Podcasts about foreign agents registration act

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get more content. Ben Freeman and Nick Cleveland-Stout from the Quincy Institute join the program to talk about their Think Tank Funding Tracker, a repository that tracks funding from foreign governments, the U.S. government, and Pentagon contractors to the top 50 think tanks in the United States over the past five years. The group discusses think tanks' role in the “military-intellectual” complex, what specific foreign funders like the UAE and UK might be looking to influence, why certain governments like Ukraine and China gave little to no money, the lack of transparency among individuals working in sectors like journalism and government who also work with think tanks, the utilization (and under-utilization) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, how to restructure the order so that expertise isn't limited to these kinds of institutions, and how to make think tanks more democratically accountable in the meantime.  Read the Quincy Institute's brief on their project, “Big Ideas and Big Money: Think Tank Funding in America.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Freeman and Nick Cleveland-Stout from the Quincy Institute join the program to talk about their Think Tank Funding Tracker, a repository that tracks funding from foreign governments, the U.S. government, and Pentagon contractors to the top 50 think tanks in the United States over the past five years. The group discusses think tanks' role in the “military-intellectual” complex, what specific foreign funders like the UAE and UK might be looking to influence, why certain governments like Ukraine and China gave little to no money, the lack of transparency among individuals working in sectors like journalism and government who also work with think tanks, the utilization (and under-utilization) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, how to restructure the order so that expertise isn't limited to these kinds of institutions, and how to make think tanks more democratically accountable in the meantime. Read the Quincy Institute's brief on their project, “Big Ideas and Big Money: Think Tank Funding in America.”Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The arrest of another opposition leader, three years of prison for pro-European demonstrators, a report on law enforcement, the ruling party's complaint against opposition channels, the Polish and French Embassies' travel warnings for Georgia, and much more! Thanks for tuning in!Let us know what you think and what we can improve on by emailing us at info@rorshok.com You can also contact us through Instagram @rorshok_georgia or Twitter @RorshokGeorgiaLike what you hear? Subscribe, share, and tell your buds.Rorshok Georgia Update: www.rorshok.com/georgiaWe want to get to know you! Please fill in this mini-survey: https://forms.gle/NV3h5jN13cRDp2r66Wanna avoid ads and help us financially? Follow the link: https://bit.ly/rorshok-donate

Veteran journalist Eli Lake joins The Winston Marshall Show for a sweeping, provocative conversation on Israel, foreign lobbying, and the ideological corruption of American academia.Lake dismantles the conspiracy theories swirling around AIPAC and explains why blaming the Israel lobby for U.S. foreign policy is both analytically lazy and politically dangerous. He warns that the real threat comes from foreign influence through backdoor channels—Qatari billions funding American universities, PR firms, and think tanks that shape the national conversation.They dive into the Foreign Agents Registration Act, China's influence via TikTok, and the rise of academic anti-Zionism, tracing it back to Edward Said and the postcolonial dogma now dominant in elite institutions like Columbia.All this—foreign influence, the weaponization of academia, Middle East power games, and the narrative wars shaping the West…-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To see more exclusive content and interviews consider subscribing to my substack here: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:Substack: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/X: https://twitter.com/mrwinmarshallInsta: https://www.instagram.com/winstonmarshallLinktree: https://linktr.ee/winstonmarshall----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapters 1:17 Introduction and AIPAC5:03 Foreign Aid and Military Industrial Complex 8:21 AIPAC's Influence and Criticism 19:22 Historical Context of AIPAC and Foreign Lobbying 34:29 Qatar's Influence and Hamas Funding 45:41 Free Speech and Deportation of Mahmoud Khalil 58:22 Columbia University and Anti-Semitism 1:05:11 Qatar's Role in Middle East Negotiations1:10:28 Arab League Plan and Ceasefire 1:13:19 Challenges and Future Leadership 1:16:07 Historical Context and Podcast Promotion 1:17:49 Conclusion Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report for May 1, 2025What is a ‘Baby FARA' and Why are States Enacting It?The federal version of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, has been in place since 1938, but recently, states are passing their own versions, nicknamed “baby FARAs.”  What are they, and how do they relate to American Democracy?Some podcasting platforms strip out our links.  To read our resources and see the whole script of today's report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgToday's LinksArticles & Resources:Congressional Research Service - Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA): An OverviewU.S. Department of Justice - Recent Cases and Enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act  Covington & Burling Law Firm's Inside Political Law - Arkansas Governor Signs Baby FARA LawSteptoe Political Law Blog - (2024)  Not FAR-Away: Proposed State Legislation Increases in an Attempt to Regulate Foreign Agents Campaign Legal Center - (2024) Defending Foreign Corporate Election Spending Ban in Minnesota (Minnesota Chamber of Commerce v. Choi)American Democracy Minute - (2023) After a Canadian Utility Spent $22 Million Dollars to Influence a Ballot Measure, Maine Voters Ban Foreign Money in State Elections Groups Taking Action:Common Cause, Campaign Legal Center, Protect Our Democracy, Issue OneRegister or Check Your Voter Registration:U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your StatePlease follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgWant ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network's Audioport and PRX #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ForeignInfluence #FARA #BabyFARA #DarkMoney  

First, Ralph welcomes Washington Post tech journalist Faiz Siddiqui to discuss his new book "Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk." Then, our resident legal expert Bruce Fein stops by to explain how Elon Musk and DOGE are breaking the law. Finally, David picks up our interview with Ralph about Ralph's new book "Civic Self-Respect."Faiz Siddiqui is a technology journalist who writes for the Washington Post and has covered companies such as Tesla, Uber, and Twitter (now X) for the Business Desk. His reporting has focused on transportation, social media and government transformation, among other issues. He is the author of Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk (excerpted here).Over and over throughout this book, there's this recurring theme of victimhood, or at least Elon feeling like his back is against the wall. And why? For what? He and his fans felt they were doing the right things, and yet they were being scrutinized and punished for it.Faiz SiddiquiIn the wake of many Facebook scandals, many Uber scandals, Tesla was the company to work for. Elon was the person to work for. There was no figure as magnetic, who inspired people in the way that Elon did. So recruiting was a strong suit of that company. And the pitch was: come here and change the world.Faiz SiddiquiI think what this book brings is a healthy dose of reality and skepticism… that so far has been lacking from the overall conversation around Musk. And what I you'll find is (I hope you'll find) that you can identify with some of the folks in the book who were lured in by the promises (or just enamored by the guy and what he might be able to bring to society if his goals were ultimately realized) but then ended up feeling disappointed or feeling like—hey, this guy was not all he was cracked up to be. Even if the goals were noble, even if the ambitions were the right ones, the ends might not have justified the means. And so I want people to find, ideally, that their understanding of one of the most powerful people in society today is enriched.Faiz SiddiquiBruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law. Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.[Elon Musk is] just a walking violation of the federal code.Bruce FeinThere's nowhere to go but up in terms of being a smart consumer. Unfortunately, our Elementary and high schools don't teach consumer skills (they prefer to teach computer skills) and consumer skills result in what is, in effect, a pay raise.Ralph NaderAdam Smith once said many centuries ago that the purpose of production is consumption. And if consumption is informed and feeds back, it can lead to a high-quality economy. It can lead to more integrity to your consumer dollar and to your health and safety. It can lead to less environmental damage. It could lead to stronger regulation of product defects and services that are harmful. It's sort of a bottom-up economic democracy.Ralph NaderComplexity is a tool of power. Complex tax regulations are often blamed on the federal bureaucracy. No, it's the corporate tax lawyers.Ralph NaderNews 4/25/251. On Monday, April 21st, Vatican News announced the death of Pope Francis. This came just one day after Easter Sunday, when Francis met with Vice-President JD Vance. The day prior, Francis had snubbed the VP, sending in his place Cardinal Pietro Parolintoto to “deliver a lecture on compassion,” per the Daily Beast. Pope Francis led the Catholic Church since 2013 and during his tenure sought to move the church in a vastly more progressive direction – preaching against capitalism's destruction of the environment, advocating for abolition of the death penalty and greater acceptance for LGBTQ Catholics within the church, and expanding the reach of the church into non-traditional areas such as Mongolia among many other initiatives. This won him the admiration of many around the world, but also drew the ire of the conservative clergy, particularly in the United States. Francis was the first Jesuit Pope and the first Pope to hail from the New World. Senior churchmen will now assemble to elect a new pope. This conclave is expected to be contentious, with progressives seeking to consolidate Francis' reforms, while the conservatives see an opening to take back the formal organs of the church.2. Instead of death, our next story concerns birth. Noor Abdalla – wife of Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian Columbia University student currently being held by ICE in Louisiana – gave birth to their son on Monday. According to a statement by Abdalla, reported by Arya Sundaram of WNYC, ICE denied a request for Khalil to be temporarily released to meet their son, a “purposeful decision by ICE to make [her], Mahmoud, and our son suffer.” Later in this statement, Abdalla writes, “I will continue to fight every day for Mahmoud to come home to us. I know when Mahmoud is freed, he will show our son how to be brave, thoughtful, and compassionate just like his dad.” Khalil's case continues to wind its way through the courts; the result of this case will have significant ramifications for the Trump administration's ability to remove individuals with legal status on the basis of political speech.3. In an encouraging sign, more and more congressional Democrats are getting personally involved in cases of Trump administration overreach on immigration. In addition to Senator Chris Van Hollen's highly-publicized visit to El Salvador, TruthOut reports that Senator Peter Welch met with Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia University student entrapped with a false citizenship test, in Vermont. Meanwhile Cape Cod Times reports that on April 22nd, Senator Ed Markey and Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Jim McGovern of Massachusetts – along with Democratic members of the House Troy Carter and Bennie Thompson – traveled to a Louisiana detention facility to demand the release of Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts University grad student who was abducted off the street last month by masked ICE agents. This delegation met with Öztürk herself, as well as Mahmoud Khalil. And CBS reports Representatives Robert Garcia, Maxwell Frost, Yassamin Ansari and Maxine Dexter traveled to El Salvador as well, keeping pressure up regarding the Kilmar Garcia case. Still, hundreds of immigrants of varying status have been deported to the ominous and shadowy CECOT prison camp in El Salvador without due process since Trump began this mass deportation campaign.4. In more troubling Congressional news, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel on April 16th calling for investigations into the progressive activist group CodePink as well as the New York City cultural center known as the People's Forum. This letter is almost textbook McCarthyite red-baiting, claiming CodePink and the People's Forum are nothing more than mouthpieces for the Chinese Communist Party, thereby violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Beyond the fact that these groups are engaging in nothing more than constitutionally protected political speech, it is clear from the citations within the letter that they are targeting these groups because of their pro-Palestine positions. This is just another escalation in the Orwellian suppression of free-speech critical of the Israel's illegal occupation. Unfortunately, just as with McCarthyism itself, we cannot count on congressional Democrats to go to bat for the free speech rights of the Left.5. In a win for consumers, Bloomberg reports Airbnb announced it will now display the total price of stays – including all fees – to comply with a Federal Trade Commission rule set to go into effect next month. Many worried that the FTC would rescind this rule with the changing of the administration, but for now at least, the Trump FTC seems poised to keep it. This new rule is expected to “nudge hosts to lower their cleaning fees to make rentals more affordable, as the sometimes-exorbitant fees have become a key reason why some customers preferred hotels over Airbnb.”6. Another positive move is that the Trump Department of Justice has proceeded with an anti-trust case against Google's advertising technology, or “adtech.” On April 17th, a judge found Google liable for “willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power,” in two markets for online advertising technology, per Reuters. This follows a similar judgment against Google regarding a monopoly on search, which is only amplified by its adoption of AI. Another trial will determine the remedy for this monopoly, which could include Google being forced to sell off aspects of its business. According to this report, “Google has previously explored selling its ad exchange to appease European antitrust regulators.” Senator Amy Klobuchar, former chair of the antitrust subcommittee, called the ruling “a big win for consumers, small businesses, and content creators that will open digital markets to more innovation and lower prices.”7. On the other hand, Public Citizen's Rick Claypool reports, “58 corporations facing federal investigations & enforcement lawsuits collectively gave $50 million to Trump's inaugural fund. Cases against 11 of these corporations have already been dismissed or withdrawn, and 6 have been halted.” More granular information about each of these enforcement actions is available through Public Citizen's Corporate Enforcement Tracker database, but the big picture is clear: If a corporation wants the government off its back, all they have to do is make a handsome contribution. The Trump administration is pay-to-play and open for business.8. In another instance of the administration tying the hands of key federal regulators, the Food and Drug Administration will “End its Routine Food Safety Inspections,” according to the National Public Health Information Coalition. The FDA plans to “shift most…food safety inspections to state and local agencies.” While some food inspections are conducted at the state and local level, public health advocates are raising concerns about “oversight and consistency.” According to CBS, these plans have not been finalized.9. Turning to the very worst part of this administration, NOTUS reports “The DOGE website, the only public accounting of Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's attempts to reduce federal government spending…[has posted]…revisions that suggest DOGE was previously overstating its savings by hundreds of millions of dollars.” These stunning, if not altogether surprising, overestimations are staggering in scale. “On Tuesday [April 15th] alone, DOGE removed around $962 million in previously claimed cuts and altered hundreds of others to boost individual items' purported ‘savings' values.” The incompetence of DOGE has led Musk to reduce the target goal of spending cuts, down from $1 trillion to just $150 billion – a drop in the bucket when it comes to federal spending and certainly not worth the evisceration of Social Security and other programs these cuts have entailed.10. Finally, in more bad news for Elon Musk, Reuters reports the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is tightening electric vehicle battery safety standards, specifically to “ensure…batteries won't catch fire or explode.” This is quite a humble regulatory goal. However, this new regulation could spell disaster for Tesla. According to Tesla-fire.com, there have been 232 confirmed cases of Tesla fires and “83 Fatalities Involving a Tesla Car Fire.” If I were a Chinese EV regulator, I would be wary of allowing Tesla vehicles on the roads. But that's just me.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast National Co-Director of feminist anti-war group Code Pink Danaka Katovitch joins Bad Faith to discuss Sen. Tom Cotton's attacks on their group and Sen. Jim Banks' allegation that Code Pink is in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Since October 7th, establishment politicians have been cracking down on protests. In the wake of April 5th's huge anti-Trump protests, we ask, what is the future of civil disobedience and direct action? Are they effective politcal tools, or just outlets for the managed release of public discontent? Does Code Pink have insights and/or strategies to maximize this moment? Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).

The directive sent from acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove to drop the corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams has hit a fever pitch, so hosts Andrew Weissmann and Mary McCord use the bulk of this episode to break down this evolving story and what has come to light so far. They tick through how this standoff between federal prosecutors and the DOJ's directive has led to a slew of resignations, and what to watch for as Judge Dale Ho calls for a Wednesday hearing on the matter in Manhattan.  Andrew and Mary then take a beat to preview the first Supreme Court test of Trump's executive power, over his attempt to fire Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, without cause. (Note: this office is an independent watchdog agency- not part of DOJ). And they wind up this episode by highlighting allegations from whistleblowers that Kash Patel, Trump's nominee to head the FBI, has been directing the firing of senior officials at the FBI.Further reading: Here is Andrew's piece in Just Security: The People of New York v. Mayor Adams: Will Manhattan DA Bragg Come to the Rescue Yet Again?Want to listen to this show without ads? Sign up for MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts.

The flood of memos issued by newly minted Attorney General Pam Bondi in her first days was dizzying, so hosts Andrew Weissmann and Mary McCord zero in on several that have significant implications for national security and criminal law enforcement. Next, they give a rundown of litigation happening across the country, as courtrooms become the first defense in challenging some of President Trump's questionable orders. And last up, Andrew and Mary talk through a few legal battles brewing over sanctuary cities and detail Mary and ICAP's latest case aiming to protect places of worship as safe havens from immigration enforcement. And btw, the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams just went poof-- they dissect that too.Further reading: Here is Just Security's Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.HERE is the DOJ memo dropping the corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams without prejudice.And here is the statement from the American Bar Association that Andrew and Mary spoke about: The ABA supports the rule of law.Want to listen to this show without ads? Sign up for MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts.

“They're at war for the American mind. That's why you have TikTok out there. That's why you have DeepSeek. That's why you have the China Daily. They're out there trying to control information and your perception of reality,” says Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.), who was recently elected for his first term.His first bill seeks to ban the widespread distribution of the China Daily in the House of Representatives. China Daily is a registered foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. In 2020, the newspaper was among many Chinese state media outlets designated as foreign missions in the United States.“It's propaganda by a foreign government that's trying to influence the highest echelons of the United States government. It's unacceptable,” Hamadeh said.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Joining me today is independent investigative journalist, Vanessa Beeley, here to discuss the growing world-war dynamic in the Middle East and the ongoing genocide in Gaza that is now being recreated in Lebanon with little to no push back by the supposed "rules-based international order". We also discuss how the global technocratic elitists are using Gaza as a testbed for artificial intelligence -- fine tuning for future military use on a mass scale, as well as domestic control structures -- and how the rising global resistance is not just about the future of Gaza, but the future of us all.  !function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u2q643"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");   Rumble("play", {"video":"v5gybf1","div":"rumble_v5gybf1"}); Source Links: (21) vanessa beeley/UK Column (@VanessaBeeley) / X (43) vanessa beeley/UK Column on X: "The #Zionist machine is a soulless entity. A crusher of souls, of history and life. It must be stopped because it will reduce everything in its path to dust. Support the Resistance because they are fighting this war for all of us. https://t.co/bJwjdBgkFL" / X (29) Philip Giraldi on X: "In any event, it is now counter to actual US interests to be so totally subservient to Israeli priorities. A good first step would be to require the constituent groups that make up the Israel Lobby to register as foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, https://t.co/02xiYSZl9D" / X (27) Max Blumenthal on X: "Two congressmen from the dominant Israel First wing of the Republican Party have introduced a bill which would give US citizens who are foreign fighters in Israel's apartheid army the same benefits as US National Guardsmen or Reservists https://t.co/BZaV4ZfpLy" / X (27) The Last American Vagabond on X: "Here's Trump saying he'll send the DoJ to campuses to stop antisemitism. What's that again about the Right protecting #FreeSpeech? This is the Woke Right (just like the Left) endorsing censorship of protected speech to stop "hate speech". How is that different? #TwoPartyIllusion https://t.co/BvELicPDUd" / X New Tab (22) Omar from Gaza

Dr. Li-Meng Yan w/ The Voice of Dr. Yan – In this episode of The Voice of Dr. Yan, my special guest, Edward Haugland, joins the discussion regarding two recent cases against CCP's infiltration based in New York, involving both state and federal governments. On September 3, Linda Sun (Sun Wen) and her husband, Chris Hu, were arrested. Sun is charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, bringing in aliens...

From September 21, 2022: This past Monday, the criminal trial of Thomas Barrack began in federal court in the Eastern District of New York. Barrack, who served as an informal advisor to the 2016 Trump campaign and then as chair of Trump's inaugural committee, is alleged to have acted as a foreign agent of the United Arab Emirates. According to the indictment, Barrack acted as a back channel for the UAE to influence U.S. foreign policy.Lawfare executive editor Natalie Orpett sat down with Alex Iftimie, a partner at the law firm Morrison Foerster, and a former Department of Justice attorney specializing in national security matters, including the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, and related statutes. They discussed the case against Barrack, the significance of the charges to broader enforcement strategy, and why foreign influence matters for U.S. national security.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/c/trumptrials.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Cohen gets The Lowdown on the Putin lie machine from well-renowned Kremlin disinformation expert and author Peter Pomerantsev. Earlier this month, the US seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state employees - of the TV channel Russia Today with conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The pair remain at large. Peter's first book, the best-seller Nothing is true and Everything is possible broke new ground by exposing the inner workings of Russia's misinformation and disinformation armoury. His third book is How to win an information war: The propagandist who outwitted Hitler. Peter talks about the growing sophistication of Putin's disinformation machine which he is using in his war against Ukraine and in his attempts to influence elections, including the United States where his favoured candidate and convicted felon Donald Trump is hoping for re-election. Peter says the Kremlin's best foreign agents are the so-called "useful idiots" in influential positions who are not even aware that they are being manipulated into helping Putin and his various plots.Donald Trump may worship at the altar of his hero Vladimir Putin. But both men have a strikingly similar tone of discourse - epic mendacity and disinformation snarled sneeringly and sarcastically at anyone seeking to hold them to account. Read Nick's latest Substack column Writing from London - Sarcastic, sneering and sadistic: The voice of modern power, What Putin and Trump's propagandists have in common. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last month, the FBI raided the homes of Scott Ritter, a former United Nations weapons inspector and critic of American foreign policy, and Dimitri Simes, a former think tank executive and an adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. In late August, The New York Times reported that these searches were part of the U.S. Justice Department's “broad criminal investigation into Americans who have worked with Russia's state television networks.” In the past two weeks, U.S. officials have taken numerous measures against Russia Today and its affiliates and accelerated police actions against Russia-based individuals and entities accused of covert influence operations, including money laundering, sanctions violations, and unregistered foreign agent work. For example, the Justice Department announced the seizure of 32 Internet domains used in Russian government-directed foreign malign influence campaigns (colloquially referred to as “Doppelganger”), alleging that Russian companies used online domains to impersonate legitimate news entities and unique media brands to spread Russian government propaganda covertly, violating U.S. laws against money laundering and trademarks.  That same day, the Justice Department indicted two Russia-based employees of RT for conspiring to commit money laundering and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act in a $10-million scheme to fund and direct a Tennessee-based company to publish and disseminate information “with hidden Russian-government messaging.” A day later, officials charged Dmitri Simes and his wife with participating in a plot to violate U.S. sanctions and launder money obtained from Russian state television. About a week later, the U.S. State Department issued a special “alert to the world,” declaring that new information obtained over the past year reveals that Russia Today has “moved beyond being simply a media outlet” and has become “an entity with cyber capabilities” that's “also engaged in information operations, covert influence, and military procurement.” Washington claims that the Russian government embedded within RT in Spring 2023 an entity “with cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence.” Based on these allegations, Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — soon announced that it had banned Russia Today and its affiliates from all its platforms.  A day before that big announcement from the State Department, a jury in Tampa, Florida, convicted four American citizens of conspiracy to act as agents of the Russian government. Case evidence first reported by RFE/RL shows that the activists on trial secretly coordinated their activities and received funding from “Anti-Globalization Movement” head Alexander Ionov, who acted on orders from Russia's Federal Security Service. To discuss this recent explosion of American police and diplomatic activity targeting RT and Russian covert influence operations in the U.S., The Naked Pravda spoke to RFE/RL journalist Mike Eckel, who coauthored the September 6 report on how Ionov and his FSB handlers “chatted and plotted to sow discord in the United States.” Timestamps for this episode: (5:54) The U.S. government's coordinated campaign against Russian covert influence operations (7:18) Legal strategies when prosecuting Moscow's malign activities (8:37) Alexander Ionov and the FSB (15:11) American activists and Russian covert operations (18:52) “Foreign agency” in the U.S. vs. in Russia (32:12) Dmitri Simes and Channel One (36:18) Scott Ritter and Russia TodayКак поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

OA1066 Privyet, fellow citizens! We begin with a quick look at recent events following  Jack Smith's new superseding indictment in Trump's January 6th case in DC. Why are Trump's lawyers saying that Clarence Thomas “directed” them to file a motion to dismiss? And does DC federal judge Tanya Chutkan even care that this defendant who happens to be charged with four counts of trying to overturn an election is running for President at all?  Then in our main story: In an indictment filed this week, the Department of Justice has charged two Russian state media operatives with funding an officially unnamed production company which is allegedly (but also definitely) Tenet Media, the home of mediocre anti-woke crusaders like Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, and Lauren Southern (among others). Thomas takes us through some of the most entertaining facts alleged in the indictment, including an extremely real investor who is definitely in Paris and not Moscow, the Tucker Carlson Russian propaganda video which was a little too much even for Tenet's producers, and why anyone (including Tim Pool) could have ever believed that Tim Pool could have possibly been worth $100,000 an episode. Matt then breaks down some of the history of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and how this indictment sets a new standard for its enforcement in the 21st century--and what (and who) might be next. DOJ indictment of Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva (9/4/24) FARA on Facebook, Joshua Fattel, NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy (2019)   If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law!

After recent filings revealed electric battery producer Gotion receives subsidies from the Chinese Communist Party, state Sen. Lana Theis called on Michigan government officials to cease subsidizing the company's $2.4 billion dollar project in central Michigan. Gotion CEO Chuck Thelen had previously maintained the Chinese government  was not involved in the American wing of the company. But in July, the company admitted in a Foreign Agents Registration Act filing to receiving funding subsidies from the CCP. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_7ff4c0d6-5995-11ef-82ba-834e3aaea5b8.html

Judge Chutkan is back to moving things along as swiftly as possible by ordering a status conference, denying Trump's motions to dismiss.Jack Smith asked for a little more time to brief the court on how the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity will affect the indictment and future proceedings.What would it take for the FBI to investigate Supreme Court Justices?Plus we take some listener questions. Questions for the pod Submit questions for the pod here https://formfacade.com/sm/PTk_BSogJMarcy WheelerJack Smith Asks for an Extension - emptywheel Questions for the pod Submit questions for the pod here https://formfacade.com/sm/PTk_BSogJ AMICI CURIAE to the District Court of DC https://democracy21.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Attachment-Brief-of-Amici-Curiae-in-Support-of-Governments-Proposed-Trial-Date.pdfGood to know:Rule 403bhttps://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rule_40318 U.S. Code § 1512https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1512 Prior RestraintPrior Restraint | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information InstituteBrady MaterialBrady Rule | US Law |Cornell Law School | Legal Information Institutehttps://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/brady_rule#:~:text=Brady%20material%2C%20or%20the%20evidence,infer%20against%20the%20defendant's%20guiltJenksJencks Material | Thomson Reuters Practical Law Glossaryhttps://content.next.westlaw.com/Glossary/PracticalLaw/I87bcf994d05a11e598dc8b09b4f043e0?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)Gigliohttps://definitions.uslegal.com/g/giglio-information/Statutes:18 U.S.C. § 241 | Conspiracy Against Rights18 U.S.C. § 371 | Conspiracy to Defraud the United States | JM | Department of Justice18 U.S.C. § 1512 | Tampering With Victims, Witnesses, Or Informants Questions for the pod Submit questions for the pod here https://formfacade.com/sm/PTk_BSogJCheck out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Follow AGFollow Mueller, She Wrote on Posthttps://twitter.com/allisongillhttps://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrotehttps://twitter.com/dailybeanspodAndrew McCabe isn't on social media, but you can buy his book The ThreatThe Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and TrumpWe would like to know more about our listeners. Please participate in this brief surveyListener Survey and CommentsThis Show is Available Ad-Free And Early For Patreon and Supercast Supporters at the Justice Enforcers level and above:https://dailybeans.supercast.techOrhttps://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr when you subscribe on Apple Podcastshttps://apple.co/3YNpW3P

In this episode of The Korea Pro Podcast, co-hosts Jeongmin and John delve into the ongoing controversy surrounding Japan's Sado mine, which was recently listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They discuss Japan's rejection of South Korea's request to acknowledge forced Korean labor at the mine and the potential political fallout for the Yoon administration's foreign policy toward Japan. The hosts also explore the Democratic Party's likely continued criticism of the government's handling of the issue and the potential erosion of South Korean support for U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral cooperation post-Yoon. Shifting gears, Jeongmin explains the rare bipartisan push to amend South Korea's outdated espionage laws, which have remained unchanged since 1953. While lawmakers claim the proposed bills aim to establish a South Korean version of the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, Jeongmin notes the conspicuous absence of a registration clause and the adoption of broad, vague language that could excessively expand the definition of espionage. They also discuss the potential strain on South Korea's international relations and a reported incident involving the leak of Hyundai Rotem's K2 Black Panther tank technology to a rival South Korean company. Looking ahead, Jeongmin and John highlight the upcoming National Liberation Day on Aug. 15, during which President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to announce the country's new reunification roadmap. They also preview the U.S.-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield military drill scheduled for the following week, noting that it will reportedly not include a North Korean nuclear attack scenario. About the podcast: The Korea Pro Podcast is a weekly 15-minute conversation hosted by Editorial Director Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) and Editor John Lee (@koreanforeigner), diving deep into the most pressing stories shaping South Korea — and dissecting the most complicated ones for professionals monitoring ROK politics, diplomacy, culture, society and technology. Uploaded every Friday. This episode was recorded on Aug. 8, 2024 Audio edited by Gaby Magnuson

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found Click On Picture To See Larger Picture The people of Canada are now feeling the pain. The [DS]/[CB] have destroyed the economy with their agenda, now the people see it. Trump sends warning, we are close to a 1929 depression. Russia legalizes Bitcoin. The world is about to change. The [DS] pushed Biden out, but he never ended his campaign. [KH] is using his Presidential Id so they can receive the war chest. Trump has an hour long press conference while [KH] does zero, the people see it. All roads lead to Obama, the [DS] have taken the bait and soon the people will know the truth. This is the final battle, if America falls the world falls.   (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); Economy https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1821592233973309883  In other words, the average Canadian family now spends DOUBLE their annual shelter costs on taxes. Since 2010, the average annual tax bill for a Canadian family is up a whopping ~57%. Truly concerning numbers. The average Canadian spends 12 TIMES more on taxes than clothing. Spending on taxes in Canada has disproportionally increased relative to other categories. Many are calling for tax cuts as the trend worsens. https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1821532387592814713   last 10 years and total credit card debt is up 50% since 2020. Meanwhile, delinquency rates on credit cards and auto loans are nearing the highs seen in 2008. Consumers are "fighting" inflation with debt. This can't end well. https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1821309090808623368 https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1821281979456798883  the Fed doesn't cut rates right now, recession fears will continue to mount. No rate cuts means more worry about rising unemployment which is now at a 3-year high. The Fed must pick between market and inflation instability or a potential recession. And even if they pick the right former, we may still end up in a recession. It's going to be a bumpy road ahead.  https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1821553954922045720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1821553954922045720%7Ctwgr%5E4c5ef3be591e5ef2740ea7e81176ff2238baba50%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwatcher.guru%2Fnews%2Fbrics-russia-officially-legalizes-bitcoin-and-crypto-mining Political/Rights Hunter Biden prosecutors make bombshell claim he was hired by a Romanian oligarch to influence the U.S. government Hunter Biden was hired by a Romanian oligarch in an 'attempt to influence U.S. government agencies,' earning around $1 million for work that was structured to avoid 'political ramifications' for Joe Biden, who was then vice president. The bombshell claim was revealed in court filings on   tied to the younger Biden's federal tax case. And it marks the closest prosecutors have come to tying President Biden to his son's overseas business deals. Gabriel Popoviciu, a real estate tycoon, was facing bribery and corruption charges in his home country. In an attempt to avoid the charges, Popoviciu hired Hunter Biden and his business associates in late 2015 to help his case. Hunter, however, was 'concerned that lobbying work might cause political ramifications' for his father, so the deal was structured in a way that 'concealed the true nature of the work he was performing.' Prosecutors allege, in order to avoid the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Hunter and Popoviciu signed an agreement where Hunter's law firm would 'provide management services to real estate properties in Romania.' But 'that was not actually' what Popoviciu was...

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) says he believes then-President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden received defensive briefings from intelligence agencies about Hunter Biden's foreign business deals. “Whether it be tax evasion, money laundering, violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act—many crimes were committed by many members of the Biden family, yet nothing ever happened. But everyone in the Obama administration knew it and everyone in the Deep State knew it,” he says. Additional interviews with Former U.S. attorney Bud Cummins on his efforts to seek justice for Arkansas airport administrator killed during ATF raid and AOC primary challenger Marty Dolan on her district being “fed up” with radicalism. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Rational Security, Quinta and Scott were joined by Lawfare Legal Fellow Anna Bower to talk through the week's big national security news, including:“Hamas, No Más.” A senior Hamas official was recently killed in an attack in Beirut, in what many believe was an operation by Israel—a country whose leaders have pledged to target Hamas's leaders wherever they might be, though it has not formally acknowledged involvement in this particular attack. But pursuing such action across a border that is already on the edge of becoming a second front in the Gaza conflict has observers nervous. How significant is this operation? Does it risk regional escalation?“Bad for the Immune System.” Just before the holiday, the Supreme Court rejected special counsel Jack Smith's petition for it to expedite consideration of former President Trump's claim of immunity to criminal charges. And in the week that's passed, briefing is already underway—including an argument by an amicus asserting that appeal shouldn't be allowed at all. What hangs on this case? And how do the courts seem poised to address it?“The Unprincipled Agent Problem.” The Justice Department has leveled additional charges against Sen. Robert Menendez and his wife alleging additional illegal actions in support of Qatar, including some in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Meanwhile, several associates of former President Trump have faced similar charges for alleged work for the same government. What should we make of these powerful public officials and their associates doing work for foreign governments? And is FARA the right tool to address it?For object lessons, Quinta continued to suck up to the estate of Roberto Bolano by endorsing his book “The Savage Detectives.” Scott spilled the beans on one of Denver's lovely speakeasies, B&GC. And Anna urged folks to try out a Tarot Card reading for the New Year—advice Fox News appears to have taken on former President Trump's behalf.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Quinta and Scott were joined by Lawfare Legal Fellow Anna Bower to talk through the week's big national security news, including:“Hamas, No Más.” A senior Hamas official was recently killed in an attack in Beirut, in what many believe was an operation by Israel—a country whose leaders have pledged to target Hamas's leaders wherever they might be, though it has not formally acknowledged involvement in this particular attack. But pursuing such action across a border that is already on the edge of becoming a second front in the Gaza conflict has observers nervous. How significant is this operation? Does it risk regional escalation?“Bad for the Immune System.” Just before the holiday, the Supreme Court rejected special counsel Jack Smith's petition for it to expedite consideration of former President Trump's claim of immunity to criminal charges. And in the week that's passed, briefing is already underway—including an argument by an amicus asserting that appeal shouldn't be allowed at all. What hangs on this case? And how do the courts seem poised to address it?“The Unprincipled Agent Problem.” The Justice Department has leveled additional charges against Sen. Robert Menendez and his wife alleging additional illegal actions in support of Qatar, including some in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Meanwhile, several associates of former President Trump have faced similar charges for alleged work for the same government. What should we make of these powerful public officials and their associates doing work for foreign governments? And is FARA the right tool to address it?For object lessons, Quinta continued to suck up to the estate of Roberto Bolano by endorsing his book “The Savage Detectives.” Scott spilled the beans on one of Denver's lovely speakeasies, B&GC. And Anna urged folks to try out a Tarot Card reading for the New Year—advice Fox News appears to have taken on former President Trump's behalf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today opens with a question as to whether Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) aided and abetted the commission of a crime by helping to setup the Hunter Biden press stunt, before he took off and chose to ignore the congressional subpoena? It's a legitimate concern and at the very least rises to the level of a ethics problem in the House. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) weighed in on the stunt and then on the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. According to Donalds, Joe Biden is, at the very least, a co-conspirator in violating FARA or the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Even CNN”s Phil Mattingly knows Biden and the White House have shifted the goal post numerous times when it comes to knowledge of Hunter Biden's business dealings. White House spokesman Ian Sams, disputed Mattingly, gas-lighting him and the rest of the country with a smile on his face. We next move to a CNN town hall yesterday in Iowa. The point of a town hall, supposedly, is to learn more about a candidate. Unfortunately for Vivek Ramaswamy, the hostess of the town hall thought she was there to win a debate, rather than let the candidate speak. This all centers around Ramaswamy's comments about J6 looking like an inside job with possible government entrapment. The back and forth is a bit infuriating, but is highly illustrative on both how to conduct yourself as a Constitutional candidate and why the Legacy/mainstream media is not worth listening to at all. Boston democrat Mayor, Michelle Wu, decided to throw a coloreds only holiday party and doesn't mind that she favored some races over others at tax-payer expense. To help introduce the story, I let my good buddy Jim Gossett do his best Bing Crosby impression to the tune of “White Christmas.” The more we continue to let CRT and DEI ideologies permeate our culture, the worse off we all will be as one institution after another will be doomed to fail. As we begin to close, we have two uplifting stories. The first, White House spokesperson John Kirby did an excellent job of telling a reporter that Israel is going above and beyond to avoid innocent casualties. The press just loves to regurgitate Hamas propaganda, showing us who they are and I applaud Kirby for hitting back with a dose of reality.  Finally, one of the most neutral countries in the world, Switzerland, had just announced they are withdrawing all funding from UNRWA. When they discovered that the group was “teaching hate every day” and “glorifying terror against Israel,” they decided not to send them any more government funding. Now, what will it take for the United States to step up and do the same with the whole of the United Nations? Take a moment to rate and review the show and then share the episode on social media. You can find me on Facebook, X, Instagram, GETTR and TRUTH Social by searching for The Alan Sanders Show. You can also support the show by visiting my Patreon page!

Are prominent environmentalist groups working on behalf of foreign powers—and wouldn't that mean they have to declare it under the Foreign Agents Registration Act? That is the question that Senator Ted Cruz (Republican of Texas) and Representative James Comer (Republican of Kentucky and chairman of the House Oversight Committee) are asking in light of some […]

Are prominent environmentalist groups working on behalf of foreign powers—and wouldn't that mean they have to declare it under the Foreign Agents Registration Act? That is the question that Senator Ted Cruz (Republican of Texas) and Representative James Comer (Republican of Kentucky and chairman of the House Oversight Committee) are asking in light of some groups' penchant for criticizing the United States while going easy on the People's Republic of China. Joining me to discuss these concerns are my colleague Sarah Lee and Kevin Mooney, who wrote about Cruz and Comer's questioning for the Daily Signal.Links: EXCLUSIVE: Ted Cruz Wants Answers on Left-Wing Actors Who May Violate Foreign Agent Registration ActNatural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)Follow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Criminal Procedure: Do the civil and criminal provisions of the Foreign Agents Registration Act have the same statute of limitations? - Argued: Tue, 14 Nov 2023 17:56:29 EDT

Trump's defense explains why the Fourteenth Amendment's removal clause does NOT apply to the President in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in Colorado attempting to keep him off the ballot in 2024.Mini-Joe Biden Senator Menendez has been hit with new charges brought under the Foreign Agents Registration Act for accepting money from the Government of Egypt. The new indictment reveals the details and Karine fields questions from the press.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Oct. 13 at 5:40 a.m. CT: JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military has told some 1 million Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza and head to the southern part of the besieged territory. That's an unprecedented order applying to almost half the population ahead of an expected ground invasion against the ruling Hamas militant group. The U.N. warned that so many people fleeing en masse would be calamitous. Hamas dismissed it as a ploy and called on people to stay in their homes. The militant group staged a shocking and brutal attack on Israel nearly a week ago and has fired thousands of rockets since. WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Steve Scalise has ended his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure the votes to win the gavel. Scalise told GOP colleagues at a closed-door meeting late Thursday of his decision. Next steps are uncertain as the House is essentially closed while Republicans try to elect a speaker after ousting Kevin McCarthy from the job. Scalise says the Republican majority “still has to come together and is not there.” He had been working furiously to secure the votes after being nominated by a majority of his colleagues, but after hours of private meetings over two days it was clear many other Republican lawmakers were not budging from their refusal to support him. SMYRNA, Ga. (AP) — Police say a person suspected of fatally shooting two people northwest of Atlanta died by suicide while fleeing officers. The Cobb County Police Department says their major crimes unit is investigating a double homicide that happened Thursday near a dental office in Smyrna. Police say their preliminary investigation suggests that a person approached the business and then shot and killed two people who were known to that person. Law enforcement say the suspected shooter then fled in a vehicle and that when police located the vehicle and tried to stop it, the person died by suicide. No further information was immediately released. STOCKHOLM (AP) — An official says a ban on gasoline and diesel-fueled cars from a commercial district of Stockholm's downtown in 2025 will be the first for a European capital. Lars Strömgren, the city council member for the Greens who's in charge of the Swedish capital's transportation told the Associated Press Thursday the ban will take effect in a 20-block area of shops, pedestrian walkways and a few homes in order to curb pollution, reduce noise and encourage use of electric vehicles. Many European capitals have restrictions on gasoline and diesel cars, but Strömgren says Stockholm's complete ban would be a first. The idea is to create an “environmental zone” where only electric vehicles will be allowed. U.S. stocks slipped as the clamps tightened on Wall Street from rising yields in the bond market. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% Thursday, breaking a four-day winning streak. The Dow lost 173 points, and the Nasdaq composite gave back 0.6%. A weak auction for long-term Treasury bonds drove yields up across the bond market. Yields had already been climbing following a report showing inflation was a touch higher last month than expected. Higher yields can knock down stock prices, all else equal. Oil prices eased after zigzagging through the day. The Phillies advance to the NLCS, Patrick Mahomes leads the Chiefs to a win, the status of the Browns' Deshaun Watson is in question and a wild ending to a college football game. Correspondent Chuck Freimund reports. DALLAS (AP) — Walt Garrison, who led the Big 8 in rushing for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, won a Super Bowl as a fullback with the Dallas Cowboys and competed as a rodeo cowboy, has died. He was 79. The NFL team said on its website Thursday that Garrison died overnight. It did not give a cause of death. A fifth-round draft choice out of Oklahoma State, the 6-foot, 205-pound Garrison played nine years in Dallas and retired in 1974 as the No. 3 rusher and No. 4 receiver in franchise history. But it was Garrison's rodeo career — which he called his first love — that made him the ultimate cowboy. He also was a longtime spokesman for U.S. Tobacco and its Skoal smokeless brand. On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. CT: JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israel military pulverized the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip with airstrikes, prepared for a possible ground invasion and said Thursday its complete siege on the territory would remain in place until Hamas militants freed some 150 hostages taken during a grisly weekend attack. A visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with shipments of U.S. weapons, were a powerful green light to Israel to drive ahead with its retaliation in Gaza. But international aid groups warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis. Israel has halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and electricity to Gaza's 2.3 million people and prevented entry of supplies from Egypt. The war has claimed at least 2,700 lives on both sides. WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Steve Scalise has been unable to sway enough skeptical Republican colleagues to support him for speaker, and the anger and frustration is growing in the House. Republicans went behind closed doors for another long meeting Thursday, but there's no resolution is in sight. Even though Scalise won the majority party's nomination during a private meeting Wednesday, he finding that some of fellow Republicans are reluctant to back him in a floor vote. Scalise must peel off more than 100 votes, mostly from those who back chief rival Jim Jordan. Jordan says he's longer in the running and has tossed his vote to Scalise. But many hard-liners taking their cues from Donald Trump have dug in for a prolonged fight. PRINCETON, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say a suspect has been arrested after five drug task force officers were shot and wounded while serving a search warrant near the Minnesota city of Princeton. A news release from Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck says the officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect Thursday morning. The man, who was injured in the incident, was taken away for treatment after his arrest several hours later. The sheriff says the extent of his injuries wasn't immediately known. The officers' injuries were not life-threatening. The area is about 50 miles northwest of Minneapolis. WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting Social Security commissioner says a 3.2% increase in benefits next year “will help millions of people keep up with expenses." The increase announced Thursday is far less than this year's historic boost and reflects moderating consumer prices. The Social Security Administration says the average recipient will get more than $50 more per month. The AARP estimates $59 per month. About 71 million people including retirees, disabled people and children receive Social Security benefits. This year's cost-of-living adjustment was 8.7%, triggered by record-high inflation pushing up costs of consumer goods. The cost-of-living adjustments have a big impact for people like 83-year-old Louisiana resident Alfred Mason, who says “any increase is welcomed." WASHINGTON (AP) — Measures of U.S. inflation barely declined in September, evidence that consumer price increases are grinding lower at a gradual pace. Consumer prices rose 0.4% from August to September, below the previous month's 0.6% pace. Year-over-year inflation was unchanged last month from a 3.7% rise in August. And underlying inflation declined a bit: So-called core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, climbed 4.1% in September from a year earlier, down from a 4.3% pace in August. That is the smallest such increase in two years. Economists pay particularly close attention to core prices because they provide a good signal of inflation's likely future path. President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Kyrgyzstan on a rare trip abroad for the Russian leader who was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Ukraine. It's the first time this year that Putin has traveled outside Russia and Russian-held territories of Ukraine. Earlier this year, he visited the partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson, as well as the annexed Crimean Peninsula. In March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the deportation of children from Ukraine. Countries that have signed and ratified the Rome Statute, which created the ICC, are now bound to arrest him if he sets foot on their soil. Kyrgyzstan isn't a signatory of statute. OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — The Danish wind energy company Orsted has put up a $100 million guarantee that it will build New Jersey's first offshore wind farm. But it will lose that money if the project is not operating by Dec. 2025 — a year after the deadline approved by state utility regulators. New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities approved an agreement Wednesday with Orsted under which the company would forfeit that money if the project is not up and running within 12 months of a series of deadlines previously set by the board. The guarantee money is required under terms of a tax break New Jersey granted Orsted in July. NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors in New York City have rewritten their indictment against U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife to charge them with conspiring to have him act as an agent of Egypt and Egyptian officials. The superseding indictment filed in Manhattan federal court Thursday accuses Menendez of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The new charge comes just weeks after the Democrat and his wife were accused of accepting bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey businessmen who wanted the senator's help and influence over foreign affairs. Messages left Thursday with Menendez's Senate staff and attorney haven't been returned. MIAMI (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of betraying him just before the U.S. killed a top Iranian general in 2020. That's a break from the Republican 2024 presidential field's uniform support of Israel as it responds to Hamas' deadly attack. Trump's comments at a Florida rally Wednesday were quickly denounced by one of Netanyahu's allies and several Republicans who oppose Trump. Trump claims Israel pulled out of assisting in the 2020 airstrike that killed the Iranian general the night before it happened. Trump says Netanyahu “let us down.” A member of Netanyahu's Likud Party accused Trump of spreading propaganda and said Israelis “don't have to bother with him.” DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union significantly escalated its walkout against Detroit's Three automakers by going on strike Wednesday at the largest and most profitable Ford plant in the world. The union's president on Thursday threatened escalation at Jeep maker Stellantis. In a surprise move, 8,700 members left their jobs at Ford's Kentucky truck plant in Louisville Wednesday evening. The plant makes profitable heavy-duty F-Series pickup trucks and large SUVs. UAW President Shawn Fain says the union has waited long enough to bargain for a fair contract. Ford called the strike expansion “grossly irresponsible” and said it has made strong wage and benefit offers. The hypnotic “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” film is a near exact replica of her blockbuster concert performance, which recaps all 10 of her studio albums across 17 years of recorded work. For those who've managed to snag tickets to the Eras Tour, it offers the ability to relive the experience. For those who didn't attend, it's a chance to test expectations versus reality, writes The Associated Press' Maria Sherman. But for everyone, it is the opportunity to have every seat in the house transform into the best seat in the house, up close and personal footage from every vantage point. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 2 -  Good Thursday morning! Here's what Nick covers this hour: American soldier Travis King has arrived back in the U.S. after being expelled from North Korea. There is no clear reports on WHY he was expelled from North Korea. Did we give them money? Did they brainwash him? What's the deal here? The Senate unanimously passed a resolution late Wednesday formalizing business attire as the proper dress code while on the floor of the chamber following bipartisan backlash, after Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., quietly relaxed dress requirements last week that allowed Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to continue to wear hooded sweatshirts and gym shorts. President Biden claimed his family did not make any money in China, but first son Hunter listed his father's Delaware home as the beneficiary address for two 2019 bank wires of Chinese origin, House Republicans revealed after obtaining transfer records. On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to release new documents from IRS whistleblower testimony confirming that Hunter sold access to his father Joe via the “family brand.” The documents revealed Hunter was selling the ‘Biden family brand' in 23 countries. The U.S. Department of Justice ordered FBI and IRS investigators involved in the Hunter Biden probe to "remove any reference" to President Biden in a search warrant related to a Foreign Agents Registration Act probe, new documents released by the House Ways & Means Committee reveal.

Political consultant and author of the forthcoming book Dangerous Company: The Misadventures of a "Foreign Agent" Sam Patten joins to discuss his beginnings in the political world, his time spent overseas as the head of the Moscow office of the International Republican Institute and in Ukraine while working with Paul Manafort.   Later, Sam weighs in on the state of Russia's war on Ukraine, discusses the charges that were brought against him during the Mueller investigation for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and shares stories of the life-threatening situations he has lived through while working across the globe.   Follow Martha on Twitter: @MarthaMacCallum  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chairman James Comer says if Republicans hadn't won the House and if his Committee didn't have subpoena power, the American people would never have known about the Biden crime family. They would still think the laptop was Russian disinformation, they'd believe Joe when he said his son never took money from China, that his son was a legitimate businessman. All lies the national media coordinated with Joe Biden and the DNC to make the average American believe. Comer says he thinks there'll be a vote on an impeachment inquiry in the next three weeks and he believes it will pass. Comer's Committee has not only found the Bidens' many crimes but also found a massive government cover-up. Comer says there's already more than enough evidence pointing to Joe Biden as the ringleader, not just knowing about the crimes, not just lying about them but being the ringleader. Very coordinated criminal activity. It's what RICO is all about. The Committee is finding other crimes including violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, crimes Joe Biden himself has violated. Comer thinks they'll find even more evidence of Joe Biden, as VP and President, committing crimes. Our federal government has been infiltrated by liberal activists and this investigation will be their Armageddon, and that's why the government is obstructing, hiding and burying evidence to keep it from the Oversight Committee. GUEST: CHAIRMAN JAMES COMER, OVERSIGHTSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0:00 - Mr. Freeze McConnell 10:18 - Trump on COVIDians bringing back COVID: we will not comply 26:32 - Dan & Amy investigate Mundelein High School for Race-Based and Sex-Based Discrimination in Violation of Title VI and Title IX 41:34 - Sam Patten, American political consultant and lobbyist who received international attention in relation to the Mueller Investigation. Charged with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act for failing to register as a foreign agent, offers his Confessions of a Russiagate survivor and shares details from his memoir Dangerous Company: The Misadventures of a “Foreign Agent”  For more on Sam and his book visit  dangerouscompanybook.com 56:20 - Why Dan Proft is Single: Dan brings the receipts  01:17:51 -S.A. McCarthy, news writer at The Washington Stand writing for Real Clear Investigations, looks into  Woke U.S. Diplomacy. Follow S.A. McCarthy on Twitter @pipesmoknpapist 01:29:33 - Contributing Editor to the City Journal, John Tierney, says  No Masks, Please, We're Rational. Jon is also the co-author of  The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It 01:41:49 - Party Bros return to take on the inflatsch 01:44:33 - Compact Magazine's Sohrab Ahmari on his new book "Tyranny, Inc."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Hunter Biden's ex-business partner Devon Archer appears on Capitol Hill behind closed doors to testify about Joe Biden's involvement in his son's deals, the threat of a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act looms over the proceedings. Plus, Democrat Rep. Jim Himes makes a bold statement about Hunter Biden's wrongdoings rarely heard from the left.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BlazeTV contributors Jaco Booyens and John Doyle join the show today to discuss the year-old MSNBC article that claimed physical fitness is tied to white supremacy. Elon Musk and Joe Rogan joined the chorus of mockery aimed at an MSNBC opinion columnist's claim. Professor Cynthia Miller-Idriss suggested that the far-right has exploited pandemic fitness trends to radicalize combat-sports spaces. Musk and Rogan, known for their interest in fitness, derided the assertion, with Musk highlighting the blurring lines between parody and reality. Gal Luft, an American-Israeli energy expert sought as a witness in House Republicans' investigation into the Biden family's business dealings, has been charged in the Southern District of New York. The charges include failure to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, arms trafficking, Iranian sanctions violations, making false statements, and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Jonah Hill's ex-girlfriend is speaking out on their troubling relationship last year. Sarah Brady leaked their text messages and is now claiming that she was emotionally abused by Hill, but many are saying Hill was actually just setting boundaries.  Today's Sponsors: Shop Tommy John's colorful NEW Summer Collection at tommyjohn.com/WHY and get TWENTY PERCENT OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER! Save TWENTY PERCENT RIGHT NOW at http://www.tommyjohn.com/why Keep American farming going by signing up at http://www.MoinkBox.com/NEWS RIGHT NOW, and listeners of this show get FREE ground beef for a YEAR. That's one year of the best ground beef you'll ever taste, but for a limited time. The Essential Starter Kit – which features four of Naturally It's Clean's most popular products – is one of its top-selling items, and you can get 15% off for a limited time when you go to http://www.NaturallyIt'sClean.com/Sara. These products are manufactured here in the USA, they support your conservative values, and on top of everything, they offer free, two-day shipping! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As federal funds meant to aid Black farmers continue to be diverted elsewhere, members of the Congressional Black Caucus demand that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack reveal who is receiving billions in federal debt relief.And then part two of the discussion bout how the Foreign Agents Registration Act and other laws s are used to target movements for justice and power... Including the African People's Socialist Party and Cop City Protesters...We hear more voices from the program held by the Expose COINTELPRO and Beyond Coalition. Plus headlines on Fascist Indian leader in DC...  The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people's voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast Topics Include: ·        Doug Ford says health-care deal w. Trudeau is ‘very very close' ·        Smith and Trudeau meet in Ottawa ·        Calls to draft Green's Mike Schrenier a sign of Liberal arrogance ·        And more…. GUEST: Peggy Nash, Former NDP Finance Critic, and author of Women Winning Office: An Activist's Guide To Getting Elected, available May 2022 - Any federal attempt to unmask Chinese foreign agents must be “culturally sensitive,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino (Eglinton—Lawrence, ON) said last night. Legislators have sought passage of a Foreign Agents Registration Act similar to a law enacted by the United States in 1938, according to Blacklock's Reporter. “To deal with threats to national security we need agencies to be inclusive, diverse and culturally sensitive so Canadians can have trust and confidence that as we are taking actions to mitigate against threats to national security they believe we are consistently going to act in the national interest,” said Mendicino. GUEST: Phil Gurski, President of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting, Distinguished Fellow with the University of Ottawa's National Security program, and former CSIS analyst. - Ontario's Integrity Commissioner has cleared Premier Doug Ford of wrongdoing after developers, described as “personal friends” of the premier, attended a stag and doe party for his daughter's wedding. The revelation comes as the Ford government faces questions about whether developers were given advance notice about the controversial decision to remove lands from the Greenbelt, which the premier denies. How is this appropriate and not a conflict of interest? GUEST: Duff Conacher, Co-Founder of Democracy Watch 

The discovery of classified documents at the Penn Biden Center raises questions about the connection between the Biden family and the Chinese Communist Party, according to Paul D. Kamenar, lead counsel for the National Legal and Policy Center. Kamenar has been investigating the connection between Hunter Biden and the Penn Biden Center since 2020, long before the recent classified documents scandal. Through multiple Freedom of Information Act requests, Kamenar is seeking to identify the source of more than $20 million in anonymous donations made to the University of Pennsylvania in recent years, the linkage to the university's Penn Biden Center, and potential connections to both Hunter Biden and the Chinese regime. We speak with Kamenar about why he believes that Hunter Biden and the Penn Biden Center must register as foreign agents of China under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, as well as why the federal government must step up its oversight of Chinese money flowing into U.S. universities. ⭕️ Stay up-to-date with Josh with the Crossroads NEWSLETTER

On this edition of Parallax Views, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft's Ben Freeman returns to discuss his report The Emirati Lobby in America and his upcoming report on Saudi lobbying in the United States. We begin the conversation by discussing the nature of the U.S./UAE relationship and the way the military, economics, and weapons sales figures into that relationship. We then delve into the activities, legal and illegal, of the Emirati Lobby in the United States and the ways it seeks to influence U.S. foreign policy. Ben's Quincy report details the political activities of 25 firms registered as working on behalf of the UAE under FARA (the Foreign Agents Registration Act). Ben and I delve into the cases of former Trump advisor Tom Barrack, Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, and the high-ranking military officials that have worked on behalf of UAE interests. Additionally, we discuss the UAE in relation to other Gulf State countries, namely the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Moreover, Ben and I discuss Kristen Sinema and the F-35 deal that benefitted Saudi Arabia; the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (or just Akin Gump); how the Emirati Lobby donates to influential D.C. think tanks; the Abraham Accords; the Dubai Expo 2020; the war in Yemen; the issue of dark money; why having FARA is better than not having FARA;  why the UAE has such significant lobbying efforts in the U.S. compared to some other Middle Eastern countries; foreign influence operations and academia; cultural exchange vs. foreign influence ops; how the Emirati Lobby and other foreign lobbies are actually not one group but a constellation of organizations and firms; PR and perception management; PR efforts by foreign lobby's to put attention on countries other than their own; how foreign lobbies can impact not only U.S. foreign policy, but also negatively impact smaller, more economically disadvantaged countries; arms sales; and much, much more!

This past Monday, the criminal trial of Thomas Barrack began in federal court in the Eastern District of New York. Barrack, who served as an informal advisor to the 2016 Trump campaign and then as chair of Trump's inaugural committee, is alleged to have acted as a foreign agent of the United Arab Emirates. According to the indictment, Barrack acted as a back channel for the UAE to influence U.S. foreign policy. Lawfare executive editor Natalie Orpett sat down with Alex Iftimie, a partner at the law firm Morrison Foerster, and a former Department of Justice attorney specializing in national security matters, including the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, and related statutes. They discussed the case against Barrack, the significance of the charges to broader enforcement strategy, and why foreign influence matters for U.S. national security. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Foreign Agents Registration Act, FARA, has been making headlines recently, as Washington seeks to crack down on foreign influence in the United States. But the law has a surprising history, and could be in for some major updates in the coming months. In the first of a two-part series, Host Olga Torres is joined by David Laufman, former Chief of the Counterintelligence and Export Controls Section at the Department of Justice to discuss all things FARA. Be sure to tune in next week, for Part 2, where David will discuss high-profile sanctions and export enforcement cases, DOJ voluntary self-disclosures, and C-suite compliance certifications recently announced by DOJ.

West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy is Now Open! 8am-9am PT/ 11am-Noon ET for our especially special Daily Specials, Smothered Benedict Wednesdays!Starting off in the Bistro Cafe, the Justice Department requesting transcripts from the January 6 select committee “may be the savvy way to investigate” the insurrection.On the rest of the menu, the Biden administration announced a plan to increase the supply of affordable housing, and Pennsylvania could benefit the most; three Wisconsin Democratic voters filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against ten fake Trump electors and the two lawyers who advised them; and, the Justice Department sued Republican megadonor Steve Wynn to register as an agent of China, the first affirmative civil lawsuit under the Foreign Agents Registration Act in more than thirty years.After the break, we move to the Chef's Table where the UN special envoy for Iraq warned that “the streets are about to boil over;” and, the Spanish government approved a draft bill that widens abortion rights, while making Spain the first country in Europe entitling workers to paid menstrual leave.All that and more, on West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy with Chef de Cuisine Justice Putnam.Bon Appétit!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"To those of us who believe that all of life is sacred every crumb of bread and sip of wine is a Eucharist, a remembrance, a call to awareness of holiness right where we are. I want all of the holiness of the Eucharist to spill out beyond church walls, out of the hands of priests and into the regular streets and sidewalks, into the hands of regular, grubby people like you and me, onto our tables, in our kitchens and dining rooms and backyards.” -- Shauna Niequist "Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Show Notes & Links: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/5/18/2098663/-West-Coast-Cookbook-amp-Speakeasy-Daily-Special-Smothered-Benedict-WednesdaysWCC&S Deep Archive:https://archive.org/details/west_coast_cookbook_and_speakeasy_with_justice_putnam_21_nov_17

Hunter Biden's dealings with Chinese energy firm CEFC are in violation of the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), said Rep. Mike Johnson on April 5. https://ept.ms/3uZj5ac  

Congress enacted the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in 1938 to control Nazi propaganda. FARA requires U.S. entities that provide political or public relations services to foreign entities to disclose their relationships with their clients, and information about related activities and finances. Partner Jeff Hunter provides a few tips to make sure you don't run afoul of the FARA rules. See https://www.kelleydrye.com/News-Events/Publications/Client-Advisories/Increased-Focus-on-FARA-Registrations-Is-Likely-%E2%80%93 Jeffrey J. Hunter jhunter@kelleydrye.com (202) 342-8574 https://www.kelleydrye.com/Our-People/Jeffrey-J-Hunter https://www.kelleydrye.com/Our-Practices/Regulatory-Government-Relations/Campaign-Finance-and-Political-Law

This week on Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Joshua R. Fattal about a fascinating law review article he's written: “FARA on Facebook: Modernizing the Foreign Agents Registration Act to Address Propagandists on Social Media.” The Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as FARA, is an American law that requires lobbyists for foreign entities to register with the Justice Department. It made the headlines when Special Counsel Robert Mueller claimed that Russians spreading social media disinformation around the 2016 election failed to register under the law. Josh argues that Mueller's indictments represent an innovative new use of FARA—and he suggests that the law could offer a mechanism for the U.S. government to address disinformation campaigns. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Anonymous speech In Talley v California (1960), the Court struck down a Los Angeles city ordinance that made it a crime to distribute anonymous pamphlets. Justice Hugo Black wrote in the majority opinion: "There can be no doubt that such an identification requirement would tend to restrict freedom to distribute information and thereby freedom of expression. ... Anonymous pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and even books have played an important role in the progress of mankind." In McIntyre v Ohio Elections Commission (1995), the Court struck down an Ohio statute that made it a crime to distribute anonymous campaign literature. However, in Meese v Keene (1987), the Court upheld the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, under which several Canadian films were defined as "political propaganda", requiring their sponsors to be identified. Campaign finance. In Buckley v Valeo (1976), the Supreme Court reviewed the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and related laws, which restricted the monetary contributions that may be made to political campaigns and expenditure by candidates. The Court affirmed the constitutionality of limits on campaign contributions, saying they "serve the basic governmental interest in safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process without directly impinging upon the rights of individual citizens and candidates to engage in political debate and discussion." However, the Court overturned the spending limits, which it found imposed "substantial restraints on the quantity of political speech". The court again scrutinized campaign finance regulation in McConnell v Federal Election Commission (2003). The case centered on the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), a federal law that imposed new restrictions on campaign financing. The Supreme Court upheld provisions which barred the raising of soft money by national parties and the use of soft money by private organizations to fund certain advertisements related to elections. However, the Court struck down the "choice of expenditure" rule, which required that parties could either make coordinated expenditures for all its candidates, or permit candidates to spend independently, but not both, which the Court agreed "placed an unconstitutional burden on the parties' right to make unlimited independent expenditures". The Court also ruled that the provision preventing minors from making political contributions was unconstitutional, relying on Tinker v Des Moines Independent Community School District. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

*) Morocco's ruling party suffers crushing defeat in elections Morocco's ruling Justice and Development Party has suffered great losses in the parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results. The PJD went from holding 125 seats to 12 in Parliament. The vote has seen the rise of the main liberal and centre-right parties. The PJD has been in power since 2011 following pro-democracy protests. *) Taliban forbid protests and, possibly, women sports The new Taliban government is seeking to end protests in Afghanistan after days of heavy-handed assaults on protesters as well as journalists covering the demonstrations. The minister has issued an order to end all protests unless demonstrators get prior permission, including approval of slogans and banners. It's unlikely the women who have been leading rallies demanding their rights from the hardline rulers will be allowed to protest under the rules. Women will also be prohibited from playing sports, Australian media quoted the Taliban cultural commission as saying on Wednesday. *) Afghan national flag carrier to resume international flights next week Afghanistan's national flag carrier is preparing to resume international flights next week, its new president has said. Rahmatullah Gulzad praised Qatari and Turkish technical experts for their assistance in getting Kabul airport operational in the shortest possible time. The teams are still working on Kabul airport, he said, adding they will stay for another month to ensure that it meets international standards. *) Libyan warlord Haftar hires American lobbyists to woo Biden Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar has hired veteran American political insiders to lobby on his behalf with the Biden administration and Congress. Haftar has paid a $40,000 retainer to former special counsel to president Bill Clinton, Lanny Davis and ex-Republican House lawmaker Robert Livingston. A Foreign Agents Registration Act filing dated September 3 shows Haftar will pay some $960,000 over the course of six months. And finally... *) Confederate leader Robert Lee's statue removed in Virginia The statue of the confederate general Robert E Lee has been taken down in the US state of Virginia. The pro-slavery leader's monument was removed after a year-long battle. The figure had been towering over Richmond since 1890. Memorials of confederate leaders had been increasingly targeted in the country's protests against racism.

What crimes did a family of spies commit with stealing state secrets? Could Black Widows successfully argue the insanity defense for crimes they committed in service of the Red Room? Join attorneys Joshua Gilliland, Jessica Mederson, and Mark Zaid for their legal analysis of these issues and more. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/thelegalgeeks)

On this edition of Parallax Views, the issue of how politics on Capitol Hill is effected by foreign lobbies, influence peddling, and think tanks with connections to the defense industry are important but oft underdiscussed topics. Joining us to unravel these matters is Ben Freeman, Director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the Center for International Policy. We discuss the Foreign Agents Registration Act and its history as well as the role of Saudi lobbying on the Republican Party and Qatari lobbying on the Democratic Party. Additionally, we discuss the need for transparency when it comes to foreign lobbies and Ben explains why these issues should matter to average American citizens and voters. The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee is also discussed. But we do not stop at the issue of foreign lobbies. We also discuss the topic of the military industrial complex and Ben's updating of that term to the military industrial congressional think tank complex. What is the role of the defense industry and weapons manufacturing in influencing U.S. policy? In discussing think tanks we are able to tie foreign lobbies back into the conversation because both foreign lobbies and defense contractors play a huge role in the funding of political think tanks in America. Given that experts at many think tanks are featured on various media outlets it is important to be transparent about who is funding these think tanks and how it may influence the agenda of those think tanks. In regards to think tanks we tackle the question of how trust can be restored in think tanks and, moreover, why it is important for that trust to be restored.

Don’t miss this week’s podcast as Dr. Jasser looks at the symbolic visit of Pope Francis to Baghdad and his meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. What is the context and what does it mean for the region? Also, western thinkers and media are starting to finally take notice of what’s happening in France in the midst of its high level culture clash with Islamists. Zuhdi reflects on the importance of this is in the battle to defeat political Islam. Last, in 2020, the DOJ demanded that Al Jazeera file under the Foreign Agents Registration Act in the U.S. Why hasn’t this happened yet?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Justice Department’s enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act is the most aggressive in decades. Enacted in 1938, FARA “requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities or other activities specified under the statute to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities.” With greater enforcement, lawyers and their clients need to know today how this law applies to them. What are lawyers' responsibilities and obligations under FARA? What are the best practices to comply with the law? David Laufman, partner at Wiggin & Dana LLP and former Chief of Counterintelligence & Export Control in the DOJ National Security Division (responsible for FARA enforcement) explains FARA for lawyers and law firms in this program.

This week on Lawfare’s Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Joshua R. Fattal about a fascinating law review article he’s written: “FARA on Facebook: Modernizing the Foreign Agents Registration Act to Address Propagandists on Social Media.” The Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as FARA, is an American law that requires lobbyists for foreign entities to register with the Justice Department. It made the headlines when Special Counsel Robert Mueller claimed that Russians spreading social media disinformation around the 2016 election failed to register under the law. Josh argues that Mueller’s indictments represent an innovative new use of FARA—and he suggests that the law could offer a mechanism for the U.S. government to address disinformation campaigns.

DOJ recently announced it is stepping up enforcement of FARA (the Foreign Agents Registration Act), breathing new life into this World War II-era law. FARA requires “agents” of a foreign principal to register – but Joe Moreno, former federal prosecutor and partner at Cadwalader, thinks the law is vague and is being applied too broadly. In one of the cases to come out of the Mueller investigation, former Skadden partner Greg Craig was acquitted of FARA charges over his representation of the Ukrainian government. The case is an example of DOJ’s increased focus on U.S.-foreign relationships and the challenges and deficiencies of this statute, according to Moreno. Despite the law’s shortcomings, FARA enforcement may be a key part of DOJ’s policy as it seeks to avoid another 2016 election scenario. Moreno thinks more clarity is needed on FARA’s reach and requirements. Moreno also has some advice for law firms and consultants who represent foreign entities for staying compliant with FARA. Listen and subscribe to Law X.0 from your mobile device:  Via Apple Podcasts | Via Stitcher | Via Overcast | Via Spotify  Hosts: Dori Goldstein and Meg McEvoy Guest: Joe Moreno, Partner, White Collar Defense and Investigations Group, Cadwalader Producer: RJ Jewell

The currently legal ability of obscenely rich people to bribe lawmakers and law enforcers is the source of many - if not all - of our political problems. In this episode, get an update on the few democracy-enhancing bills that have moved in this Congress and Jen speaks to Sam Fieldman - the National Counsel at Wolf-PAC - who explains how we can constitutionally end the role of money in politics by going around Congress. Joe Briney joins Jen for the thank you's. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Click here to contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! ______________________________________________________ Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD129:The impeachment of John Koskinen CD192: H.R. 1 Outline Recommended Reading Article: Ensuring elections 'free from foreign intrusion' by John Sarbanes and Brian Frosh, Baltimore Sun, July 3, 2019 Article: Alexander-Murrary Bill, by Donald Shaw, ReadSludge.com, June 10, 2019. Article: Microsoft and Election Guard by Whitney Webb, MPN News, May 24, 2019. Document: Ballot-Marking Devices (BMDs) Cannot Assure the Will of the Voters    SSRN, May 21, 2019 Article: DHS to Assess Risks Posed to Ballot-Marking Devices by Mark Niese, GovTech, May 2, 2019. Article: DHS, FBI say election systems in all 50 states were targeted in 2016 by Sean Gallagher, ARS Technica, April 10, 2019. Article: Amid Election Integrity Criticism, Georgia Governor Signs Bill to Replace Voting Machines by Greg Bluestein and Mark Niesse, Governing, April 5, 2019.  Article: Firm’s close ties to Georgia stir concerns about voting system purchase by Mark Niesse, Atlanta Journal, January 30, 2019 Article: “Our best friend in this debate is the public,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporters on Friday. by Ella Nilsen, Vox, January 04, 2019. Article: How the GOP is using the Help America Vote Act to block voting, by Thom Hartmann, Salon.com, November 23, 2018. Article: The Latest: Some Georgia Statewide Races Too Close to Call  U.S. News, November 7, 2018. Article: VOTING MACHINES ARE STILL ABSURDLY VULNERABLE TO ATTACKS by Lily Hay Newman, Wired, September 28, 2018. Article: Top Voting Machine Vendor Admits It Installed Remote-Access Software on Systems Sold to States by Kim Zetter, Vice News, July 17, 2018. Article: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Ran—and Won—as a Movement Candidate, by DD Guttenplan, The Nation, June 27, 2018. Article: Voting machine vendor treated election officials to trips to Vegas, elsewhere  by Greg Gordon, Amy Renee Leiker, Jamie Self and Stanley Dunlap, McClatchy DC Bureau, June 21, 2018. Document: LD-2 Lobbying Report Disclosure Form Secretary of the Senate Office of Public Records, 2018 Data: Lobbying Spending Data:Lobbyists representing Election Systems & Software, 2018  OpenSecrets.org, 2018. Article: The Fraud Behind Article V Convention Opposition  by Sam Fieldman, Medium.com, October 12, 2017. Article: Some Machines Are Flipping Votes, But That Doesn't Mean They're Rigged  by Pam Fessler, NPR, October 26, 2016. Document: 2012 REDMAP Summary Report  Redistricting Majority Project, January 4, 2013. Document: Report on Proper Use of Campaign Funds and Resources  Committee on Ethics, January 4, 2013. Document: Title 36 organizations  Every CRSRReport.com, June 17, 2011.  _____________________________________________________ Bill Outline H.R. 2722: SAFE Act Sponsor: Zoe Lofgren of northern California 74 pages Passed the House on June 27, 2019 225-184 Only GOP yes: Newbie Rep. Brian Mast - 38 year old wounded Afghanistan war veteran representing the Palm Beach area Went to the Committee on Rules and Administration in the Senate Title 1: Financial Support for Election Infrastructure Subtitle A: Voting System Security Improvement Grants Sec. 102: Paper ballot requirements “The voting system shall require the use of an individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballot of the voters’ vote that shall be marked and made available for inspection and verification by the voter before the voter’s vote is cast and counted, which shall be counted by hand or read by an optical character recognition device or other counting device." “The voting system shall provide the voter with an opportunity to correct any error on the paper ballot…” Recounts: The paper ballot “shall constitute the official ballot and shall be preserved and used as the official ballot for purposes any recount or audit conducted with respect to any election for Federal office in which the voting system is used.” Sec. 104: Durability and readability requirements for ballots Ballots must be on “durable” paper, which means it is capable of withstanding multiple recounts by hand without compromising the fundamental integrity of the ballots” and they must maintain readability for 22 months. Sec. 105: Recycled Paper Ballots must be printed on recycled paper starting on January 1, 2021. Sec. 107: These rules will apply “for any election for Federal office held in 2020 or any succeeding year.” Grandfathered equipment: Districts using machines that print paper ballots with the votes already tallied can use those machines until 2022, but they must offer every voter the opportunity to vote using a blank paper ballot, which are not allowed to be designated as provisional. Sec. 111:Grants for equipment changes Federal tax money will be given to states to replace their voting system, if needed. Grant amount: At least $1 per the average number of people who voted in the last two elections To use these grants, the states can only buy voting equipment from a vendor “owned and controlled by a citizen or permanent resident of the United States” The vendor must tell government officials if they get any part of their election infrastructure parts from outside the United States Authorizes (but doesn’t appropriate) $600 million for 2019 and $175 million for each even number election year through 2026 Subtitle B:Risk-Limiting Audits Sec. 121: Risk-limited audits required for all elections for Federal office State election officials will make the rules for how these will be done Sec. 122: Federal government will pay for audits Authorizes “such sums as are necessary” Title II: Promoting Cybersecurity Through Improvements in Election Administration Sec. 201: Voting system cybersecurity requirements Vote counting machine rules Machines that count ballots must be built so that "it’s mechanically impossible for the device to add or change the vote selections on a printed or market ballot” The device must be “capable of exporting its data (including vote tally data sets and cast vote records) in a machine-readable, open data standards format” The device’s software’s source code, system build tools, and compilation parameters must be given to certain Federal and State regulators and “may be shared by any entity to whom it has been provided… with independent experts for cybersecurity analysis.” The devise must have technology that allows “election officials, cybersecurity researchers, and voters to verify that the software running on the device was built from a specific, untampered version of the code” that was provided to Federal and State regulators. Loophole for moles: The Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security can waive any of the requirements other than the first one that prohibits machines that can change votes. The waivers can be applied to a device for no more than two years. The waivers must be publicly available on the Internet. Not effective until November 2024 election. Ballot marking machines and vote counters can’t use or “be accessible by any wireless, power-line, or concealed communication device” or “connected to the Internet or any non-local computer system via telephone or other communication network at any time.” Effective for the 2020 general election and all elections after Ballot marking devices can’t be capable of counting votes States may submit applications to Federal regulators for testing and certification the accuracy of ballot marking machines, but they don’t have to. Sec. 202: Testing of existing voting systems 9 months before each regularly scheduled general election for Federal offices, “accredited laboratories” will test the voting system hardware and software with was certified for use in the most recent election. If the hardware and software fails the test, it “shall” be decertified. Effective for the 2020 General Election. Sec. 203: Requiring use of software and hardware for which information is disclosed by manufacturer “In the operation of voting systems in an election for Federal office, a State may only use software for which the manufacturer makes the source code… publicly available online under a license that grants a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, sub-licensable license to all intellectual property rights in such source code…." …except that the manufacturer may prohibit people from using the software for commercial advantage or “private monetary compensation” that is unrelated to doing legitimate research. States “may not use a voting system in an election for Federal office unless the manufacture of the system publicly discloses online the identification of the hardware used to operate the system” If the voting system is not widely-used, the manufacture must make the design “publicly available online under a license that grants a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, sub-licensable license to all intellectual property rights…” Effective for the 2020 General election Sec. 204: Poll books will be counted as part of voting systems for these regulations Effective January 1, 2020 Title III: Use of voting machines manufactured in the United States Sec. 301: Voting machines must be manufactured in the United States HR 391: White House Ethics Transparency Act of 2019 Pdf of the bill Reported June 12, 2019 out of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform 23-16 On January 28, 2017 - a week after taking office - President Trump issued an executive order that requires all executive agency appointees to sign and be contractually obligated to a pledge that… The appointee won’t lobby his/her former agency for 5 years after leaving Will not lobby the administration he/she previously worked for Will not, after leaving government, “engage in any activity on behalf of any foreign government or foreign political party which, were it undertaken on January 20, 2017, would require me to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938” Will not accept gifts from registered lobbyists Will recuse themselves from any matter involving their former employers for two years from the date of their appointment If the appointee was a lobbyist before entering government, that person will not work on any matter that they had lobbied for for 2 years after the appointment BUT Section 3 allows waivers: “The President or his designee may grant to any person a waiver of any restrictions contained in the pledge signed by such person.” Sec. 2: Requires any executive branch official who gets a waiver to submit a written copy to the Director of the Office of Government Ethics and make a written copy of the waiver available to the public on the website of the agency where the appointee works. Backdated to January 20, 2017 (President Trump’s inauguration) H.R. 745: Executive Branch Comprehensive Ethics Enforcement Act of 2019 Reported March 26, 2019 out of the Committee on Oversight and Reform 18-12 Pdf of the bill  Sec. 2: Creates a transition ethics program Requires the President-elect to give Congress a list of everyone in consideration for security clearance within 10 days of the applications submission and a list of everyone granted security clearance within 10 days of their approval. Requires the transition team to create and enforce an “ethics plan” that needs to describe the role of registered lobbyists on the transition team, the role of people registered as foreign agents, and which transition team members of sources of income which are not known by the public Transition team members must be prohibited by the ethics plan from working on matters where they have “personal financial conflicts of interest” during the transition and explain how they plan to address those conflicts of interest during the incoming administration. The transition team ethics plan must be publicly avail on the website of the General Services Administration Transition team members need to submit a list of all positions they have held outside the Federal Government for the previous 12 months -including paid and unpaid positions-, all sources of compensation that exceed $5,000 in the previous 12 months, and a list of policy issues worked on in their previous roles, a list of issues the team member will be recused from as part of the administration. Transition team members that do not comply will not be granted any access to the Federal department or agency that isn’t open to the public. S. 195 : Creates a transition ethics program: Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act Pdf of the bill   Reported 4/10/19 out of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. On Senate Calendar Sec. 2: Definitions “Congressionally mandated report” means a report that is required to be submitted to Congress by a bill, resolution, or conference report that becomes law. Does NOT include reports required from 92 nonprofit corporations labeled as “Patriotic and National Organizations” (“Title 36 corporations”) Sec. 3: Website for reports 1 year after enactment, there needs to be a website “that allows the public to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one place” If a Federal agency fails to submit a report, the website will tell us the information that is required by law and the date when the report was supposed to be submitted The government can’t charge a fee for access to the reports The reports can be redacted by the Federal agencies Resources Twitter Link: Rachel Maddow Twitter Link  Twitter. Employment Profile: Employment History for Richardson, Sean J OpenSecrets.org Employment Profile: Employment History for Jen Olson  OpenSecrets.org Email Link: Sam Fieldman Email at Wolf-PAC   PDF Email: Email with Eli Baumwell of the W.V. ACLU Volunteer Link: Volunteer for Wolf-PAC Resource Link: Article V Wolf-PAC Resource Link Documentary: Wolf Pac Documentary Congressional Dish Interview: Interview with Sam Fieldman from Wolf-PAC Preet Bharara Podcast: Taking Trump to Court (with David Cole) YouTube Video: Wolf PAC Call for Volunteers - Get Money Out of Politics! YouTube Video: Mike Monetta On Why Wolf-PAC Is Making A Movie YouTube Video: Wolf PAC Resolution Passes New Jersey Senate  YouTube Video: Fight Against Money In Politics: Cenk Uygur (Wolf-PAC Presentation) YouTube Video: Republican Vermont Representative Vicky Strong YouTube Video: Americans for Prosperity testify in New Jersey YouTube Video: Hawaii Senate Judiciary Hearing on 2018 SCR 76, Wolf-PAC YouTube Video: Cenk Uygur's Speech at The Conference to Restore the Republic YouTube Video: Article V Debate Document: Case Docket: Citizens United v. Fed. Election Comm'n Document: Brief by ACLU in support of Citizens United Document: Brief by former members of the ACLU in support of neither party Document: Essay on Term Limits Document: Article V of the US Constitution - Overview Document: Virginia Plan (First draft of the Constitution) Document: Full Text of Congressional Regulations on Article V Document: 1984 Version of Congressional Regulations on Article V Document: 1987 Version of Congressional Regulations on Article V  Document: Congressional Record Archive Copy of Congressional Regulations on Article V Document: The Fix It America Constitutional Amendment Document: Take Back our Republic Document: Role of Congress Document: American Promise 28th Amendment Document: United for the People Amendments Reference Website: Massachusetts Commission Govtrack: H.R. 2722 Document: H.R. 391 Document: H.R. 745 Document: H.R. 745 Document: H.R. 964 Document: S. 195   Sound Clip Sources Watch on C-Span: House floor debate on HR 2722 June 27,2019 sound clip transcripts pdf Watch on C-Span: William Barr Testifies on Mueller Report Before Senate Judiciary Committee May 1, 2019 1:57:55 Sen. Amy Klocuchar (MN): For the last two years, Senator Lankford and I, on a bipartisan bill with support from the ranking and the head of the intelligence committee; have been trying to get the Secure Elections Act passed. This would require backup paper ballots. If anyone gets federal funding for an election, it would require audits, um, and it would require better cooperation. Yet the White House, just as we were on the verge of getting a markup in the rules committee (getting it to the floor where I think we would get the vast majority of senators), the White House made calls to stop this. Were you aware of that? Attorney General William Barr: No. Sen. Amy Klocuchar (MN): Okay, well that happened. So what I would like to know from you as our nation’s chief law enforcement officer if you will work with Senator Lankford and I to get this bill done? Because otherwise we are not going to have any clout to get backup paper ballots if something goes wrong in this election. Attorney General William Barr: Well, I will… I will work with you, uh, to, uh, enhance the security of our election and I’ll take a look at what you’re proposing. I’m not familiar with it. Sen. Amy Klocuchar (MN): Okay. Well, it is the bipartisan bill. It has Senator Burr and Senator Warner. It’s support from Senator Graham was on the bill. Senator Harris is on the bill and the leads are Senator Lankford and myself, and it had significant support in the house as well. Hearing: Committee on Oversight and Reform:Strengthening Ethics Rules for the Executive Branch, February 6, 2019 Watch on Youtube *28:00 Rep Jordan (OH): 2013 we learned that the IRS targeted conservative for their political beliefs during the 2012 election cycle systematically for a sustained period of time. They went after people for their conservative beliefs, plan in place, targeted people. They did it. The gross abuse of power would have continued, if not for the efforts of this committee. 2014 the Obama Administration doubled down and attempted to use the IRS rule making process to gut the ability of social welfare organizations to participate in public debate. Congress has so far prevented this regulation from going into effect, but HR 1 would change that. Hearing: Judiciary Committee For The People Act Of 2019, January 29, 2019  Witness: Sherrilyn Ifill - President and Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Watch on YouTube 32:00 Sherrilyn Ifill: Well before the midterm election, in fact, Georgia officials began placing additional burdens on voters, particularly black and Latino voters, by closing precincts and purging. Over half a million people from the voter rolls the voter purge, which removed 107,000 people, simply because they did not vote in previous elections and respond to a mailing was overseen by the Republican candidate for governor Brian Kemp, who was also the secretary of state. LDF and a chorus of others called on him to recuse himself from participating in the election. But he refused.  ______________________________________________________ Community Suggestions See Community Suggestions HERE. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations ______________________________________________________ Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

Pence-Buttigieg feud heats up While Barr feels backlash after saying Trump campaign was spied on #MAGAFirstNews with @PeterBoykin SPY GAMES: Attorney General William Barr is feeling backlash from both Democrats and the mainstream media for testifying Wednesday that federal authorities spied on the Trump campaign in 2016 ... Despite mounting evidence that the FBI pursued an array of efforts to gather intelligence from within the Trump campaign -- and the fact that the FBI successfully pursued warrants to surveil a former Trump aide in 2016 -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told the Associated Press, "I don't trust Barr, I trust Mueller." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told Fox News that Barr's loyalties were compromised. Various members of the media accused Barr of peddling right-wing "conspiracy theories" and being part of a White House cover-up. STANDOFF OVER TRUMP'S TAXES: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the department hasn't decided if it'll comply with a demand by a key House Democrat to deliver President Trump's tax returns as a Wednesday deadline to turn over the records came and went ... In a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., who asked for Trump's returns a week ago, Mnuchin said Treasury would consult with the Justice Department and further review the request. The news came a day after Mnuchin faced off in a contentious exchange with California Rep. Maxine Waters, the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee. PENCE-BUTTIGIEG FEUD HEATS UP: The war of words between Vice President Mike Penceand Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg over homosexuality is slowly escalating ... On Wednesday, Pence fired backafter the openly gay South Bend, Ind., mayor criticized the vice president for his belief that homosexuality is a choice. "He said some things that are critical of my Christian faith and about me personally. And he knows better. He knows me," Pence told CNBC in an interview scheduled to air Thursday morning. "But I get it. You know, it’s – look, again, 19 people running for president on that side in a party that’s sliding off to the left. And they’re all competing with one another for how much more liberal they are." EX-OBAMA WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL TARGETED IN MUELLER PROBE: Greg Craig, who formerly served as counsel to the Obama White House, is expected to be charged with foreign lobbying violations, his lawyers reportedly said Wednesday ... The case against Craig stemmed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, centering around the lobbying work he performed in 2012 for the Russian-backed president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, while Craig was a partner at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Craig allegedly never registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, which requires lobbyists to declare publicly if they represent foreign leaders, governments or their political parties. FINAL BREXIT DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL HALLOWEEN: European leaders and British Prime Minister Theresa May agreed Wednesday to push the final deadline for the U.K. to depart the bloc until Halloween, with European Council President Donald Tusk warning British politicians to "not waste this time" without ratifying a formal withdrawal agreement ... Britain had been due to leave the EU on Friday, but May rushed to an emergency summit in Brussels to plead with her European counterparts to hold off on saying goodbye for a couple more months. The prime minister had asked for a delay only until June 30, but Tusk said in a tweet that she had agreed to a longer "flexible" extension, which provides for Britain to leave any time before Oct. 31 provided Parliament ratifies a divorce deal and passes accompanying legislation to ensure a smooth transition out of the EU.

Congress passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act in 1938 to address rising concern about Nazi propaganda in the years before World War II. When the arcane law applies, the United States has required foreign agents to comply with stringent disclosure requirements.   Last year, in what amounts to the highest-profile FARA prosecution in decades, Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, with FARA violations in connection with Manafort's work in Ukraine. Manafort's lawyer described the FARA charges as “a very novel theory.”  

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Walter Smolarek (filling in for Brian Becker) and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and author of many books, including “The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America.”Linda Brown died yesterday Brown was a young schoolgirl when she was at the center of a landmark Supreme Court case that ended racial segregation in American schools, Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The hosts talk about her legacy, the impact of Brown v. The Board of Education at the time, and the way that school segregation has morphed, but in effect stayed the same, since then. Tuesday’s weekly series continues, looking at the top economic issues of the day, focusing on the power of Amazon and the decline of department stores and shopping malls. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show.Syria and rebel groups have made evacuation deals in two of three rebel pockets outside of Damascus, in Harasta and Douma. The third pocket, controlled by the Jaish al-Islam, or Army of Islam, Saudi Arabia’s main ally, is not yet being evacuated because the Army of Islam has refused to surrender. That group is still in negotiations with Russia, Syria’s main ally, and another round of talks starts tomorrow. Civilians eagerly await the arrival of humanitarian aid from the Syrian government once rebel forces are gone. Walter and John speak with Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement. A bipartisan group of congresspeople has called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate whether Aljazeera, the news outlet owned by the Qatari government, should register as an agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. Peter van Buren, a former State Department Foreign Service Officer who became a renowned whistleblower, a journalist, and the author of four books, the most recent of which is “Hooper’s War: A Novel of World War II Japan,” joins the show. Over the last day, the US and the European Union have announced that they would expel more than 100 Russian diplomats, many thought to be intelligence officers, from their countries as a result of the Skripal poisoning case. The actions return the state of relations between Russia on one side, and the US and EU on the other, to the days of the Cold War. Reiner Braun, co-president of the International Peace Bureau, joins Walter and John. A Border Patrol agent who shot and killed a teenager who threw a stone at him from the Mexican side of the border, has gone on trial in federal court in Tucson. The agent, who shot the boy ten times, maintains that he was in danger for his safety. Isabel Garcia, co-founder of Coalición de Derechos Humanos, joins the show.The state of California is suing the Trump Administration, arguing that its decision to ask about citizenship status in the next census is an unconstitutional attempt to undercount immigrants. Brian and John speak with Jorge Barón, the executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.

The U.S. Justice Department recently required RT and Sputnik News to register as “foreign agents” under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. We take a look at this (outdated?) legislation, specifically through the lens of foreign influence operations.

Learn what the Espionage Act of 1917 is all about. •Learn the average cost of an espionage trial. The Recap On this week’s episode, Matt and Tony deep dive into some of the craziest and darkest parts of the legal history of the United States. Matt is a recovering Big Law attorney-turned-comedian with a passion for legal history, while Tony has no legal background whatsoever - except for a few minor brushes with the law. Ultimately, it’s Tony’s absurd and funny point of view on laws that will rub Matt the hilarious way. Enjoy provoking laughter as Matt and Tony blow our minds on this week’s topic: espionage - AKA whistleblowers, spies, and agents. Know how much it will cost you if you mess with this country! Check out these episode highlights 02:30 – Overview of Espionage Act of 1917 07:28 – Why does espionage happen? 12:27 – The first espionage cases against the US 22:29 – Edward Snowden leaks US NSA spy program 26:51 - Foreign Agents Registration Act 30:00 -  The Pizza Hut Connection: Hezbollah Reveals 10 Undercover CIA Officer 33:12-   The Sterling Trial: Operation Merlin Meets Curveball

Thank you to our guest moderator Andrew. The black letter law discussed in this episode is: Foreign Agents Registration Act 22 USC 611 Subchapter 2 - https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/22/chapter-11/subchapter-II FARA.gov - https://www.fara.gov/ FARA FAQ - https://www.fara.gov/fara-faq.html#5 FARA Registration Forms - https://www.fara.gov/forms.html FARA Searchable Database - https://www.fara.gov/quick-search.html Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings on FARA July 26, 2017 - https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/oversight-of-the-foreign-agents-registration-act-and-attempts-to-influence-us-elections-lessons-learned-from-current-and-prior-administrations Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings on FARA July 27, 2017 - https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/oversight-of-the-foreign-agents-registration-act-and-attempts-to-influence-us-elections-lessons-learned-from-current-and-prior-administrations-day-2 United States v. Irish Northern Aid Committee - http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/530/241/1370227/ The Justice Department’s report on Billy Carter’ Libyan finance ties - http://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/22/us/text-of-the-final-justice-department-report-on-activities-in-the-billy.html?pagewanted=all In the past 10 years, there have been 4 criminal cases with FARA charges U.S. v Tongsun Park - https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1507748/united-states-v-park/ U.S. v Siljander (DOJ news release) -https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/mow/news2010/siljander.ple.htm U.S. v Fai (DOJ news release)- https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-charged-conspiring-act-unregistered-agents-pakistani-government U.S. v Ben Israel - https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/USCOURTS-ilnd-1_13-cr-00572/USCOURTS-ilnd-1_13-cr-00572-5 The Lobbying Disclosure Act - https://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/lda.html Op Ed by George Clooney - http://time.com/4847706/george-clooney-sudan-lobbying/ Proposed new FARA bill by Senator Shaheen - https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s625/BILLS-115s625is.pdf News articles on Facebook’s foreign ad sales - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-politics/facebook-to-give-russia-linked-ads-to-u-s-congress-on-monday-idUSKCN1C706L http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/03/politics/russian-facebook-ads-michigan-wisconsin/index.html Arnold & Porter - https://www.apks.com/en

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined for the first time by co-host John Kiriakou.In the first hour, John and Brian discuss how the September 11th attacks changed the United States and the world, alongside professor and author Peter Kuznick and author and columnist Patrick Lawrence.To start the second hour, Brian and John address how the FBI is investigating Sputnik for possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act along with Sputnik US editor-in-chief Mindia Gavasheli.Next, Hurricane Irma is ripping through Florida, causing huge devastation in its wake. Were preparations adequate? And how will residents rebuild? Ruth Beltran of the Tampa Chapter of Black Lives Matter and Juliana Musheyev, a board member of the Sarasota Peace Education and Action Center, join the show.The United Nations is set to vote today on additional sanctions against North Korea. Will China and Russia stand up to the United States, which are seeking suffocating new measures? Gregory Elich of the Committee for Peace and Democracy in Korea discusses the vote.Hillary Clinton’s memoir of her election defeat is released tomorrow in which she blames seemingly everyone for her shocking loss to Donald Trump. As Schumer and Pelosi cozy up to President Trump, is the Democratic Party elite completely incapable of learning from their mistakes? Ted Rall, editorial cartoonist and columnist, joins Brian and John to discuss.The Syrian Army is advancing on the city of Deir ez-Zor at the same time that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have started an operation to clear Daesh from the countryside to the north of the city. Rick Sterling of the Syria Solidarity Movement talks about these developments.