Propaganda law from 1930s playing key role in probe

A little-known and infrequently used law from the 1930s — enacted to stem the potential tide of Nazi and Communist propaganda spreading in the United States — is making a comeback in the age of social media.

The 13 Russians who were indicted for allegedly interfering in the 2016 election through a campaign of targeted trolling stand accused of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. That law requires “agents of foreign principals” who are engaged in “political activities” to register with the U.S. government.

The idea is that Americans and the government should be on notice about where politically charged information is coming from when a foreign power is involved. The Russian trolls are accused of failing to disclose that they were “attempting to influence U.S. public opinion, policy, and law,” according to the indictment.

Ever since the law was enacted, it has been mostly dormant. But in recent months, special counsel Robert Mueller has made a practice of bringing charges for FARA violations.

Last year Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager, and his business partner, Richard W. Gates III, were charged with violating FARA. Thirteen Russians were hit with FARA violations yesterday.

“In these indictments as well as the Manafort indictment, (special prosecutor) Bob Mueller is reviving FARA to once again combat Russian Cold War tactics,” said Fatema K. Merchant, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney with expertise in FARA. “White-collar attorneys probably never thought they’d see FARA as a powerful criminal enforcement tool. Bob Mueller has given us something new to think about.”

Between 1966 and 2015, the Department only brought seven criminal FARA cases — one resulted in a conviction at trial for conspiracy to violate FARA and other statutes, two pleaded guilty to violating FARA, two others pleaded guilty to non-FARA charges, and the remaining two cases were dismissed, according to a federal audit.

A person convicted of violating FARA can spend up to five years in prison.