Suppose the Trump Administration wants to clamp down on lawfare from politically biased law firms and expose the unscrupulous behavior of political activists and their non-profits. In that case, the Administration should begin by examining the law firm's FARA filings.
In case you haven’t heard of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), it’s a law requiring individuals who are lobbying the government or working to sway public opinion on behalf of foreign governments or entities to register their activities with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). FARA became law in the years leading up to WWII, when the federal government became aware of propaganda activities conducted by foreign enemy agents aimed at disrupting the social fabric of the United States.
This required registration will publicize the nature of subversive or other similar activities of foreign propagandists so that the American people may know those who are engaged in this country by foreign agencies to spread doctrines alien to our democratic form of government, or propaganda to influence American public opinion on a political question.
Last year, the Law firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy triggered a FARA registration for filing a lawsuit against Exxon over what it calls “the harms caused by single-use plastics.” Given that FARA is aimed at countering propaganda spread by foreign agents, why would a law firm have to file its activities under FARA just to sue Exxon? The answer is: an Australian billionaire is funding the lawsuit through a tangled web of domestic and international non-profits for the purposes of influencing American public opinion against fossil fuels.
Andrew Forrest amassed his $14.3 billion fortune from mining (an activity, it bears mentioning, that requires a great deal of oil and gas, as well as plastic.) The Minderoo Foundation, Mr. Forrest’s philanthropic fund, controls the Intergenerational Environment Justice Fund (IEJF), which is using U.S.-based environmental non-profits to sue Exxon. For his pawns in this sham lawsuit, Mr. Forrest has chosen four California-based environmental activist groups, (three of which are registered as 501(c)(3) non-profits) San Francisco Baykeeper, the Surfrider Foundation, the Sierra Club, and Heal the Bay.
This should raise eyebrows in the White House. The Trump Administration has been fighting back against non-profits that betray the spirit (and sometimes the letter) of the law as it relates to their legal status by engaging in political activities, particularly when these non-profits receive federal funding. “Non-profits have been running wild off of the drunkenunchecked spending of the federal government and that stopped on Jan 20,” said White House Spokesperson Harrison Fields.“We are no longer going to support organizations that stand in stark contrast to the mission of the president of the United States.” The activities of politically biased law firms have also drawn the ire of the Trump Administration, and rightly so.Andrew Forrest’s lawsuit against Exxon is therefore the perfect target for the White House.
When advertising, direct lobby
Andrew Forrest is a foreign propagandist. That’s why Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy were forced to register with the DOJ under FARA to carry out this lawsuit at his behest. The fact that San Francisco Baykeeper, the Surfrider Foundation, the Sierra Club, and Heal the Bay are all willing to engage in this dishonest, manipulative behavior only goes to show how bogus they are as traditional non-profits aimed at advancing a public good. Members of Congress have proposed legislation aimed at preventing foreign actors from weaponizing the American judicial system for political ends. That’s a great idea. In the meantime, the White House should look at law firm FARA filings to find examples of the lawfare that President Trump has promised to root out.
Ken Blackwell is affiliated with the American First Policy Institute and the American Constitutional Rights Union. He is a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
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