At the start of a new Congress, the House and Senate, and their committees, adopt internal rules that govern their operations, including rules that affect congressional investigations. These rules are often revised from Congress to Congress. To assist our clients responding to congressional investigations, this alert summarizes the rules for
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FARA Reform Legislative Activity Heats Up
There is near universal agreement among policymakers, lawyers, and lobbyists that the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) is deeply in need of legislative reforms to update the statute and bring it in line with modern practices. Agreeing on specific amendments, however, has been challenging, and several prior efforts ended with
Continue Reading FARA Reform Legislative Activity Heats UpDepartment of Justice Reveals Support for Eliminating the LDA Exemption to FARA and Other FARA Reforms
The Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “The Department”) recently released a letter, sent to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and a bipartisan group of Senators a few weeks ago, in which DOJ expressed support for eliminating the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”) registration exemption to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”).
Continue Reading Department of Justice Reveals Support for Eliminating the LDA Exemption to FARA and Other FARA ReformsThe Supreme Court Strikes Down Restrictions on Repayment of Candidate Loans. What Next?
As we previewed in the fall, the Supreme Court today struck down the longstanding statutory prohibition on the use of funds raised after Election Day to repay a candidate loan in Federal Election Commission v. Cruz. Although the outcome of the case—which was brought by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Continue Reading The Supreme Court Strikes Down Restrictions on Repayment of Candidate Loans. What Next?Covington Releases 50-State Survey of Campaign Finance, Lobbying, and Gift Rules (2022 Edition)
Corporations, trade associations, non-profits, other organizations, and individuals face significant penalties and reputational harm if they violate state laws governing corporate and personal political activities, the registration of lobbyists, lobbying reporting, or the giving of gifts or items of value to government officials or employees. To help organizations and individuals
Covington Releases 400-Page, 50-State Survey of Pay-to-Play Rules (2022 Edition)
Companies doing business with state and local governments or operating in regulated industries are subject to a dizzying array of “pay-to-play” rules. These rules effectively prohibit company executives and employees (and in some cases, their family members) from making certain personal political contributions. Even inadvertent violations can be dangerous: a
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DOJ Solicits Comments for Potential Major Changes to FARA Regulations
Last week, the Department of Justice published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), the first step toward a major rulemaking that DOJ says would “modernize” the current regulations, including by clarifying certain exemptions and definitions.
In a client alert today, we review key portions of the ANPRM and the
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Congressional Investigations and the Rules of the 117th Congress
Congressional investigations have continued to play a significant role in the 117th Congress. In February 2021, we predicted that the Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate would target investigations at the private sector, and this prediction turned out to be correct. Already in 2021, committees in both
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The House Oversight Committee Investigative Agenda for the Next Two Years Highlights Likely Private Sector Targets for Congressional Investigations
Earlier today, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s “Oversight Plan” was published. The Oversight Plan provides a very useful roadmap of the Committee’s investigative priorities and should be seen as a fair warning to the industries and companies identified in the plan.
In a client alert today, we review
Continue Reading The House Oversight Committee Investigative Agenda for the Next Two Years Highlights Likely Private Sector Targets for Congressional Investigations
Supreme Court Narrows Meaning of TCPA Autodialer Definition
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Facebook v. Duguid, adopting a narrow interpretation of a key definitional term in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and resolving the circuit split we previously described here and here.
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