The Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA), 22 U.S.C. §611, was enacted by Congress in response to fears that American citizens were secretly working to influence U.S. public opinion, policy and laws in favor of undisclosed foreign governments or political parties. In particular, lawmakers were concerned about the many Nazi propaganda agents in the United States who advocated for Hitler’s regime during the years before World War II. See General FARA Frequently Asked Questions, Justice.gov. The Supreme Court explained just a few years after FARA’s enactment that the “general purpose of the legislation was to identify agents of foreign principals who might engage in subversive acts or spreading foreign propaganda, and to require them to make public record of the nature of their employment.” Viereck v. United States, 318 U.S. 236, 241 (1943).

The statute is framed not as a prohibition on speech or conduct. Rather, FARA creates a registration requirement: Any person who “act[s] as an agent of the foreign principal” must register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and make regular disclosures that are available to the general public. 22 U.S.C. §612(a). The general public is permitted to review FARA registrations, which are available on the DOJ website. The FARA Registration Unit operates within the National Security Division of the Department of Justice and also conducts investigations into FARA violations. See FARA: Foreign Agents Registration Act, Justice.gov. A person who acts as an agent of a foreign principal without registering can be criminally prosecuted, with a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

FARA’s Recent Emergence

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