The Justice Department issued a stand-alone press release on September 16, 2026 reminding the public that failing to register as a foreign agent can bring civil and criminal liability under FARA and 18 U.S.C. § 951. The release names public demonstrations as covered activity, announces no charges and names no one, according to Paul Hastings.
What did the DOJ say on September 16?
The Department of Justice said that anyone acting in the United States as an agent of a foreign principal may face civil or criminal liability if they do not register or notify the government. The release, titled "Liability for Unregistered Foreign Agents," covers both the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and Section 951, Cooley reported.
Paul Hastings notes that the release warns against undisclosed agents, intermediaries, false affiliations and covert funding used to influence public debate, and that it uses the phrase "suborn sedition," which is not ordinary FARA vocabulary. The release also invites the public to send information about undisclosed foreign direction or control to the FBI or a local U.S. Attorney's Office.
What did the DOJ say about public demonstrations?
The DOJ said a person acting as an agent of a foreign power can owe registration or notification when carrying out public activity, including demonstrations meant to further that power's propaganda or other goals. Paul Hastings reports that the release first recognized First Amendment protections and said enforcement decisions would not turn on political beliefs or associations.
The statute still requires a relationship with a foreign principal. Paul Hastings stresses that foreign funding alone does not create a registration duty and that agreeing with a foreign person's views does not either. The test is who requested the activity, who directs or controls it and how it is financed.
Why is the timing of the warning unusual?
The timing is unusual because it follows a period of reduced criminal FARA enforcement and arrives with no case attached. In February 2025, the attorney general limited criminal FARA and Section 951 cases to conduct resembling traditional espionage by foreign government actors and disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force, according to Paul Hastings. A September 2025 national security memorandum, NSPM-7, then pointed task forces toward possible FARA violations by certain nongovernmental organizations.
DOJ has also revived its long-running rewrite of the FARA regulations. Its August 2026 Regulatory Plan says a final rule may adopt many of the January 2025 proposals, widen exemptions used by corporations and law firms, and clarify rules for digital informational materials. Paul Hastings reads the combination as clearer rules for ordinary commercial work and closer scrutiny of concealed foreign influence.
Law firms agree the release is unusual but disagree on how much it changes. Most say the statutes are unchanged and the signal is about enforcement priorities.
The release may signal more scrutiny of demonstrations and foreign-directed advocacy, but it does not change the statutory requirements.
Covington attorney Alexandra Langton told the Baltimore Fishbowl that the statute's breadth gives DOJ wide leeway.
How do FARA and Section 951 differ?
FARA is a disclosure statute for agents of foreign principals, and Section 951 is a separate criminal statute for people acting under the direction of a foreign government or official. Paul Hastings advises analyzing the two separately because the standards, exemptions and penalties differ.
Point
FARA
Section 951
Who is covered
Agents of foreign governments, parties, companies, organizations and individuals
Individuals acting under the direction or control of a foreign government or official
Core duty
Register and disclose activities
Notify the attorney general in advance
Maximum penalty
Up to five years for a willful violation
Up to 10 years
Why does the DOJ warning matter to PR firms?
The warning matters to PR firms because event staging, media outreach and advocacy work for a foreign client can count as public activity. Paul Hastings says the release puts consultants and public relations firms on notice that undisclosed foreign direction remains an enforcement concern.
A filing is also a permanent public record. EPR's analysis of the FARA disclosure-reputation collapse explains how a registration becomes a reputation document, and the Hellerman and Kasowitz filing chain shows how a PR subcontract appears in that record.
Which firms have FARA exposure, and where does EPR profile them?
FARA exposure sits with law firms, public affairs firms and lobbying shops that take foreign-principal work, and EPR profiles many of them. The table names firms from EPR's FARA coverage and links each profile or case.
Firm
FARA relevance
Link
Kasowitz Benson Torres
Registrant 7558 for the Veliaj brothers, with a PR subcontractor
A PR firm should complete six steps this month, starting with a client inventory. The steps below follow the order of exposure and draw on Paul Hastings' recommendations. They are not legal advice.
Step
Action
Where to go
1. Inventory
List every client, vendor and funder with a foreign government or party link, and note who requests, directs or funds the work.
Other jurisdictions are adding their own regimes. EPR's guide to Canada's foreign influence registry covers the 14-day filing window that now applies to PR firms there.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
