Partner Joe Birkenstock recently appeared on Brian Tyler Cohen’s YouTube channel to discuss the use of campaign funds to pay the legal expenses associated with Donald Trump’s various court cases. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/c7NuroL8bO0?si=pEE18RTMLBf9qK7w.
Partner Josh Rosenstein was recently quoted in an article published in Politico about emerging 2024 FARA cases.
“‘It’s another example of the department getting creative to achieve the goals of FARA without having to go to a jury,’ Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock’s Josh Rosenstein told PI. It also serves as a boon to DOJ’s insistence that its main objective in cracking down on foreign influence is disclosure rather than retribution.”
“‘This is the first time that I can recall, in an actual enforcement action,’ the Justice Department saying explicitly that payments to separate entities or sub vendors ‘have to be disclosed — not only by the non-registered entity, but also by Avenue Strategies, in this case, which was which was registered and left those disbursements off its filing,’ Rosenstein said.”
Read the full article here.
Partner Josh Rosenstein was recently quoted in an article published in the Miami Herald about how Miami’s mayor helped Saudi Arabia rehab its bloody reputation.
“Joshua Ian Rosenstein, political law partner at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, called Suarez’s conference planning efforts ‘precisely the type of situation that the Justice Department takes significant interest in.’ Particularly, he said, because it involves a public official.”
Read the full article here.
Partner Josh Rosenstein was recently quoted in an article in Bloomberg Law about signals that the US Justice Department may curb foreign agents registration exemptions.
“A desire to go bold is understandable when DOJ rarely gets to revise the FARA regulations, said Joshua Rosenstein, a veteran FARA lawyer at Sandler Reiff. ‘But the more those changes diverge from established practice, rather than clarifying specific nuanced questions, the higher the risk of significant opposition to those changes.'”
Read the full article here
Partner Josh Rosenstein was recently quoted in an article by Creede Newton of Southern Poverty Law Center about how contracts between Hungarian U.S. conservative figures obtained by the group Hatewatch suggest three Hungarian right-wing ideologues should register as foreign agents under U.S. law.
“Hatewatch shared the contracts with Josh Rosenstein, a partner at D.C. law firm Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, P.C., which advises clients on FARA compliance. Rosenstein said the ‘arrangements’ between BLA and the U.S. figures ‘seem to raise significant FARA concerns.'”
“Rosenstein said the FARA Unit, which oversees enforcement of the law and is housed inside the Department of Justice, has recently focused on foreign nonprofits and domestic NGOs’ relationships with foreign entities. ‘Particularly given the focus that the Department of Justice has recently and will continue to have on foreign-based nonprofits and NGOs and think tanks,’ Rosenstein said, the contracts seem ‘to fall directly in line with the Department’s enforcement priorities.'”
“The contract most likely to require FARA registration is between BLA and Matthew O’Shea, according to Rosenstein. The contract between BLA and O’Shea says O’Shea ‘shall prepare at least two articles of at least 650 words per month, in particular on Hungarian family policy and Hungarian geopolitical topics, for American and European media.’”
“Rosenstein explained there are exceptions for FARA, including those engaged in commerce, academic researchers, lawyers and diplomats. But O’Shea’s example does not appear to qualify for these exemptions, he said.”
“Rosenstein said FARA’s enforcement arm would be interested in these posts. ‘If a foreign principal asks him to do this’ even if ‘the contract had expired,’ then ‘that technically is regulated’ activity, Rosenstein explained.”
“Rosenstein said that ‘if FARA applies,’ agents who ‘disseminate propaganda’ on behalf of foreign principals must label the propaganda with a ‘prominent disclaimer,’ and a copy of the propaganda – now called ‘informational materials’ under the law – must be filed with the Justice Department.”
“Rosenstein said that contracts are usually not ‘so explicit’ as to name a political movement or ideology which the principal hopes to influence. He further wondered if this section’s removal was an attempt to circumvent FARA.”
Read the full article here
Partner Erin Tibe recently published an article in Reuters Practical Law The Journal entitled “Setting Up a Corporate PAC.” In the article, she provides guidance on forming and operating a corporate political action committee (PAC), also known as a separate segregated fund (SSF), including registering a PAC, soliciting PAC contributions, and supporting candidates through contributions and corporate communications.
Read the whole article here.
Partner Josh Rosenstein was quoted in an article about how Senator Bob Menendez’s foreign agent federal charge signals a new chapter for DOJ on foreign agent law.
“It is absolutely a signal to the public and to the advocacy community that the Department of Justice is not backing away from FARA enforcement.”
The decision to charge the sitting senator with conspiracy to act as a foreign agent may mark the beginnings of a new FARA enforcement strategy.
“If it is the case that the government will now start bringing conspiracy charges more frequently in the FARA arena, that may be the next salvo in basically the government’s attempt to enforce FARA because you do not need the same level of willfulness for conspiracy, you need an overt act.”
Read the full article here.
Partner Josh Rosenstein was quoted in an article about Senator Bob Menendez being charged with conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent.
“FARA charges have often historically been brought ‘as an adjunct to other criminal allegations,’ rather than the core of prosecutors’ cases, oftentimes adding pressure on defendants to strike a plea deal.”
“It would be hard for him to say he was completely ignorant about the legal obligations under FARA.”
Read the full article here.
Partner Josh Rosenstein was quoted in a Bloomberg article about Senator Bob Menendez’s indictment as a foreign agent following his efforts to block related bills as former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Just as a past scandal involving former lobbyist Jack Abramoff preceded passage of lobbying legislation, DOJ’s prosecution of Menendez could spur Congress to overcome hurdles to a FARA amendment.”
“If prosecutors are able to prove that Menendez didn’t just act on Egypt’s behalf, it would be particularly tough for Congress to ignore, given that, as cited in the indictment, he was simultaneously publicly urging DOJ to launch a FARA investigation into a Republican politician.”
“It politically becomes much more difficult for members of Congress to wash their hands of the situation.”
Read the full article here.