Every four years, prosecutors at the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) train their sights on money spent to influence the outcome of the presidential election—and those who spend it. While the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has exclusive jurisdiction to penalize and enforce civil violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), 52 U.S.C. § 30101 et … Continue Reading
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
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
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
Covington issued several client alerts in recent years warning of a rising tide of enforcement of the once-obscure Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (“FARA”). Signs of this trend emerged long before the recent, high-profile Special Counsel’s Office investigation. Nonetheless, there was persistent skepticism abroad in the land, particularly among businesses outside the lobbying industry, … Continue Reading
As the Foreign Agents Registration Act continues to receive national attention, an article in this quarter’s PLI Current journal describes the Justice Department’s increased focus on the statute. The article, authored by Covington’s Rob Kelner, Zack Parks, and Alex Langton, discusses the shifting FARA enforcement landscape, analyzes how the statute works, and addresses pending FARA … Continue Reading
In a 2014 blog post about the Dinesh D’Souza case, we speculated that it might have been one of the first “straw donor” cases identified based on automated analysis of campaign finance disclosure reports. It’s not clear that was actually the case, though the Department of Justice did say at the time that “the indictment … Continue Reading
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
Covington today released an updated version of its manual for Chiefs of Staff to Members of Congress concerning best practices for responding to government investigations of Members and their staff. Titled “A How-To Guide for Chiefs of Staff,” the manual describes how government investigations unfold and the steps that Chiefs of Staff need to take … Continue Reading
The New York Times, earlier this month, reported that “secret ledgers” in Ukraine show $12.7 million in cash payments designated for former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort from Ukraine’s pro-Russian political party. Days later, the Associated Press reported that Manafort helped the pro-Russian party “secretly route at least $2.2 million in payments to two prominent Washington lobbying … Continue Reading
The Ferrari carrying former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell appears to have made a U-turn this week on its way to the federal penitentiary. Covington released today a Client Alert on the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonnell v. United States, a decision which vacated Governor McDonnell’s conviction and redraws the lines for corruption prosecutions. The Court held a public … Continue Reading
In a recent letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Department of Justice offered a rare public glimpse into the enforcement activities of the small unit in the Department that enforces the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Some of the details highlighted in the letter are consistent with observations that we have shared in this blog; … Continue Reading
In our discussion of the Securities & Exchange Commission’s (SEC) actions over the past year, we described how the SEC is ramping up enforcement of its pay-to-play restrictions. We also pointed out an acknowledgment by an agency enforcement official that the agency is “actively looking” for violations and that the agency does its own “surveillance.” What kind … Continue Reading
Last week, the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) released a report on the Foreign Agents Registration Act with an attention-grabbing title: “Loopholes, Filing Failures, and Lax Enforcement: How the Foreign Agents Registration Act Falls Short.” The tone of the title was echoed in several news reports, including in The Hill (“Foreign lobbying enforcement ‘lax’”) and … Continue Reading
For several years, we have been warning clients and others that it was only a matter of time before we would see criminal referrals against lobbyists who fail to register under the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”). Until now, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has focused exclusively — and rarely — on … Continue Reading
Two public relations firms have filed documents with the Department of Justice revealing that they provided public relations and media services in the United States for the government of Ecuador without being registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), as that law requires. These firms are the latest in a long string of law … Continue Reading
On March 14, 2014, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia filed a civil complaint in a Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”) enforcement action against an Alexandria, Virginia based lobbying firm. (Hat tip to Legal Times.) This is only the second such complaint to be filed. We reported on the first case, brought less … Continue Reading
The Federal Election Commission made public two versions of its Enforcement Manual today, one based on current practices for handling the agency’s enforcement docket, and one proposing a dramatic shift in how cases could be handled in the future. The choice between the two versions may be up for discussion at the agency’s next open … Continue Reading
New changes to Alabama law will allow corporations, like individuals, to make unlimited campaign contributions in Alabama state and local elections. Last Friday, Governor Robert Bentley signed the law which removes the $500 per election cap on corporate contributions. (The Alabama Attorney General’s Office interpreted the $500 per election cap to mean corporate contributions to … Continue Reading
This morning the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing on “Current Issues in Campaign Finance Law Enforcement.” The focus of the hearing was what the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service are doing to enforce campaign finance law violations post-Citizens United with respect to contributions to Super PACs and … Continue Reading
The United States Attorney for the District of Columbia today announced two new civil enforcement actions against lobbying firms for failure to file required federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”) reports. Two Virginia-based lobbying firms entered into civil settlement agreements with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. One firm — Lussier, Gregor, Vienna & Associates — agreed to pay a … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section (“PIN”) is out with its annual report to Congress for 2011. PIN has oversight responsibility for the prosecution of criminal laws related to the abuse of public trust by government officials, including federal campaign finance laws. It handles cases directly and also serves in an advisory capacity to … Continue Reading
Way back in the 1970s, the FEC and the Department of Justice signed a Memorandum of Understanding (the “MOU”) outlining how they would manage their concurrent jurisdiction for violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act. The FEC has civil jurisdiction and the DOJ has criminal jurisdiction. But over the years, the relationship between the two … Continue Reading
