www.FARA.us

In 1941, Laura Ingalls, a famous American aviator and activist, was indicted under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) for failing to register as an agent of the German government after receiving a salary from the German Embassy to promote U.S. non-intervention in World War II.

In 1992, Sam Zakhem, a former U.S. ambassador to Bahrain (1986–1989), was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver for willfully failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and for several other charges, including violating federal tax laws. He was indicted along with two associates, William R. Kennedy Jr., former publisher of the political Conservative Digest magazine, and Scott Stanley Jr., a former editor of the same publication.

In 1951, the Peace Information Center (PIC) and five of its officers were indicted for willfully failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The PIC was founded in April 1950 by several activists, including its chairman, author W.E.B. Du Bois, to educate Americans about peace and to gain support for a ban on nuclear weapons.

On May 1, 2026 a federal jury in Miami found former Florida Congressman David Rivera guilty after a five-week trial of conspiracy to violate FARA, failure to register under FARA, and other crimes. Esther Nuhfer, one of Rivera’s associates, was convicted of the same FARA offenses.

FARA.us now features an updated Index of all 199 FARA Advisory Opinions that have been released publicly by the Department of Justice. 

A U.S. House Committee on Ways & Means hearing on “Foreign Influence in American Nonprofits” last month and recent letters by Republican state Attorneys General accusing specific organizations of violating FARA have resulted in some additional public attention about how FARA relates to the nonprofit/tax-exempt sector.

Over its 87-year history, enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act has ebbed and flowed.  Here is a snapshot of recent and current developments in FARA enforcement:

Late last month, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum that reprioritized FARA enforcement by directing federal agencies to investigate “non-governmental organizations and American citizens residing abroad or with close ties to foreign governments, agents, citizens, foundations, or influence networks engaged in violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.” 

In February 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi issued a wide-ranging formal Memorandum that appeared to pause most FARA enforcement actions:

The comment period on the Department of Justice’s ongoing FARA rulemaking closed earlier this week, on March 3rd.  The Department received a total of 16 substantive comments.