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Exhibit 819

Audit of the National Security Division's Enforcement and Administration of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Audit Division 16-24

Exhibit 819 ยท Inspector general report

Audit of the National Security Division's Enforcement and Administration of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Audit Division 16-24

Between 1966 and 2015 the Department only brought seven criminal FARA cases

The audit was required by the House Appropriations Committee. It finds that active registrations peaked at 916 in 1987 and stood at 360 at the end of 2014; that DOJ brought seven criminal FARA cases from 1966 to 2015; that DOJ had not sought civil injunctive relief since 1991; that 62 percent of initial registrations were untimely and 50 percent of registrants filed at least one supplement late; that NSD does not track FARA cases declined for prosecution; and that the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act exemption may have contributed to the decline. The OIG made 14 recommendations, including a formal assessment of the LDA exemption. NSD agreed with all 14. The OIG could not establish a cause for the decline in registrations.

Source
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General
Date
September 2016
Quoted from
Executive Summary, p. i
Grade
Primary record
Document
https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/oig-reports/a1624.pdf
Accessed
2026-11-09
Cited by
Findings citing this exhibit

Cited by

Finding POL-6.2
Primary record DOJ's registrant files show 66 new FARA registrations in 2014, 150 in 2019 and 138 in 2025. DOJ's report for July to December 2025 lists 565 active registrants representing 858 foreign principals, and the inspector general counted 916 active registrations in 1987 and 360 at the end of 2014.
Finding POL-6.3
Primary record The DOJ inspector general found in 2016 that DOJ brought seven criminal FARA cases from 1966 to 2015 and had not sought civil injunctive relief since 1991. The audit found that 62 percent of initial registrations were untimely and that the National Security Division does not track FARA cases it declines to prosecute.