Posted on 05/26/2016 9:35:52 AM PDT by randita
McAuliffe: 'I have never lobbied for a foreign government'
BY GRAHAM MOOMAW Richmond Times-Dispatch | Posted: Thursday, May 26, 2016 11:00 am
Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Thursday that he has never lobbied in the U.S. on behalf of a foreign government, adding that federal investigators looking into his foreign connections are focused on a "very specific" lobbyist registration issue.
"I have never lobbied for a foreign government here. Ever," McAuliffe said during a morning radio appearance on Richmond's WRVA.
The Democratic governor's remarks come a day after his attorney said the Department of Justice is looking into a potential violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a federal statute meant to limit foreign influence in U.S. policy. In the first report on the investigation Monday, CNN reported a focus on $120,000 in political contributions to McAuliffe linked to Chinese businessman Wang Wenliang.
"The media was wrong. Shocking," McAuliffe said when asked about the changing accounts of the investigation's target.
McAuliffe has said he was not contacted by investigators before media reports surfaced. Wang, through a spokesman, said he too had not been contacted. McAuliffe's attorney, James W. Cooper, said the DOJ told him it has no evidence of a violation.
Much about the investigation remains unclear. The DOJ generally does not comment on active investigations.
Asked why the investigation is continuing if there's no evidence of wrongdoing, McAuliffe said he did not know.
"Hopefully it'll be shut down pretty quickly," McAuliffe said.
FARA, which requires agents of foreign entities to register and disclose their activities, is not limited to lobbying on behalf of foreign governments. The law also applies to individuals and companies whose "principal place of business" is outside the U.S. It covers a broad range of political activity to further foreign interests, including publicity, consulting and the solicitation or disbursement of funds or other things of value "for or in the interest of" a foreign entity.
The restriction on foreign political contributions was originally a part of FARA, according to a Federal Election Commission brochure aimed at foreign nationals, but was later incorporated into federal election law. McAuliffe has said the contributions linked to Wang were valid because the businessman has held a green card since 2007, which makes him eligible to contribute.
The donations did not come from Wang personally, but were made by West Legend Corp., a New Jersey-based affiliate of Wang's business enterprise. According to the FEC, companies located in the U.S. cannot make political donations if the contribution is financed by a foreign owner or directed by individual foreign nationals.
McAuliffe also responded Thursday to a Time Magazine report that said he had invited Wang to a 2013 fundraiser at the home of Hillary Clinton, a longtime friend of McAuliffe's.
"The guy was invited to a fundraiser with many people at it," McAuliffe said. "People come to fundraisers."
McAuliffe, who has accused the DOJ and FBI of leaking information about the probe, said the investigation "has nothing to do with Virginia or Virginia politics" because it's focused on his time as a private citizen.
"This is a political world we're in. There's a big presidential campaign going on," he said. "I'm a big boy. I get it."
Riady famil;y....Lippo Group
I bet it'll turn out that no one is “behind” these investigations, that it's just that the Clintons and the Clintonistas (such as McAwful) are so corrupt that the investigation into HRC’s email server led to the investigation into the Clinton Family Foundation, which led to McAwful, etc., etc...and that the FBI and DOJ had no choice but to plug along. The Clintons are so sleazy, and it's finally catching up with them.
Yeah. Just like Bill Ayers was just a guy in Obama’s neighborhood.
These people are so slimy.
Ain’t that the truth. We just keep on getting these rare gems as governors here in VA. Thank God VA governors are limited to one term.
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