Foreign Agent Registration Violation Prosecutions
1. United States v. Richard W. Gates III and Paul Manafort (2017)
Background:
Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman for Donald Trump, and his associate Rick Gates were indicted in 2017 on multiple charges including FARA violations, money laundering, tax evasion, and failing to register as foreign agents.
Facts:
Manafort and Gates worked for pro-Russian political parties in Ukraine, notably the Party of Regions, and its leader Viktor Yanukovych. They earned tens of millions of dollars through lobbying and political consulting between 2006 and 2015.
Despite this, neither registered under FARA for their work on behalf of foreign interests. They also laundered funds through offshore accounts and provided false information to investigators.
Charges and Outcome:
FARA violation
Money laundering
Failure to file foreign bank account reports
Manafort was convicted in a separate trial and later pleaded guilty to FARA-related charges. Gates cooperated with the investigation and also pleaded guilty. Manafort received a prison sentence (later commuted by President Trump), and Gates received a more lenient sentence due to cooperation.
2. United States v. Michael T. Flynn (2017–2020)
Background:
Michael Flynn, former National Security Advisor under President Trump, was investigated for his undisclosed lobbying for Turkish interests.
Facts:
Flynn and his company, Flynn Intel Group, were paid over $500,000 by a Turkish businessman with ties to the Turkish government. They conducted lobbying aimed at influencing U.S. policy to extradite Fethullah Gülen, an exiled cleric accused by Turkey of orchestrating a failed coup.
Flynn did not disclose this under FARA, nor did he register his firm as a foreign agent.
Charges and Outcome:
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with the Russian ambassador and made admissions regarding FARA violations. The DOJ considered charging him for failing to register under FARA, but ultimately this was not pursued in court as a standalone charge.
Flynn’s plea deal was controversial; the DOJ later moved to dismiss the case, and Flynn was pardoned by President Trump in 2020.
3. United States v. Bijan Rafiekian (aka Bijan Kian) (2019)
Background:
Bijan Rafiekian, a business partner of Michael Flynn at Flynn Intel Group, was tried for acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
Facts:
Rafiekian and Flynn were involved in a covert lobbying campaign to influence U.S. officials and public opinion regarding the extradition of Gülen. The funding and direction came from Turkish government officials, though this was not disclosed.
Charges and Outcome:
Acting as an unregistered foreign agent under FARA
Conspiracy
Rafiekian was convicted by a jury in 2019. However, the federal judge later overturned the conviction, citing insufficient evidence that he acted under the direction or control of the Turkish government. The government appealed, and the legal debate centered on the level of coordination required to prove agency under FARA.
4. United States v. Maria Butina (2018)
Background:
Maria Butina, a Russian national, was charged and convicted for acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
Facts:
Butina infiltrated American political circles, including the NRA and conservative political organizations, to advance Russian interests. She coordinated with a Russian official and attempted to influence U.S. policy from 2015 to 2017.
Butina never registered under FARA despite acting under the direction of a foreign official. Her actions were considered part of Russia’s broader strategy to influence U.S. politics.
Charges and Outcome:
Acting as an unregistered foreign agent
Butina pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. After serving her sentence, she was deported to Russia. This case was seen as a stark warning about the potential national security threat of unregistered foreign lobbying.
5. United States v. Elliott Broidy (2020–2023)
Background:
Elliott Broidy, a major fundraiser for the Republican Party and a former deputy finance chair of the RNC, was accused of violating FARA due to lobbying efforts on behalf of foreign entities.
Facts:
Broidy accepted millions of dollars from Malaysian and Chinese interests, including fugitive financier Jho Low, to lobby the U.S. government to drop investigations into the 1MDB scandal and to extradite a Chinese dissident living in the U.S.
Broidy did not register under FARA for these activities.
Charges and Outcome:
He was charged with conspiracy to violate FARA. He agreed to a plea deal but was later pardoned by President Trump in January 2021 before sentencing. Nonetheless, the case demonstrated how FARA violations can involve influence at the highest levels of politics.
Legal Implications and Observations
Mens rea requirement: FARA violations require willful action; accidental non-compliance is usually met with civil remedies rather than criminal prosecution.
Strict liability? Courts have debated the level of coordination and control necessary to trigger FARA liability (as seen in Rafiekian).
Recent enforcement trend: Since 2016, there has been increased scrutiny of foreign influence in U.S. politics, leading to a revival of FARA enforcement.
Plea deals and pardons: Many FARA cases are resolved via plea bargains, and political factors can affect outcomes (e.g., presidential pardons).
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