Photo of Brian D. Smith

Brian D. Smith

Brian Smith provides strategic and legal advice on matters that require substantial political, reputational, or government relations considerations.  He represents companies and individuals in high-profile or high-risk investigations, particularly congressional investigations, criminal investigations with political implications, and investigations related to political law compliance.  He has significant experience in crisis management, where he advises clients facing combined legal, political, and media relations risks.  His practice also includes the development and execution of government relations initiatives, including securing the U.S. government’s political support on behalf of U.S. companies facing international legal issues.

Subscribe to all posts by Brian D. Smith

Financial Institutions and Congressional Investigations – 2020 into 2021

By Robert Kelner, Brian D. Smith, Angelle Smith Baugh and Brendan Parets on Posted in Congressional Investigations
Financial institutions are consistently targets of congressional oversight interest. In the last Congress, House and Senate committees held hearings with, demanded documents from, requested interviews with, and hosted briefings from a number of bank and non-bank financial institutions regarding a variety of issues. In a recent client alert, we looked at recent trends in congressional … Continue Reading

Governing Under an Equally Divided Senate

By Brian D. Smith, Muftiah M. McCartin and Brendan Parets on Posted in Political Law
After the election of two Democratic Senate candidates in the Georgia runoff elections on January 5, 2021, the Senate this year will be equally divided between 50 Democratic Senators (and those caucusing with them) and 50 Republican Senators. Governing in an equally divided Senate presents several challenges regarding the internal rules of the Senate, the … Continue Reading

A Curious Advisory Opinion Reinterprets the FARA Exemption for Lawyers (and Resolves a FARA Mystery)

By Brian D. Smith, Robert Kelner, Derek Lawlor and Alex Langton on Posted in Foreign Agents Registration Act
Last week, the Department of Justice’s FARA Unit released a curious advisory opinion.  The new opinion stated that it replaced an advisory opinion released by the Department in December 2019, and it revised the Department’s guidance on the scope of the lawyers’ exemption to FARA.  As far as we can tell, this is the first … Continue Reading

Congressional Investigations: Recent Events Bring Greater Clarity to Expectations for 2021

By Brian D. Smith on Posted in Congressional Investigations
As the calendar turns from 2020 to 2021, we are taking stock of congressional investigations over the past two years, and assessing events in the recent weeks that help to shed light on the likely trajectory for congressional investigations in 2021. In late October, we considered congressional investigations in the context of the upcoming election. … Continue Reading

Sen. Grassley’s Unsuccessful Effort to Pass FARA Reform Legislation Leads to Bipartisan Commitment for Comprehensive Review of the Law

By Robert Kelner and Brian D. Smith on Posted in Foreign Agents Registration Act
On Wednesday, December 16, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sought, and failed to achieve, unanimous consent to pass legislation that would have granted significant new powers to the Department of Justice to enforce compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act.  In objecting to passage, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said that the Senate should “take a step … Continue Reading

DOJ Begins to Move Existing FARA Registrants to a New E-File System

By Robert Kelner, Brian D. Smith and Alex Langton on Posted in Foreign Agents Registration Act
Following the Department of Justice’s announcement in March 2019 of an initiative to increase enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), the Department began rolling out a new electronic filing system for FARA registrations in September 2019. At that time, as Covington reported, the new system applied only to new registrants, and the Department … Continue Reading

Congressional Pandemic Oversight Bodies Begin to Take Shape

By Robert Kelner, Brian D. Smith, Muftiah M. McCartin and Morgan Schreurs on Posted in Congressional Investigations, Political Law
As we reported in our prior client advisory on the wave of investigations to follow the pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act established three new bodies to conduct oversight and investigations on pandemic-related issues. Separately, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a special committee to conduct additional pandemic-related oversight. In recent weeks, … Continue Reading

Past as Prologue: The Wave of Investigations to Follow the Pandemic Recovery and Actions that Companies Can Take Now to Prepare

By Robert Kelner, Brian D. Smith and Morgan Schreurs on Posted in Government Ethics
On March 30, 2020, the inspectors general of several major agencies selected the Department of Defense Inspector General, Glenn Fine, to lead a newly created federal oversight entity that will investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in connection with the massive new coronavirus economic relief legislation. The inspectors general were exercising new authority contained in the … Continue Reading

Congress Creates New Oversight Functions for Coronavirus Relief

By Robert Kelner, Brian D. Smith and Morgan Schreurs on Posted in Congressional Investigations
Although a final version of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is not yet available, based on what we know so far, it appears that the legislation will include the provisions described below establishing oversight functions for the use of stimulus and bailout funds.  According to a number of sources, the bill … Continue Reading

Drug Pricing Investigations in the 116th Congress

By Brian D. Smith, Gary Heimberg and Morgan Schreurs on Posted in Congressional Investigations
Consistent with popular predictions and our prior posts, Congress made drug pricing a key item on its investigative agenda in the first year of the 116th Congress.  Several factors contributed to the uptick in congressional drug pricing oversight activity, including the elevation of new Democratic chairs in the House with longstanding interests in drug pricing … Continue Reading

New Changes to Foreign Agents Registration Act Forms and E-File System

By Robert Kelner, Brian D. Smith, Derek Lawlor and Alex Langton on Posted in Foreign Agents Registration Act
Following the Department of Justice’s announcement in March of an initiative to increase enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), the Department has rolled out a new e-file system for FARA registrations.  Notably, the new system only applies to new registrants, although the Department indicated that it will transition existing registrants to the new … Continue Reading

Florida FARA Case Leaves Troubling Precedent

By Brian D. Smith and Robert Kelner on Posted in Foreign Agents Registration Act, Litigation
On May 7, 2019, a federal District Court in the Southern District of Florida ruled that an American company, RM Broadcasting, must register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) for its agreement to broadcast radio programming from Rossiya Segodnya (meaning “Russia Today”), a Russian state-owned news agency.  Although the decision … Continue Reading

Appropriations Committee Directs New FARA Guidance on Commercial Exemption

By Brian D. Smith on Posted in Foreign Agents Registration Act
The House Appropriations Committee has quietly directed the Department of Justice to issue new guidance on the commercial exemption to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) with respect to state-owned companies.  The directive came in a Committee report accompanying legislation that provides funding for the Department for fiscal year 2020.  The report was approved by … Continue Reading

Congressional Investigations and the Rules of the 116th Congress

By Robert Kelner, Brian D. Smith and Muftiah M. McCartin on Posted in Congressional Investigations
With Congress heavily engaged in launching and pursuing new congressional investigations, particularly since the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives, many of our clients have questions regarding the rules that govern congressional investigations. While many aspects of congressional investigations are not subject to any rules at all, the House, Senate, and their respective committees … Continue Reading

New Department of Justice FARA Opinion May Narrow the “LDA Exemption”

By Robert Kelner and Brian D. Smith on Posted in Foreign Agents Registration Act
The Department of Justice’s FARA Unit appears to have signaled a significant narrowing in the scope of a major FARA exemption that is especially important to private sector companies, including U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporations.  The apparent narrowing of FARA’s exemption for those who register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”) appeared in an advisory … Continue Reading

Congressional Investigations After the Midterm Elections

By Brian D. Smith on Posted in Congressional Investigations
Brian Smith delivered the following remarks during Covington’s post-election conference call with clients on November 8, 2018. “Restoring the Constitution’s checks and balances to the Trump administration.”  That’s what Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi promised in her speech after the elections. Congressional oversight and investigations thrive in divided government, and Democratic leaders are already promising a … Continue Reading

Are You Ready For Your Congressional Investigation?

By Brian D. Smith on Posted in Congressional Investigations
If the current polls and predictions are accurate, the Democratic party is poised to take control of the House of Representatives next year, for the first time since 2010.  Congressional investigations thrive in divided government, and Democratic leaders in Congress are already promising a new wave of investigations. My new article in Law360 examines the … Continue Reading

New Wave of Trade Lobbying Presents FARA Registration Concerns

By Robert Kelner and Brian D. Smith on Posted in Foreign Agents Registration Act
Washington is awash with lobbyists seeking to address new steel and aluminum tariffs, and other potential tariffs, on behalf of both foreign and domestic clients.  Lobbying on trade issues in some circumstances may trigger Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) obligations.  The connection between trade lobbying and FARA was the subject of close scrutiny several decades … Continue Reading

The Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”): A Guide for the Perplexed

By Robert Kelner and Brian D. Smith on Posted in Foreign Agents Registration Act
Eighty years ago, Congress enacted the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), requiring “foreign agents” to register with the Attorney General. As amended over the years, it applies broadly to anyone who acts on behalf of a “foreign principal” to, among other things, influence U.S. policy or public opinion. Until recently, it was a backwater of … Continue Reading

House of Representatives Seeks to Strengthen Subpoena Enforcement Dramatically

By Brian D. Smith and Muftiah M. McCartin on Posted in Congressional Investigations
In late October, the House of Representatives quietly approved a bill that would dramatically strengthen Congress’s procedures for enforcing congressional subpoenas.  In adopting the bill, the bipartisan leadership of the House Judiciary Committee highlighted the challenges that Congress faces in obtaining materials from executive branch agencies.  Significant portions of the bill, however, apply to all … Continue Reading

Grassley Legislation Would (Re)Impose FARA Obligations on Private Sector Entities

By Brian D. Smith on Posted in Foreign Agents Registration Act
With the Foreign Agents Registration Act in the news and public awareness of this formerly obscure statute at an all-time high, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced legislation last week to revise the statute significantly, including reversing a decision Congress made in 1995 to remove most private sector reporting from FARA and place it instead under … Continue Reading

Rep. Gowdy Plans Deeper Oversight

By Robert Kelner, Brian D. Smith, Gabe Neville and Andrew Garrahan on Posted in Congressional Investigations
The new chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Representative Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), outlined his plans for the Committee last week.  As we expected, Mr. Gowdy said that he would pursue more methodical investigations.  Noting that hearings are “an inefficient way to gather facts,” Mr. Gowdy said that the Committee would pursue … Continue Reading

Grassley Defends Congressional Oversight; House Democrats Turn to Statutory Oversight Authority

By Robert Kelner, Brian D. Smith and Andrew Garrahan on Posted in Congressional Investigations
The Trump administration’s efforts to curtail congressional oversight of executive branch agencies by individual Members of Congress, including ranking Democratic Members of Committees, ran into significant opposition from an unlikely source:  Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Republican Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Sen. Grassley’s strong reaction is consistent with his role as perhaps Congress’s … Continue Reading
LexBlog