AG PAM BONDI CLEARED THE WAY FOR ISRAEL’S FOREIGN INFLUENCE OPERATION
On her 1st day, newly appointed AG Pam Bondi, disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force, the DOJ office responsible for enforcing FARA. The change specifically limits DOJ prosecutors from criminally charging those involved in public-relations work & policy advocacy on behalf of foreign businesses & nonprofits.
This is key to understanding how Israel’s current foreign influence campaign is structured. The Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) states a Foreign Agent is "an individual who agrees to operate within the US subject to the direction of a foreign gov or official." The penalty for unregistered Foreign Agents is 10yrs in prison.
FARA documents show money and direction flow from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Havas Media Group to entities operating in the US (Clock Tower X, Bridges Partners & Show Faith By Works). Employees of the entities are also registered under FARA but what’s not registered are independent contractors (also known as 1099 Contractors) and subcontractors.
Since Pam Bondi has directed the DOJ to only prosecute individuals who fall under the definition of the Espionage Act from 1917 (123 years ago), FARA violations involving PR firms and nonprofits engaged in Israeli influence campaigns online and via social media & media have free reign to propagandize Americans. That also means, unregistered 1099 contractors and subcontractors will also not be prosecuted. Furthermore, the penalty for not registering (should this become an issue) is no longer criminal charges leading to 10 year prison sentences. It is a simple slap on the wrist and a reminder to register.
This deliberate incapacitation of DOJ’s enforcement mechanism gives a green light to foreign influence operatives, ensuring that the Knesset's 2018 plan to skirt FARA can proceed with minimal risk of prosecution.
I will do a separate thread to show how this memo was also used to dismiss one of the biggest FARA cases of our lifetime, NYC Mayor, Eric Adams.
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