythical Man-MonthHow to Solve It by George Polya : The Art of Computer Programming : The Elements of Programming Style : The Unix Hater’s Handbook : The Jargon file : The True Believer : Programming Pearls : The Good Soldier Svejk : The Power Elite

Most popular humor pages:

Manifest of the Softpanorama IT Slacker Society : Ten Commandments of the IT Slackers Society : Computer Humor Collection : BSD Logo Story : The Cuckoo's Egg : IT Slang : C++ Humor : ARE YOU A BBS ADDICT? : The Perl Purity Test : Object oriented programmers of all nations : Financial Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : The Most Comprehensive Collection of Editor-related Humor : Programming Language Humor : Goldman Sachs related humor : Greenspan humor : C Humor : Scripting Humor : Real Programmers Humor : Web Humor : GPL-related Humor : OFM Humor : Politically Incorrect Humor : IDS Humor : "Linux Sucks" Humor : Russian Musical Humor : Best Russian Programmer Humor : Microsoft plans to buy Catholic Church : Richard Stallman Related Humor : Admin Humor : Perl-related Humor : Linus Torvalds Related humor : PseudoScience Related Humor : Networking Humor : Shell Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2012 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2013 : Java Humor : Software Engineering Humor : Sun Solaris Related Humor : Education Humor : IBM Humor : Assembler-related Humor : VIM Humor : Computer Viruses Humor : Bright tomorrow is rescheduled to a day after tomorrow : Classic Computer Humor

The Last but not Least Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand ~Archibald Putt. Ph.D


Copyright © 1996-2021 by Softpanorama Society. www.softpanorama.org was initially created as a service to the (now defunct) UN Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP) without any remuneration. This document is an industrial compilation designed and created exclusively for educational use and is distributed under the Softpanorama Content License. Original materials copyright belong to respective owners. Quotes are made for educational purposes only in compliance with the fair use doctrine.

FAIR USE NOTICE This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to advance understanding of computer science, IT technology, economic, scientific, and social issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided by section 107 of the US Copyright Law according to which such material can be distributed without profit exclusively for research and educational purposes.

This is a Spartan WHYFF (We Help You For Free) site written by people for whom English is not a native language. Grammar and spelling errors should be expected. The site contain some broken links as it develops like a living tree...

You can use PayPal to to buy a cup of coffee for authors of this site

Disclaimer:

The statements, views and opinions presented on this web page are those of the author (or referenced source) and are not endorsed by, nor do they necessarily reflect, the opinions of the Softpanorama society. We do not warrant the correctness of the information provided or its fitness for any purpose. The site uses AdSense so you need to be aware of Google privacy policy. You you do not want to be tracked by Google please disable Javascript for this site. This site is perfectly usable without Javascript.

Last modified: September, 11, 2020