Foreign Agent Charges Turn Up Heat On Menendez And Allies

Rob Kelner’s commentary was included in a Law360 article examining foreign agent charges brought against U.S. Senator Bob Menendez. Rob provides his analysis to why prosecutors chose not to bring the charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Rob said it's "interesting" that the superseding charge — conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent — is not brought under FARA but rather an obscure statute he said makes it easier for the government to get a conviction. "That's significant because there's been a lot of speculation that after a string of defeats in FARA cases, the Department of Justice might back away from bringing FARA cases," Rob said. "They will probably try to argue that this case shows that they are not afraid to bring a FARA case. But I would note that it's not actually a FARA case, and if anything, it looks like they were stretching to find a way to charge him under some other statute with respect to his alleged foreign agent activities."

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