This weekend, the New York Times ran a lengthy investigative report on foreign government donations to U.S. think tanks.  The story alleged that the foreign governments bought influence and paid for advocacy by some of the nation’s most respected research institutions.  The article outlined contributions from Norway, UAE, Qatar, Japan, and others to think tanks including the Brookings Institution, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Atlantic Council, and the Center for Global Development.

For a few years, we have noted – and been tracking for many clients – the growing enforcement and interest in the Foreign Agents Registration Act.  This weekend’s Times story focused on think tanks, but the FARA issues it highlighted are equally relevant to universities, social welfare organizations, and others that accept foreign government funding.  We have also seen PR and consulting firms confront FARA issues related to their clients outside the United States.  FARA is an important consideration for any advocacy organization that is closely aligned with a foreign government, country, or ethnicity.  (One of the leading FARA cases, for example, involved an Irish newspaper and advocacy organization.)  Even corporations have run into FARA.  Companies with foreign affiliates or U.S. subsidiaries of a foreign parent with close ties to the home country government can easily trigger FARA inadvertently.

Notably, the Times article alleged that the think tanks’ arrangements with foreign governments may have violated the law:

[T]he tightening relationships between United States think tanks and their overseas sponsors could violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act….  The law requires groups that are paid by foreign governments with the intention of influencing public policy to register as “foreign agents” with the Justice Department.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, for the think tanks), that’s not quite a fair paraphrasing of the law.  FARA is a complicated and arcane statute – its application can swing quickly between very different outcomes, depending on the specific factual situation involved.  Applying the law requires examining the relationship between the U.S. entity and the foreign government, the specific activities undertaken, and even the physical location of the activities, among other considerations.

In our experience – from working with think tanks and foreign donors – most organizations seek to avoid triggering FARA by specifying that the think tank is independent and not acting on behalf of the foreign donor.  These legal considerations are usually specified clearly in the grant documents.  This posture is natural for respectable think tanks – independence is central to their reputations and credibility.

Because FARA is targeted at “agents” of foreign entities, the registration requirement is generally only triggered when the agent operates at the “direction or control” of a foreign entity.  But the language of FARA is very sweeping and the statute encompasses those who act at the “request” of a foreign principal or those whose activities are “financed, or subsidized in whole or in major part,” by a foreign entity.

As a result, it is very easy to trigger the statute unintentionally unless FARA considerations are taken into account when negotiating the grant and drafting the contracts or grant documents.  Even then, the parties must remain vigilant throughout the relationship to avoid crossing the line and triggering the statute, notwithstanding any legal language in a carefully drafted document.

Although FARA is relatively esoteric, Covington’s experience in this area spans more than 50 years.  (One of the leading FARA cases is Attorney General v. Covington & Burling, where we established that the attorney-client privilege applies to FARA.)  We also defended a consulting firm targeted in the Department of Justice’s largest FARA investigation of recent memory.  We have advised a number of think tanks and other organizations regarding grant agreements with foreign governments, as well as foreign government instrumentalities considering grants to think tanks.

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Photo of Robert Kelner Robert Kelner

Robert Kelner is the chair of Covington’s Election and Political Law Practice Group. Mr. Kelner provides political law compliance advice to a wide range of corporate and political clients.  His compliance practice focuses on federal and state campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, pay to…

Robert Kelner is the chair of Covington’s Election and Political Law Practice Group. Mr. Kelner provides political law compliance advice to a wide range of corporate and political clients.  His compliance practice focuses on federal and state campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, pay to play, and government ethics laws, as well as legal ethics rules.  His expertise includes the Federal Election Campaign Act, Lobbying Disclosure Act, Ethics in Government Act, Foreign Agents Registration Act, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  He is also a leading authority on the arcane rules governing political contributions by municipal securities dealers, investment advisers, hedge funds, and private equity funds.  Mr. Kelner advises Presidential political appointees on the complex process of being vetted and confirmed for such appointments.

In addition, he regularly advises corporations and corporate executives on instituting political law compliance programs.  He conducts compliance training for senior corporate executives and lobbyists.  He has extensive experience conducting corporate internal investigations concerning campaign finance and lobbying law compliance, as well as other corporate compliance matters.  Mr. Kelner regularly defends clients in investigations by the Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. House & Senate Ethics Committees, the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee, the House & Senate Judiciary Committees, the House Energy & Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Special Committee on Aging, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and other congressional committees.  He has prepared numerous CEOs and corporate executives for testimony before congressional investigation panels, and he regularly leads the Practicing Law Institute’s training program on congressional investigations for in-house lawyers.  He also defends clients in Lobbying Disclosure Act audits by the GAO and enforcement actions and audits by state election and lobbying enforcement agencies.

Mr. Kelner has appeared as a commentator on political law matters on The PBS News Hour, CNBC, Fox News, and NPR, and he has been quoted in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Legal Times, Washington Times, Roll Call, The Hill, Politico, USA Today, Financial Times, and other publications.

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. …

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.