Blog

On September 3rd, 2024, Linda Sun, a public servant who had previously held multiple positions in the New York state government, was arrested and later charged with acting as an undisclosed agent of the People’s Republic of China. Her case is one of the most recent in a long line of violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).   

Figure 1: Sourced from Brightlines Translation 

What Is FARA and What Does It Do?  

FARA was introduced in 1938 in the wake of escalating hostilities between the United States and the Third Reich. The law requires “agents of a foreign principal” to register with the Department of Justice (DOJ). “Foreign principals” are defined as foreign governments, political parties, or unrecognized insurgent groups as well as non-U.S. citizens living abroad or “any entity organized under the laws of a foreign country or having its principal place of business in a foreign country.” This definition does not include foreign news and press agencies as long as said organizations are not owned, controlled, or financed by a foreign principal. For someone to be convicted of a FARA violation, they must have willingly violated the law. Informational materials circulated within the United States by agents of foreign principals must also bare a “conspicuous” label indicating their tie to foreign backers. The DOJ defines “agents of a foreign principal” as individuals who directly or indirectly:  

• (1) engage in “political activities” on behalf of a foreign principal;  

• (2) act as a foreign principal’s public relations counsel, publicity agent, information-service employee, or political consultant; 

•  (3) solicit, collect, disburse, or dispense contributions, loans, money, or other things of value for or in the interest of a foreign principal;  

• (4) represent the interests of the foreign principal before any agency or official of the U.S. government. 

According to the DOJ, “the penalty for a willful violation of FARA is imprisonment for not more than five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.”  

Recent FARA Registrations and Violations 

Recently, some foreign news networks have registered with the DOJ as agents of foreign principals. RT America, a branch of the Russian-backed RT News network, registered as a foreign agent in 2017 following a request by the DOJ. The cited justifications for said request were the Russian government’s alleged financing of RT News along with the network’s purported efforts to influence U.S. public opinion concerning Russia and its policy goals. In 2018 and 2020, China Global Television Network and Xinhua News Agency, both owned by the People’s Republic of China, were made to register as foreign agents after facing similar accusations.  

New York official Linda Sun was charged with FARA violations in early September of 2024. She allegedly acted as a Chinese agent while serving in the New York state government. Some of her supposed FARA violations include acting as a roadblock between New York and Taiwanese officials and requesting honorary proclamations from the New York Governor’s Office for Lunar New Year. The latter was allegedly done upon the request of an official from New York City’s Chinese Consulate General.  

Just a day after Sun’s arrest, two employees of RT News, both Russian nationals, were indicted by the DOJ. Their supposed crimes include failure to register as foreign agents (a FARA violation) and the transfer of roughly $10 million to a company that CNN and many other outlets suspect of being Tenet Media.  

To learn more about FARA, please consult the Department of Justice’s website.