Former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch wrote a letter to a senior Defense Department official in July on behalf of SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, requesting that her client be removed from China’s list of military companies .
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When a Chinese drone company came under investigation by the US government for its alleged ties to the Chinese military, the company turned to one of America’s best-known lawyers: Loretta Lynch, a former attorney general in the Obama administration.
Lynch, who ran the US Department of Justice from 2015 to 2017 and is now a partner at the Paul, Weiss law firm, wrote a letter to a senior Defense Department official in July on behalf of SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, which asks his client. be removed from the list of Chinese military companies.
Advocating for foreign clients is legal and US law includes a public exemption for lawyers.
But the letter, seen by Reuters, is an example of what transparency advocates for and some members of Congress — dozens of whom have supported bills to change the rules — say there are gaps in the law that allowing lawyers and lobbyists, including former officials, to avoid disclosure. their advocacy for companies potentially subject to US sanctions.
The Paul, Weiss law firm declined to comment on the letter, and Lynch did not respond to emails from Reuters. DJI also declined to comment, but has previously said it is not a military company and is prepared to formally challenge its inclusion on the list.
The Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, a decades-old law that requires public disclosure of work done on behalf of non-US entities, includes a list of exemptions, including for commercial activities and legal representation.
The former top US law enforcement official’s work on behalf of a company the Department of Defense says puts “threat to national security” comes as US agencies warn about companies with links to China’s Communist Party and as lawmakers push to tighten FARA’s disclosure requirements.
The US Treasury and Commerce departments said DJI supports biometric surveillance and tracking of Muslim Uyghur minorities in China.
The Defense Department did not respond to a request for comment on Lynch’s letter. DJI remained on the Pentagon list when it was updated in late January.
The Justice Department also declined comment on the letter and broader enforcement of FARA.
About a dozen critics of FARA told Reuters that the law’s loopholes allowed for less transparency for other companies with alleged ties to China’s military, including the surveillance technology company which is Hikvision and biotech firm WuXi AppTec.
Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said reforms to the law are needed, because of the blurred lines between many Chinese companies and the Chinese government, and to prevent former members of the US government from effective lobbying for them.
“It is appalling that former high-ranking US officials are using their connections to serve the interests of US adversaries,” Risch said.
However, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, and others have argued that expanding disclosure requirements could act as a barrier to legally protected free speech.
In 2022 the ACLU and 13 other groups wrote to the Justice Department about their concerns, warning that problems with the law could “enable selective enforcement for bad faith or malicious reasons.”
Others argue that FARA’s stricter disclosure rules could give authoritarian countries like Russia and China scope for their own suppression of free speech.
Jonathan Turley, a law school professor at George Washington University, said some countries, such as Russia, label citizens and journalists as foreign agents to limit their activities.
“I have concerns with some past investigations and prosecutions targeting individuals who appear to be engaged in First Amendment activities,” Turley told Reuters.
The Pentagon in 2022 placed DJI on its list of Chinese Military Companies, a designation that serves as a warning about the risks of doing business with those entities.
In her letter to Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Taylor-Kale on behalf of DJI, Lynch urged the department to immediately remove the drone maker.
“The widespread use and reliance on DJI products by various US stakeholders reinforces the importance and urgency of removing DJI from the list,” Lynch wrote.
He added that DJI has requested “a meeting to discuss this matter.” Reuters could not determine whether that meeting took place.
Also signing the letter, which was labeled “confidential treatment requested,” were former Assistant United States Attorney Michael Gertzman and Associate White House Counsel in the Obama administration Roberto Gonzalez – now both partners at Paul, Weiss.
Gertzman and Gonzalez did not respond to requests for comment.
FARA enforcement has intensified in recent years, along with the Justice Department persecution individuals for their work on behalf of Chinese interests and is pushing some law firms to register.
Paul, Weiss’ lawyers acknowledged growing enforcement tied to China.
In a 2022 memo to clients about the US court’s dismissal of a FARA case against casino magnate Steve Wynn, Lynch, Gonzalez and others Paul, Weiss’ lawyers wrote: “The targeting of lobbying on behalf of DOJ’s China is further evidence of the Biden Administration’s intention to use all legal tools at its disposal in a multi-faceted approach to counter the perceived threat of China.”
Paul, Weiss did not respond to questions about the memo and a White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At the Justice Department’s requestthe Sidley Austin law firm in 2022 retroactively registered in its lobbying on behalf of Hikvision, a company the US says is involved in human rights violations against Uyghurs.
Sidley Austin declined to comment on its registration. While the firm did not originally file under FARA it disclosed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, which has less stringent disclosure requirements, according to the Justice Department.
The Justice Department has called for the repeal of an LDA exemption from FARA filing.
Hikvision did not respond to a request for comment but has previously denied reports that the company is complicit in human rights abuses.
Pressure on the congress again began to mount.
On March 5, the House of Representatives select committee on China requested the Justice Department analysis trade association The Biotechnology Innovation Organization is lobbying on behalf of Chinese biotech firm WuXi AppTec for possible FARA requirements.
BIO told Reuters its advocacy was fulfilling its duty to inform Congress and patients of the impact of potential policies and “nothing more.”
WuXi AppTec, when asked by Reuters about the House committee’s request, said it objected to “inaccurate assertions and preemptive actions against our company without due process,” adding that it was confident it would be seen legislators as a trusted partner.
Some experts, including those who have concerns about expanding FARA’s reach, agree that the law is vague and presents particular challenges for lawyers.
David Laufman, a partner at the law firm Wiggin and Dana who previously oversaw the Justice Department’s FARA enforcement, said while lawyers may not be required to register under FARA if they avoid policy discussions with officials government, the only way to know for sure is to seek an opinion from the Justice Department.
“Meanwhile, life goes on for lawyers. We have to represent our clients,” he said.
Law reforms are in Congress. Several bipartisan bills to close FARA loopholes have been proposed.
One, proposed last year in the House and Senate could require retroactive FARA registration of anyone acting as an “agent for a foreign principal.”
