Politics

Monitor Group Looking Into FARA Violation

By Paul Blumenthal

The question of whether a Boston-based consulting group hired by Libya's Moammar Gaddafi should have registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agent Registration Act is gaining more traction.

Last week I examined the internal documents between Monitor and the Libyan government to explain ways in which the firm may have been required to have filed as a foreign agent. On NPR today, Peter Overby reported that Monitor is now look into whether they should have registered:

The Foreign Agent Registration Act, or FARA, says Americans need to know when foreign governments try to influence them.

William Luneburg, who teaches lobbying law at the University of Pittsburgh, said FARA was enacted to fight Nazi propaganda in the 1930s.

"Whether it's burnishing Hitler's reputation or Gadhafi's reputation, so that ultimately the United States foreign policy would be consistent with their interests, that seems to squarely sit within what FARA is about," Luneburg said.

After being shown the provisions of the Foreign Agent Registration Act, a spokesman said Monitor Group is examining that question in more detail.

Full post as published by Sunlight Foundation on March 10, 2011 (boomark / email).