Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Monday said the indictment of President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a business associate demonstrates that the Department of Justice is “taking seriously its responsibility to enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act” (FARA).
“While we don’t have any more information regarding the current status of the special counsel’s investigation other than what has already been made public, it’s good to see the Justice Department taking seriously its responsibility to enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act,” Grassley said in a statement.
He said failure to register as a foreign agent under FARA is a “dirty little secret” for “lots of people across the political spectrum in Washington.”
“I’ve been raising concerns about lackluster enforcement of this foreign influence disclosure law for years now, regardless of administration or political party,” Grassley said. “It should be enforced fairly and consistently, regardless of politics or any other factor.”
Grassley said he has “been working on legislation to improve the Justice Department’s enforcement of FARA, and expect to introduce it very soon.”
“As always, it’s important to let our legal system run its course,” he said. “The Judiciary Committee is continuing its work to ensure that the Justice Department and FBI are functioning free from inappropriate influence, consistent with our constitutional oversight responsibility.”
An indictment was unsealed Monday charging Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates with 12 counts, including one of making a false and misleading FARA statement. Manafort and Gates were also charged with conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy against the U.S. and failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.
Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty earlier in October to making false statements to FBI agents about his communications with Russian nationals. That case was also unsealed on Monday.
