"Holder needs to issue FARA surrender to Israel" by Grant Smith IRMEP

The 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act is supposed to deter the most egregious foreign meddling in America.  It does so through transparency.  FARA doesn’t prohibit any foreign government from launching US public relations campaigns or lobbying initiatives.  It only insists that the agents of the foreign principal behind such endeavors publicly reveal the control relationships, campaigns, and funding flows. 

Brilliant. 

Perhaps no foreign government has violated the letter and spirit of FARA more than Israel and its US agents.  They’ve had steady help from the US Department of Justice.  In the late 1940’s DOJ stood by as the Zionist Organization of America executed immaterial changes in its organizing documents to sever the appearance of foreign control on paper though not in fact.  DOJ ordered AIPAC’s founder to continue registering as a foreign agent in the early 1950s, but then did nothing to enforce the order.  DOJ allowed Israel’s super-agent Abraham Feinberg to shut down his propaganda paper and move on to funding Israel’s nuclear arsenal rather than comply with a registration order. In the early 1960s, DOJ ordered the American Zionist Council to register, but let its lobbying division AIPAC slip away to incorporate just six weeks later. FARA, the best transparency law in America, has been bested by Israel.  It is now time for the Attorney General  recognize that by issuing a formal declaration of surrender.  

Fortunately, there is now an easy way to do that. 

An amendment to FARA allows an attorney general to admit defeat and formally exempt a foreign principal from all FARA oversight.  Since the 1960s white shoe law firms such as Covington & Burling, where Eric Holder was once an attorney, have worked diligently to gut FARA and water down its investigative and enforcement mechanisms.   If it wasn’t written for Israel, it’s hard to say who the exemption is for.  Crudely abbreviated it reads, “The Attorney General may, by regulation, provide for the exemption..[if the AG] determines that such registration…is not necessary…” 

Although the AG has not yet handed over this formal declaration of surrender to AIPAC or Israel, it is now quite easy to imagine why this ejection seat has been quietly installed in FARA. The next time AIPAC is caught red-handed stealing industry secrets or national defense information to touch off war with Iran , the AG can reach down and pull the FARA exemption handle.  The AG and AIPAC can then float down to business as usual under a large blue and white canopy lettered “Israel is a vital interest to the US.” 

Mr. Holder, FARA has been riddled with Israeli Ak-Ak and is now burning all around you.   The Prime Minister is on the phone.  The ejection handle beckons.  

Why wait? 

Grant Smith, IRMEP

 

Comments

[attack on Iran]

Great post. I am all in favor of a strong and democratic Israel with security and a clear right to exist. But does Capital Hill really have to be Israeli occupied territory!

[stanleyhenning]

This makes me sick!

[William R. Cumming]

Entrusting FARA enforcement to DoJ was probably not a mistake but its non-enforcement by DoJ should be documented and discussed in Congressional hearings with corrective action taken.

What few realize is how deeply foreign agents registered and unregistered accomplish with their efforts including money in DC. An argument could be made that the Saudi efforts and its success with the Bush family were the most successful. AIPAC would come in second IMO. Chinese efforts should not be overlooked in the list of successful efforts also. Perhaps IRAN's biggest strategic error has been to not grease palms more of the Washington lobbyists.

[Grant F. Smith]

FARA was originally (under) enforced by the US State Department. In 1963 there actually were extensive hearings on the activities of foreign agents in the US conducted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Perhaps the worst violators were for Philippines war rebuilding, West German lobbying and Dominican Republic and Nicaragua payola. http://irmep.org/ILA/Senate/default.asp

Investigator Walter Pincus, who had his associate raid the Jewish Agency's offices and seize financial information, was appalled at how Israel was essentially writing US legislation. Since that discovery, FARA investigators are barred by attorney client privilege from conducting robust investigations. It has been watered down by the big law firms lobbying Congress.

Today, if you look at FARA registrations and overall spending, you see big firms receiving big bucks representing the Saudis and Chinese. Only Arnold & Porter shows up as a significant Israel lobbyist, suspiciously small for the amount of aid being delivered. Even so, they appear to spend most of their Israeli government funds fighting war crimes related suits on the basis of "sovereign immunity." And helping Zalman Shapiro pro bono.

But that's another story.

Today FARA is only used to pick off disenfranchised entities for political reasons.

http://www.wrmea.com/component/content/article/372-2011-september-october/10699-selective-fara-enforcement-pakistans-alleged-agents-prosecuted-israels-ignored.html

[turcopolier]

Grant S.

When I have an appropriate question on the NJ blog I will insert a link to this on SST. pl

[hcjgf]

LOL, holder? seriously? thats one of the most corrupt people to ever walk the earth.