• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Store
  • ION Awards
  • Podcasts
  • Full Measure
    • Full Measure Cover Stories
  • Donate
  • Bestseller "Slanted"

Sharyl Attkisson

Untouchable Subjects. Fearless, Nonpartisan Reporting.

  • US
  • World
  • Business
  • Health
    • Vaccine, Medical links
    • Omicron Lab Origin
    • Covid-19 Origins
    • Covid-19 Natural Immunity
    • Covid-19 Vaccine Concerns Summary
    • Covid-19 Vaccine: 80 Common Adverse Events
  • The Censored
  • Special Investigations
    • Attkisson v. DOJ
    • Media Mistakes, Biden Era
    • Media Mistakes on Trump
    • Other investigations
      • Benghazi
      • "Collusion v. Trump" TL
      • Election 2020
      • Fake News
      • Fast & Furious
      • Obamacare
      • Obama Surveillance TL
      • Other investigations
      • Ukraine 'Sabotage' of Trump TL

(READ) Watchdog group sues to find out why DOJ has not required broadcaster Al Jazeera to register as foreign agent

Dated: February 1, 2023 by Sharyl Attkisson 3 Comments

      

The watchdog group Empower Oversight is suing for documents that could explain why the foreign broadcasting group Al Jazeera appears to have received favored treatment from the US Dept. of Justice.

Al Jazeera, says Empower Oversight, has failed to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), as required by US law.

The US government pressured Russia-owned RT (Russian Television) to register as a foreign agent since it's a component of the Russian government.

Likewise, Al Jazeera is a Qatari international state-owned public media conglomerate based in Wadi Al Sail, Doha.

RT often reported off-narrative news that was not favorable to liberals and Trump enemies, whereas Al Jazeera tends to more frequently lean left.

Empower Oversight's lawsuit seeks to enforce a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all documents between members of Congress, the Justice Dept. and Al Jazeera lawyers regarding the foreign agents registration process.

It's legal for foreign governments, including China, Ukraine and Russia, to hire "agents" to lobby for them or present their interests in the US in media, or with Congress and federal agencies as long as they register with the Dept. of Justice.

Failing to register has rarely been considered a serious crime. Typically, an entity that fails to register is permitted to register after the fact without penalty.

However, when the Dept. of Justice launched an aggressive campaign against Trump and his supporters, it prosecuted and sought jail time for several of them for allegedly failing to register. They include Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn.

The following is a summary of the Empower Oversight investigation, as described by the group.


On September 14, 2020, the Chief of the DOJโ€™s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, Jay Bratt wrote to Al Jazeeraโ€™s lawyers at DLA Piper, finding that AJ+โ€”a subsidiary of Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN)โ€”โ€œis obligated to register underโ€ FARA because it engages in โ€œpolitical activities within the United Statesโ€ and acts โ€œas a publicity agent โ€ฆ on behalf of the Government of Qatar and [AJMN], each of which is considered a foreign principal under the Act.โ€

The DOJ found that Al Jazeera and its related entities engage in โ€œpolitical activitiesโ€ on behalf of Qatarโ€™s government and are designed to โ€œinfluence American perceptionsโ€ of domestic policy. The letter, which has been previously reported by Mother Jones and The New York Times, but which has not been previously posted in full, can be found here.

Nineteen Members of Congress had asked then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions about Al Jazeeraโ€™s need to file a FARA registration in March 2018.

In June 2019 and July 2021, a group of six senators also wrote to both Attorneys General Bill Barr and Merrick Garland.

Despite the DOJ's letter informing Al Jazeera of its obligation to register, press coverage of the letter in the New York Times, and congressional oversight efforts, it appears that Al Jazeera has failed to comply with its obligation and that the DOJ has failed to enforce the law requiring registration.

After the DOJ's refusal to comply with congressional oversight efforts, Empower Oversight filed a FOIA request in January 2022 seeking documents related to both the DOJ's underlying failure to enforce the law as well its failure to answer related congressional oversight requests.

The FOIA request seeks records of all communications regarding the congressional letters along with communications between Al Jazeeraโ€™s lawyers and DOJ regarding Al Jazeera and FARA.

โ€œFARA and FOIA are important statutes designed to ensure transparency for the American people. The public deserves to know why the DOJ has failed to require a media organization it says is obligated to register as an agent of a foreign government to do so.  DOJโ€™s stonewalling of Congress and the public on this issue is unacceptable.โ€

Jason Foster, President and Founder of Empower Oversight

If you have first-hand information youโ€™d like to disclose to assist Empower Oversight with these inquiries, please contact us confidentially here.

Visit The Sharyl Attkisson Store today

Shop Now

Unique gifts for independent thinkers

Proceeds benefit independent journalism


      
[the_ad id="17661"]

About Sharyl Attkisson

Emmy-Award Winning Investigative Journalist, New York Times Best Selling Author, Host of Sinclair's Full Measure

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jeff Lynn says

    February 6, 2023 at 1:11 am

    Ask AlGore. I would not be surprised if he had a hand in that special deal during the sale of 'Current TV' to al Jazerra.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Coming Soon

The Bad Shirts: High-Quality, Wearable Humor

The Sharyl Attkisson Store

Buy Great, Original Products & Support Independent Journalism

Subscribe

Get the Latest Stories Straight to Your Inbox

SUBSCRIBE TO SHARYL’S RUMBLE CHANNEL


Follow Sharyl Attkisson

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube



Footer

Pages

  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Support
  • Contact

Sitemap

2ndary Pages

  • Full Measure Stations
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Newsletter
  • Returns & Refunds Policy

SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS

  • Attkisson v. DOJ/FBI
  • Benghazi
  • Election 2020
  • Fake News
  • Fast & Furious
  • Obamacare

Copyright © 2023 ยท Log in