On July 26th, Partner Joe Birkenstock appeared on Brian Tyler Cohen’s YouTube channel to discuss the complaint filed by Donald Trump with the FEC against Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. In the complaint, Trump accuses Biden and Harris of violating campaign finance laws by transferring Biden’s funds to Harris as he steps down and she assumes the Democratic nomination.
Cohen: “Is this a campaign finance violation?”
Birkenstock: “No, Brian. In one word, it’s not, and it’s made clear really by the nature of the way these presidential campaign committees have really always run under the Federal Election Campaign Act. The President and Vice President run as a joint ticket, and that has been true for Kamala Harris and Joe Biden all the way back to 2020, when they first ran for office successfully as a joint ticket. It was true then; it was true all throughout this cycle; it’s still true right now as she stands up and takes over as the party’s nominee.”
On July 26th, partner Josh Rosenstein was quoted in an American Prospect article discussing unregistered agents working for the Azerbaijani government. The article highlights Rodney Dixon, an international legal expert hired by Azerbaijan to produce a report disputing allegations of genocide against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Dixon promoted his report through media networks like the BBC and CNN and also met with U.S. congressional staff. However, he did not disclose these activities on behalf of Azerbaijan under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
“Josh Rosenstein, a partner at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, which advises clients on FARA compliance, explained in an interview that the Department of Justice might be justified in sending a letter of inquiry to determine whether or not there is a foreign agent registration requirement for Dixon. ‘Coming to the U.S. to present a report’s findings commissioned by and promoting the interests of a foreign government, and representing the interests of that government before the U.S. government, are both regulated. So while there may be some nuance or fact that I’m not aware of, this does on its face seem to trigger the Foreign Agents Registration Act,’ said Rosenstein.”
Partner Josh Rosenstein was recently featured in a New York Post article discussing the indictment of Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst, for allegedly acting as a foreign agent for South Korea.
“’The Department of Justice has become much more aggressive when they believe someone is acting as an unregistered agent,” said Joshua Rosenstein, a Washington DC-based attorney who specializes in FARA compliance cases. He is not involved in the Terry case.”
“In Terry’s case the key element is if she ‘willfully’ acted as a foreign agent and did not register with the US Attorney General’s office under FARA, according to Rosenstein.”
“’If you are engaged in any activity at the request of the Korean government, which isintended to influence the US government or US public with respect to Korean government interests, such as reaching out to Americans in the form of op-eds, and DOJ can prove that you willfully ignored FARA rules, then the prosecution has a good shot,’ Rosenstein said. Rosenstein did not rule out the possibility that prosecutors could issue superseding indictments in the case with respect to Boot’s co-authorship of the columns.”
Partner and FARA expert Josh Rosenstein was recently quoted in an article published in Politico concerning Senator Bob Menendez’s historic conviction as the first sitting lawmaker found guilty of acting as an agent of a foreign government.
“‘It’s an important win for DOJ,’ said Josh Rosenstein, a partner at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, who was not involved in the case but like other Foreign Agents Registration Act experts told PI that the verdict is sure to fuel the department’s aggression in enforcing FARA.”
On April 18, Erin Tibe will participate in a panel at the 2024 AAPC Pollie Conference, “Navigating Voting Laws and Unpacking Voter Trends” discussing factors influencing voting behavior as essential part of strategic planning for political campaigns and advocacy efforts.
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.”
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.”
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.'”
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.”