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72 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
By the way, Israel is already in the weapons export to China business.
Seeing how Israel is only offering about 60% you should not be asking that question, silly.
So there.
principals (powers). AIPAC has long been under under heightened scrutiny by the FBI for espionage and suspicions of violation of laws requiring registration of foreign agents. AIPAC's predecessor organization, the American Zionist Council, was reorganized after it was forced to register during the Kennedy Administration pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA). See below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Agents_Registration_Act
Scope of the Act
The act requires people and organizations that are under foreign control ("agents of a foreign principal"
to register with the Department of Justice when acting in any capacity, even if only indirectly controlled, on behalf of a foreign principal. It also requires periodic disclosure of all activities and finances. The Act covers political activities, public relations counsel, publicity agents, information-service employees, political consultants, fundraisers or those who represent the foreign power before any agency or official of the United States government. It does not include news or press services not owned by the foreign principal.[9]
Examples of organizations lobbying on behalf of foreign governments are DLA Piper, Dickens & Madson Canada, Invest Northern Ireland, Japan National Tourism Organization and Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions.[10]
FARA is one of several federal statutes aimed at individuals called foreign agents (see, e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 951; Public Law 893, 50 U.S.C. §§ 851-857; and 18 U.S.C. § 2386.) There are federal statutes authorizing the exemption of otherwise covered agents (See, e.g., the Taiwan Relations Act and the Compact of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.) Others target specific agents, such as federal legislation shutting down the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, DC, in 1981 and Executive Order 12947 (1995) which prohibits fundraising within the United States on behalf of groups opposed to the peace process in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act of 1995 prohibits, among other things, fundraising which is done to benefit foreign organizations designated by the United States as terrorist.[3]
[ . . .]
Selective enforcement
Although the act was designed to apply to any foreign agent, in practice FARA frequently is used to target countries out of favor with an administration.[26] This was stated by the Irish Northern Aid Committee in legal filings[27] and described in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in the case of associates of the Kashmiri American Council as compared to earlier treatment of the American Zionist Council.[28] The 1980s Federal Bureau of Investigations operations against the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador also allegedly was based on selective enforcement of FARA.[29] It has been noted that during the same period it investigated CISPES, the FBI ignored possible FARA violations like Soldier of Fortune Magazine running back cover advertisement to help the Rhodesian national army recruit fighters.[30]
In the 1950s President Eisenhower's administration repeatedly demanded the leaders of the American Zionist Council register as "agents of a foreign government."[31] In November 1962 Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's Department of Justice ordered the American Zionist Council to register as a foreign agent because of FARA violations alleging it was being funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel and acting on behalf of Israel. Under pressure from the Israel lobby and the President Lyndon B. Johnson administration, the Department of Justice later withdrew its demand.[23][32]
The American Zionist Council was reorganized as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In 1988 former Senator William Fulbright in the 1970s and former senior CIA official Victor Marchetti, both enemies of AIPAC, unsuccessfully petitioned the Department of Justice to register the lobby under the Act.[33]
The 2005 case of United States v. Franklin, Rosen, and Weissman against United States Department of Defense employee Larry Franklin and American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy director Steven Rosen and AIPAC senior Iran analyst Keith Weissman[34][35] raised the possibility that AIPAC would come under greater scrutiny by the Department of Justice. While Franklin plead guilty to passing government secrets to Rosen and Weissman, as well as to an Israeli government official,[36][37] the cases against Rosen and Weissman were dismissed and no actions against AIPAC were instituted.[33]
http://www.fara.gov/fara-faq.html
FARA Frequently-Asked Questions
What is FARA?
FARA is short for the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended, 22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq
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What is the purpose of FARA?
The purpose of FARA is to insure that the U.S. Government and the people of the United States are informed of the source of information (propaganda) and the identity of persons attempting to influence U.S. public opinion, policy, and laws. In 1938, FARA was Congress' response to the large number of German propaganda agents in the pre-WWII U.S..
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Are foreign governments the only foreign principals?
No. The term also includes foreign political parties, a person or organization outside the United States, except U.S. citizens, and any entity organized under the laws of a foreign country or having its principal place of business in a foreign country.
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How does the Act work?
The Act requires every agent of a foreign principal, not otherwise exempt, to register with the Department of Justice and file forms outlining its agreements with, income from, and expenditures on behalf of the foreign principal. These forms are public records and must be supplemented every six months.
The Act also requires that informational materials (formerly propaganda) be labeled with a conspicuous statement that the information is disseminated by the agents on behalf of the foreign principal. The agent must provide copies of such materials to the Attorney General.
Any agent testifying before a committee of Congress must furnish the committee with a copy of his most recent registration statement.
The agent must keep records of all his activities and permit the Attorney General to inspect them.
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When does one register?
One must register within ten days of agreeing to become an agent and before performing any activities for the foreign principal.
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Does the Act limit an agent's lobbying and publishing informational materials (propaganda) for a foreign principal?
No, the Act requires only registration.
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Are there criminal penalties for violating the Act?
Yes, failure to register, keep accounts, mark informational materials, provide a congressional committee with a copy of the agent's most recent registration, and agreeing to a contingent fee based on the success of political activity are violations of the Act. The FARA Unit seeks to obtain voluntary compliance with the statute.
See our enforcement page for details.
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Does everyone who acts as an agent of a foreign principal have to register?
No, there are a number of exemptions. For example, diplomats and officials of foreign governments, and their staffs, are exempt if properly recognized by the U.S. State Department. Persons whose activities are of a purely commercial nature or solely of a religious, scholastic, academic, scientific or fine arts nature are exempt. Certain soliciting or collecting of funds to be used for medical aid, or for food and clothing to relieve human suffering are also exempt. Lawyers engaged in legal representation of foreign principals in the courts or similar type proceedings, so long as the attorney does not try to influence policy at the behest of his client, are exempt. Any agent who is engaged in lobbying activities and is registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act is exempt from registration under FARA if the representation is not on behalf of a foreign government or foreign political party.
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Is FARA the only statute relating to the registration of agents?
No. The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA), 2 U.S.C. § 1601, removed from FARA a class of agents who are engaged in lobbying activities and who register under the LDA. This Act is administered by Congress.
18 U.S.C. § 951 provides criminal penalties for anyone, other than a diplomat, to operate as an agent of a foreign government without first notifying the Attorney General, unless the agent is engaged in legal commercial transaction. This statute is aimed at foreign government controlled agents engaged in non-political activities.
Also, 18 U.S.C. § 2386 requires registration by certain organizations which engage in political activity, civilian military activity, is under foreign control, or has as its purpose the overthrow the government by force.
Finally, 50 U.S.C. § 851, requires registration of persons who have knowledge of or have received instruction or assignment in espionage, counterespionage or sabotage service or tactics of a foreign country or political party.
The fact that I went to the AIPAC conference a couple of weeks ago means I have to register with the government even though that loooong cut and paste has this is the first sentence:
The act requires people and organizations that are under foreign control ("agents of a foreign principal" to register with the Department of Justice when acting in any capacity, even if only indirectly controlled, on behalf of a foreign principal.
Do you consider me, an American Democrat who is a strong supporter of Israel and occasionally am invited and attend AIPAC conferences as under foreign control? Seriously?
So according to this Israel doesn't qualify at all. The key requirement seems to be that the group is foreign or run by foreigners for foreign benefit. AIPAC is not in any way controlled by Israel nor does it ever represent Israel in any capacity.
The act requires people and organizations that are under foreign control ("agents of a foreign principal"
The term also includes foreign political parties, a person or organization outside the United States, except U.S. citizens, and any entity organized under the laws of a foreign country or having its principal place of business in a foreign country.
AIPAC's predecessor organization, the American Zionist Council, was reorganized after it was forced to register during the Kennedy Administration pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA).
So they reorganized, right? Ensuring that the new organization would not meet the standard required by FARA to have to register. In other words, AIPAC was designed to avoid this very registration, right? And following said restructuring it was deemed to fall outside FARA's purview, right? So then, logically, Israel should NOT have to register under FARA, as deduced from your own statements.
