Foreign-backed organizations struggle with a democratic deficit and represent the commercial and political interests of their financial supporters.
It is known that the Hungarian government has been waging its struggle for independence at the international level and in the European Union for years. Given Hungary’s sovereign constitutional self-identity, and within the framework of the rule of law, it wishes to exercise control over attempts at influence from outside, referring to the democratic principle of popular rule. This question essentially concerns the problem of disproportionate foreign and internal influence with respect to social legitimacy.
Foreign-backed organizations struggle with a democratic deficit and represent the commercial and political interests of their financial supporters.
The strange feature of the Dollars in Circulation scandal is that attempts at outside influence in America are taken very seriously. The previously mentioned Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was adopted in the United States in 1938, which requires, for example, agents engaged in political activities on behalf of foreign principals or in connection with specified other activities to regularly declare their relationship with foreign agents . Foreign origin, as well as activities, income and payments supporting the relationship.
The law therefore specifically makes mandatory the registration abroad of groups, parties and other organizations that carry out public activities relying on foreign interests.
Anyone who intentionally makes a false statement about a material fact or intentionally omits any material fact that should be mentioned, or if the statements contained in his statement or the copies of the documents attached thereto are misleading, shall be criminally punished with up to $250,000 or up to five years in prison. Imprisonment for up to 10 years according to federal law.
During the implementation of the aforementioned law, for example, in 2021, in the Central District of California, philanthropic political lobbyist Imad Shah Zuberi, who collapsed in a joint photo with President Obama, was sentenced to twelve years in prison – including the maximum The maximum is five years required by the FRA — and a total of $15.7 million ordered to pay restitution and $1.75 million in criminal fines. Zuberi pleaded guilty in 2019 to charges of violating the FRA, tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions worth nearly $1 million, including money from foreign organizations used to influence U.S. elections. In 2020, unlike Zuberi in Washington, right-wing businessman Elliot Broidy — who has been in the news with former president and former adviser Steve Bannon — also pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Registration Act after he and others in exchange for millions of dollars agreed to cooperate in secret bidding. By lobbying senior US government officials on pending cases at the Department of Justice. Broidy acknowledged representing Chinese and Malaysian interests.
But here we can mention that the federal court in Washington convicted rapper Bras Michel, former performer of the band The Fugees, on charges of collusion with the Chinese government. The Grammy Award-winning artist was on trial on multiple charges related to a failed plot to help Malaysian businessman Jho Low and the Chinese government gain access to US officials, including former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Michel now faces up to twenty years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 clarified the definition of lobbying and exempted from FARA lobbyists who engage in lobbying under laws enacted by Congress.
Protection against lobbyists of foreign origin is guaranteed more effectively in America than in the European Union from the point of view of national security.
In contrast to Europe, lobbying is now a respected profession in the United States, but a strict set of rules has been necessary. The US example has demonstrated that by making lobbying more transparent, not only can trust in public institutions be increased, but by whitewashing lobbyists, a socially respectable profession with ethical standards and codes can also be created. It should be noted that the main difference between lobbying regulations in the USA and the EU is that NGOs and other political actors acting as foreign agents will not be able to freely gain political influence, by exploiting legal loopholes, as they do in Brussels. .
Campaign finance laws regulate financial support, advertising, accounting, and campaign management in the United States, which are generally organized efforts to achieve political goals. There are many types of contribution limits and reporting requirements that must be met during a federal election.
In general, all donations during election campaigns must be declared, and candidates can only receive limited amounts from individuals and organizations, and can be supported indirectly through independent expenditures.
The Federal Election Campaign Act prohibits foreign nationals from campaigning for a political candidate in any federal, state, or local election in the United States. Likewise, U.S. candidates may violate this law by receiving, soliciting, or accepting foreign contributions. In this context, a foreign national is anyone who is not a US citizen and does not have a green card. In 1974, the law was amended to create the Federal Election Commission and regulate campaign spending.
The Logan Act is also a guaranteed federal rule under which anyone, except a diplomatic or consular officer or attaché, who is in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General shall be punished by a fine or up to ten years in prison, wherever located. And anyone who, without the authorization of the United States Government, directly or indirectly initiates or maintains correspondence or communications with any foreign government or any of its representatives in connection with any dispute with the United States, or for the purpose of obstructing the action of the United States. States, may be liable under this title, punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to three years.
There was also a US lobbying case involving court-ordered Secret Service surveillance. According to a 2017 article, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was paid $530,000 for lobbying a Turkish company with ties to the country’s government during the presidential campaign. The question is: Can an American person be considered an agent of a foreign power under the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act?
In other words, can a person engage in conduct that qualifies him as an agent of a foreign power under the law, or a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act?
According to the laws of not only America, but also our country, the social mission of parties and politicians is the formation and expression of the will of the people, as well as the responsible participation of citizens in political life, and not the assertion of foreign interests in their country. My country. Whether during or outside election campaigns.
Featured image: Constitutional lawyer Zoltan Lomnici Júnior, CÖF-CÖKA spokesperson / Photo: Civilek.info
