WASHINGTON
– Five senators are pressing the Justice Department for information about
why an Al Jazeera subsidiary and other affiliates, including its new media
platform, “Rightly,” have not yet registered as foreign agents under the
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), despite
reported demands from the
department to do so.
“…DOJ’s
National Security Division made the determination that AJ+, a subsidiary unit
of Al Jazeera Media Network, must register under FARA because it engages in
“political activities” on behalf of Qatar’s government and is designed to
“influence American perceptions” of “domestic policy,” among other reasons,” the senators wrote. “…To date, AJ+ has
willfully ignored DOJ’s mandate and has failed to register as a foreign agent. With
AJ+’s refusal to register under FARA, agents of the Qatari government continue
to operate in the United States in violation of the law.”
In
their letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Sens. Chuck Grassley
(R-Iowa), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and
Todd Young (R-Ind.) are asking what steps the department has taken to enforce
compliance with FARA for Al Jazeera and are seeking documents related to the
determination of AJ+’s foreign agent status. The senators are also asking what
steps the department has taken to require Rightly to register under FARA. Those
same lawmakers and others first
raised concerns about Al Jazeera’s
FARA compliance in 2019.
Grassley has led a
multi-year effort to beef up FARA
enforcement and improve transparency into foreign lobbying and influence
campaigns.
Full
text of the letter to Garland follows or can be found
HERE.
July 1, 2021
VIA
ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
The Honorable Merrick Garland
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
Dear Attorney General Garland:
For several years, in both the Obama and
Trump administrations, Congress has conducted oversight of the Justice
Department’s lax and selective enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration
Act (FARA).
[1] FARA
is an important statute that was designed not to prohibit activity but rather
to require individuals to register with the DOJ if they are acting as an agent
of a foreign government or enterprise to influence U.S. policy or public
opinion. This helps ensure transparency and accountability in the public policy
arena. In that sense, FARA is a content-neutral regulatory scheme that would
not require any entity or individual to refrain from certain types of speech.
Proper enforcement of, and compliance
with, FARA remains a top priority of ours as foreign governments and
enterprises continue to use agents within the United States as conduits to
lobby for policy changes and engage in public relations activity for the
benefit of foreign principals.
[2]
On June 18, 2019, consistent with our FARA oversight, we sent a letter to DOJ
with respect to our concerns that Al Jazeera Media Network was engaged in
activity that required it to register as a foreign agent under FARA.
[3]
In that letter, we stated that:
[w]hen the
available evidence is taken as a whole, it appears that Al Jazeera’s
broadcasts, including AJ+, mirror the policies and preferences of the Qatari
government, which, together with the state funding and other indicia of agency,
demonstrate that Al Jazeera and its media subsidiaries act as alter egos of the
Qatari government in ensuring dissemination of the government’s viewpoints.
[4]
On September 14, 2020, according to
reports, DOJ’s National Security Division made the determination that AJ+, a
subsidiary unit of Al Jazeera Media Network, must register under FARA because
it engages in “political activities” on behalf of Qatar’s government and is
designed to “influence American perceptions” of “domestic policy,” among other
reasons.
[5]
Based on reporting, it is unclear whether DOJ has required Al Jazeera Media
Network to register as a foreign agent in addition to AJ+.
To
date, AJ+ has willfully ignored DOJ’s mandate and has failed to register as a
foreign agent. With AJ+’s refusal to register under FARA, agents of the Qatari
government continue to operate in the United States in violation of the law. We
note that foreign agents of other countries have complied with DOJ letters of
determination.
[6] Moreover,
in addition to refusing to register under FARA, Al Jazeera Media Network
created and launched a new media platform aimed at American audiences called
“Rightly.” The same factual and legal basis with respect to Al Jazeera’s nexus
to the Qatari government, for which DOJ determined AJ+ must register as a
foreign agent, appears to apply equally to this new platform.
[7]
Accordingly, the Department must explain what steps it has taken to require it,
and its employees, to register under FARA.
In a press release that the Department
issued regarding a Russian production company registering as a foreign agent,
DOJ said the following:
Americans have a
right to know who is acting in the United States to influence the U.S.
government or public on behalf of foreign principals. The Department of Justice
is committed to enforcing FARA and expects compliance with the law by all
entities engaged in specified activities on behalf of any foreign principal,
regardless of its nationality.
[8]
Further, that same
press release said:
Congress passed
FARA in 1938, intending to ensure that the American public and our lawmakers
know the source of information that is provided at the behest of a foreign
principal, where that information may be intended to influence U.S. public
opinion, policy and laws.
[9]
Those statements apply equally to Al
Jazeera Media Network and its related entities, which are controlled by a
foreign government, receive financial support therefrom, and engage in activity
to influence the U.S. Government and public on behalf of foreign principals.
Accordingly, it is imperative for DOJ to
explain what, if any, steps it has taken to enforce the law and require Al
Jazeera Media Network, AJ+ and Rightly to register under FARA. Please answer
the following questions no later than July 16, 2021:
1.
Since
the Department of Justice has determined that AJ+ must register as a foreign
agent under FARA, has the Department determined the same for Al Jazeera Media
Network and Rightly? If so, what steps has the Department taken to enforce
compliance? If not, why not?
2.
With
respect to AJ+’s refusal to register under FARA, what steps has the Department
taken to require them to do so? For example, has the Department begun
enforcement proceedings against it? If not, why not?
3.
Please
provide all letters of inquiry and letters of determination the Department of
Justice has sent to Al Jazeera Media Network, AJ+, Rightly and affiliated
entities.
4. Under
28 C.F.R. § 5.2, any present or prospective agent of a foreign entity may
request an advisory opinion from the Justice Department regarding the need to
register. Has Al Jazeera, AJ+, Rightly or any of its entities or employees ever
requested an opinion in relation to work done on behalf of Qatar? If so, please
provide a copy of the request and opinion.
Please send all unclassified material directly to the signers.
In keeping with the requirements of Executive Order 13526, if any of the
responsive documents do contain classified information, please segregate all
unclassified material within the classified documents, provide all unclassified
information directly to the signers, and provide a classified addendum to the
Office of Senate Security. The signers comply with all laws and regulations
governing the handling of classified information. They are not bound, absent
their prior agreement, by any handling restrictions or instructions on
unclassified information unilaterally asserted by the Executive Branch.
Thank
you for your attention to this important matter.
-30-
[1] The FARA requires
individuals to register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) if they act, even
through an intermediary, “as an agent, representative, employee, or servant” or
“in any other capacity” at the behest of a foreign principal, including a foreign
political party, government, or corporation, for purposes of engagement with a
United States official to influence U.S. policy or the public. The registration
applies to anyone who attempts to influence a U.S. government official on
behalf of a foreign principal in an effort to “formulat[e], adopt[], or
chang[e] the domestic or foreign policies of the United States.” Likewise, an
individual whose activities are subject to registration under FARA and who
sends informational material “for or in the interest of [a] foreign principal”
with the intent or belief that such material will be circulated among at least
two persons must transmit the material to the Attorney General no later than 48
hours after actual transmission. Notably, an ongoing failure to register with
the DOJ is a continuing offense. 22 U.S.C. § 611 – Definitions: The term
“foreign principal” includes - (1) a government of a foreign country and a
foreign political party; (2) a person outside of the United States, unless it
is established that such person is an individual and a citizen of and domiciled
within the United States, or that such person is not an individual and is
organized under or created by the laws of the United States or of any State or
other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and has its
principal place of business within the United States; and (3) a partnership,
association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons
organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign
country.
[8] Department of
Justice Press Release,
Production Company
Registers Under the Foreign Agent Registration Act as Agent for the Russian
Government Entity Responsible for Broadcasting RT (November 13, 2017).