In a client alert issued by Covington & Burling, CERL Executive Board Member Robert Kelner and two of his colleagues warn that the DOJ’s September 16, 2026, press release on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) may signal a change in how the administration views and enforces the act. It is unusual, they note, that the press release was not tied to a particular event or case, and may signal much wider application of the law outside of direct lobbying as the Department shifts under new Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Robert Kelner is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, in Washington, D.C., where he chairs the firm’s Election and Political Law Practice Group. He is also a member of the CERL Executive Board. Read his bio here.

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