Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 10 OctOber 2018

Objections blunt momentum for

foreign lobbying law overhaul

Organizations that range agents, several of the enforce FARA. A violation
from the influential U.S. changes proposed in con- of the law is punishable by
Chamber of Commerce gressional bills could back- a fine or up to five years in
to the National Association fire by sweeping in a host prison.
of Criminal Defense Law- of unintended targets, But the defense lawyers
yers have raised objections according to critics. That association and the Cen-
to legislation that would pushback has effectively ter for Democracy and
sharpen the teeth of the kept the legislation from Technology, a civil-liberties
Foreign Agents Registration advancing as lobbying group, have declared that
In this Aug. 18, 2016, file photo, a portion of the website for the
website fara.gov, on the Foreign Agents Registration Act, is seen Act. The law, enacted 80 groups press for revisions. Fourth Amendment privacy
photographed in Washington. years ago to expose Nazi One of the most conten- protections would be un-
Associated Press propaganda, requires peo- tious provisions would elimi- dermined by a section of
ple to disclose when they nate a popular loophole the bill that would expand
By RICHARD LARDNER the lucrative and at times lobby in the U.S. on behalf that permits lobbyists repre- the Justice Department's
Associated Press shadowy world of foreign of foreign governments or senting foreign commercial power to investigate pos-
WASHINGTON (AP) — A lobbying is stalled amid op- political entities. interests to be exempt from sible violations of the law.
push to give the Justice position from pro-business While there's bipartisan the law, known as FARA. And an alliance of non-
Department more en- groups, nonprofits and pri- support for cracking down That shift, one business governmental organiza-
forcement authority over vacy advocates. on unregistered foreign group has warned, could tions called InterAction has
extend the rigorous disclo- urged lawmakers to repair
sure requirements to U.S. vague and outdated pro-
subsidiaries of global com- visions in the current law
panies, stigmatizing them before passing a new one
as foreign agents even that strengthens the gov-
though they employ thou- ernment's hand. These
sands of Americans. groups fear that the law, if
Congressional interest in not repaired, could leave
fortifying the law comes in nonprofits open "to pos-
the aftermath of Russia's sible politicized enforce-
meddling in the 2016 elec- ment actions and attack,"
tion and a special counsel according to an open let-
investigation that's drawn ter more than 40 members
greater attention to the in- and partners of InterAction
ner workings of internation- wrote earlier this year.
al influence peddling. The House version of the
Most recently, Paul bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike
Manafort, the former Trump Johnson, R-La., seemed
campaign chairman, ad- to be on the fast track to
mitted in a plea deal that passage in the GOP-led
he'd failed to register as a House after a committee
foreign agent when he di- approved it in January by
rected a lobbying opera- a comfortable margin. Yet
tion for Ukrainian interests. eight months later, it hasn't
Prosecutors said he con- moved any further.
cealed millions of dollars in Johnson described the ob-
income for the work from jections as "overblown" and
the IRS. said he's hopeful the full
Earlier this year, federal House will vote on his bill
prosecutors unveiled an in- before the end of the year.
dictment against a Russian The House is in recess and
troll farm accused of inter- won't return until after the
fering in the 2016 election Nov. 6 elections.
through bogus Facebook "People in Washington are
posts that revealed how resistant to change," John-
foreign parties can weap- son said. "The longer we
onize social media to influ- wait to enact these reforms
ence public opinion. the more critical they be-
Yet criminal cases under come."
FARA have been rare, An identical Senate bill,
with fewer than a dozen by Judiciary Committee
since 1966 as the Justice Chairman Chuck Grassley,
Department generally em- R-Iowa, is bottled up in the
phasized voluntary com- Foreign Relations Commit-
pliance over prosecution. tee. Grassley charged last
Lawmakers supporting the year that there has been
bills say a 2016 inspector "rampant disregard" of the
general's report found that law by foreign agents and
the department lacked the "lackluster enforcement by
tools it needed to properly federal authorities."q