Lieberman's ZTE work makes him a foreign agent, complaint says
Former Senator Joe Lieberman should register as a foreign agent for his work on behalf of embattled Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp., according to a complaint filed with the Justice Department today by the Campaign Legal Center.
Lieberman filed as a lobbyist last month for the company, which is facing scrutiny over alleged national security threats its products pose to the U.S. Under federal law, lobbyists for foreign commercial clients are exempted from the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA.
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"He can’t have it both ways," said Brendan Fischer, director of federal reform for the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based nonprofit that advocates for limiting the role of money in politics. "He can’t claim to not be engaging in lobbying while taking advantage of the exception for lobbyists."