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Posts Tagged ‘FARA’
Wednesday, July 30th, 2014 by Vbhotla
AGGRESSIVE CRACKDOWNS ON Lobbying Disclosure Act violations are rarely seen, but last week The Hill, in what it called a “bombshell,” reported that at the end of its most recent report, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) “voted to refer one entity to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for failure to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.”
This is particularly noteworthy because as Covington & Burling’s Robert Kelner notes in the National Law Review, unregistered lobbyists have rarely, if ever, been pursued by the OCE or the Department of Justice. Kelner attributes the lack of enforcement to illegal lobbying being relatively low on the DOJ’s list of priorities, as well as a lack of media attention to LDA violations.
However, as we wrote in this space back in March, that may be changing. Since 2010, we’ve seen an uptick in enforcement for failure to file quarterly lobbying disclosures and for FARA violations. Between 1995 and 2010, only three lawsuits filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office against lobbyists were settled, but since 2010, at least five suits have been filed related to HLOGA and FARA violations. With the revelations in OCE’s latest report, are we beginning to see the kind of enforcement that these laws originally intended?
With the lobbying industry increasingly operating underground, it seems likely that last week’s bombshell won’t be the last incident of illegal unregistered lobbying, but only time will tell if the OCE has more investigations underway or if this is an isolated incident.
Tags: Department of Justice, doj, FARA, LDA, OCE, Office of Congressional Ethics, robert kelner
Posted in Lobbying News, Regulations | Comments Off on Registration Crackdown
Wednesday, March 26th, 2014 by Vbhotla
NO ONE ENJOYS filling out paperwork, but if you’re a lobbyist, failure to do so can be costly. The Washington Post reported last week that Alan Mauk and his firm, Alan Mauk Associates, failed to file required quarterly lobbying reports at least 13 times in the past four years—an indiscretion that carries a hefty price of up to $200,000 per violation. The civil complaint filed against Mauk and his firm is the latest of several lawsuits the government has filed in the past year as a result of negligence.
Back in June, the Blog of the Legal Times reported that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia slapped Biassi Business Services Inc., a consulting firm based in New York, with a lawsuit that could cost the firm up to $33 million in fines. Biassi reportedly filed several disclosures for 2012 and 2013 after the lawsuit was filed, and it remains to be seen how much of the fine Biassi will ultimately have to pay.
But lobbyists aren’t merely being fined for domestic lobbying violations. In August, this blogger wrote on how federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against two lobbyists for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions and the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by lobbying on behalf of Zimbabwe and its president, Robert Mugabe. Likewise, in 2011, a lobbyist was charged with FARA violations for failing to disclose lobbying activities for a foreign entity.
So, why are we just recently seeing the Feds come down hard on disclosure violators? As noted before on this blog, between 1995 and 2010 the U.S. Attorney’s Office settled with just three lobbyists, yet since 2010 there have been at least five lawsuits filed related to HLOGA and FARA violations.
One explanation is that we’re entering the enforcement stage of a cycle that begins with complacency (itself a symptom of lax enforcement) and ends in scandal. With the lobbying industry moving underground, it’s only a matter of time before a lobbyist or firm stretches the current rules too far, at which point we may see a successor to HLOGA. Until then, we’ve yet to experience the kind of enforcement that these laws originally intended. But it looks as if we’re getting closer.
Tags: Alan Mauk, Alan Mauk Associates, Biassi Business Services Inc., Blog of the Legal Times, FARA, Foreign Agents Registration Act, HLOGA, Robert Mugabe, the washington post, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Zimbabwe
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on The Return of Enforcement
Thursday, September 29th, 2011 by Vbhotla
Friends of the Earth, a national pro-environment group, has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the lobbying activities of TransCanada official Paul Elliott. The group contends that Elliott, who was once an aide to Hilary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, failed to register as a lobbyist for over a year while he petitioned the Obama administration (including Clinton’s State Department) to approve a TransCanada pipeline.
Friends of the Earth accuses the State Department of granting “inappropriate favors,” “coaching” responses to probes” and maintaining a “cozy relationship” with Elliott and TransCanada. The group says that Elliott “sought to exploit his campaign ties to secure high-level meetings,” and violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act by failing to disclose his interests as a foreign agent and subsequently register with the Department of Justice under the Act.
Tags: Department of Justice, doj, FARA, Foreign Agents Registration Act, friends of the earth, investigation, lobbying probe, Lobbyists and the Obama Administration, paul elliott, TransCanada, US State Dept
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on Environmental Group calls for Probe into Lobbyist’s Activities
Thursday, October 28th, 2010 by Vbhotla
Q: What is the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and what are the differences in registration and reporting between FARA and the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA)?
A: The Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (as amended) requires any lobbyist who represents a foreign government, elected official or political party as a foreign agent to file his financial information and published materials with the Department of Justice. This only applies to foreign public officials; lobbyists representing foreign private companies register under the LDA. See the full text of the law, forms, and other disclosure requirements at Justice.gov.
On registration and reporting:
- The Act requires every agent of a foreign principal, not otherwise exempt, to register with the Department of Justice and file forms outlining its agreements with, income from, and expenditures on behalf of the foreign principal. These forms are public records and must be supplemented every six months.
- The Act also requires that informational materials (formerly propaganda) be labeled with a conspicuous statement that the information is disseminated by the agents on behalf of the foreign principal. The agent must provide copies of such materials to the Attorney General.
- Any agent testifying before a committee of Congress must furnish the committee with a copy of his most recent registration statement.
- The agent must keep records of all his activities and permit the Attorney General to inspect them.
According to guidance issued by the House Ethics Committee, the technical amendments to the LDA made in 1998 reflected a determination that the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) standards are appropriate for lobbying on behalf of foreign governments and political parties, but that LDA disclosure standards should apply to other foreign lobbying. An agent of a foreign commercial entity is exempt under FARA if the agent has engaged in lobbying activities and registers under the LDA. An agent of a foreign commercial entity not required to register under the LDA (such as those not meeting the de minimis registration thresholds) may voluntarily register under the LDA.
Information for today’s post is from the Department of Justice, with further information condensed from the Lobbying Compliance Handbook, now with an all-new chapter on Campaign Finance for Lobbyists.
Have a question for Compliance Q &A? Send your questions to web@lobbyists.info.
Tags: FARA, FARA registration, LDA, lobbyists for foreign governments
Posted in Compliance Q&A | Comments Off on Compliance Q and A: LDA vs. FARA
Friday, October 22nd, 2010 by Brittany
K Street Compliance for 2011
Disclosure compliance, filing, gift and ethics rules, and campaign finance
November 16, 2010 · 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EST
After the midterm elections are over, Congress will take fresh aim at ethics. Lobbyists are fair game and “I didn’t know” won’t keep you out of the headlines – or exempt you from the stiff penalties associated with HLOGA, LDA and FARA.
If you aren’t sure what those acronyms stand for, you’re a sitting duck for ethics investigations and compliance violations. Even if you do know the basics of lobbying laws, you’re still at risk unless you’re absolutely certain you’re meeting deadlines, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements.
Why risk fines, penalties and negative PR? Here’s your “primer” on the basics you must know to follow the rules in the complex world of government relations.
Register now for Lobbying: The Basics of K Street Compliance for 2011.
Tags: FARA, HLOGA, jill holtzman vogel, K Street, LDA, Lobbying, lobbying law, lobbyists
Posted in Training & Events | Comments Off on New Audioconference: Need to know lobbying laws for 2011
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 by Vbhotla
In light of the recent arrests of eleven individuals accused of spying for the Russian government, Lobby Blog thought this would be as good a time as ever to review the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938.
The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was passed prior to World War II in response to Nazi propaganda in the United States. Nowadays, FARA applies to individuals and organizations engaging in political activities for a foreign principal, working in public relations for a foreign principal, buying or selling something of value in the United States, and lobbying the U.S. government on behalf of a foreign principal.
If you don’t register, you could be a spy. But you’d be the kind that goes to jail, not the cool Jason Bourne kind.
So just who is a foreign principal? Foreign principals can include foreign governments, foreign political parties, persons located outside of the United States, and foreign entities.
Anyone needing to register under FARA should be aware of the different forms required.
- Registration Statement: The initial form filed at the organization level.
- Supplemental Statement: A six month report form filed at the organization level.
- Short-Form Registration Statement: Each individual appearing on a registration statement must file his/her own short-form registration statement.
So, if your relationship with a foreign principal doesn’t involve placing garbage bags full of classified information underneath park bridges in Northern Virginia, make sure to file your FARA forms. And if it does, consider activating the Cone of Silence.
Tags: FARA, FARA registration, Get Smart, Jason Bourne, lobbying for foreign governments
Posted in Ethics Tip | Comments Off on FARA Thee Well
Friday, June 4th, 2010 by Vbhotla
Lobbyists.info hosts Lobbying Certificate Programs in conjunction with the American League of Lobbyists. Coming up on Monday is one of our perennial favorites (and a required class for those earning their Professional Lobbying Certificate): Lobbying Disclosure and Compliance.
When: June 7, 2010
Where: Hall of States, Washington DC (teleconference available)
LCP Credits: 1 (required for completion of certificate program)
Register online: http://www.alldc.org/certificate/disclosure.cfm
Our session includes an in-depth look at the LDA, HLOGA, and FARA, and we’ll cover best practices for maintaining compliance – and knowing what to do if your firm or organization’s lobbying activities are audited by the GAO.
We’ll have seasoned lobbying law pros in attendance to present the law – and answer your questions, including:
- Caleb Burns, Wiley Rein
- Ron Jacobs, Venable
- D.E. Wilson, Venable
- Mark Ward, Ward & Lawless
Register here today!
Tags: FARA, HLOGA, LDA
Posted in Training & Events | Comments Off on Last Minute Training Reminder: HLOGA & FARA Session
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