Discussion at a September 24, 2026, conference co-hosted by CERL and Lawfare centered around a September 16 Justice Department press release on enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The Trump administration appears to be signaling increased usage of the act in the future, which several experts noted may mean a shift away from FARA’s traditional purview of lobbyists receiving foreign funding. Instead, as CERL Faculty Director Claire Finkelstein explained, FARA could now be mobilized against universities, nonprofits, and media organizations.
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