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Ahead of a monumental primary on Tuesday, May 19th, which will determine whether or not the dying embers of America’s democratic process will be completely extinguished by the pro-Israel lobby, Kentucky representative Thomas Massie has introduced a bill into Congress that could deter future politicians actually willing to put America before Israel from suffering his same fate. On May 14th, Massie introduced the Americans Insist on Political Agent Clarity Act (”AIPAC Act”) in an effort to finally force the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (”AIPAC”) to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (”FARA”). The proposed legislation is the apotheosis of a crusade fought by Massie that has opened the eyes of the American people to see how the pro-Israel lobby has taken control over the country’s electoral process. Yet, despite widespread public support to force AIPAC to register as a foreign agent under FARA, the pro-Israel lobby’s stranglehold over Congress stands as a seemingly insurmountable obstacle keeping Massie’s proposed legislation from turning that into a reality.The express aim of the AIPAC Act is to “amend the Foreign Registration Act of 1938....to clarify the definition of ‘foreign principal’ and ensure transparency in lobbying on behalf of foreign interests.” Under FARA, a foreign principal is defined as:(1) a government of a foreign country and a foreign political party;(2) a person outside of the United States, unless it is established that such person is an individual and a citizen of and domiciled within the United States, or that such person is not an individual and is organized under or created by the laws of the United States or of any State or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and has its principal place of business within the United States; and(3) a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign country.Since its inception in 1954, AIPAC has circumvented the registration requirements under FARA by virtue of being established as a domestic lobbying organization legally distinct from the parameters that the act uses to designate a foreign principal. AIPAC was created by Isaiah L. Kenen, a lobbyist for the Israeli government that previously served under the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who worked as the information director of the American Zionist Council (”AZC”). After raising $65 million and $73 million in U.S. aid for Israel in 1951 and 1952, respectively, Kenen grew weary that he would be investigated by the U.S. State Department for not registering as a foreign agent under FARA. Kenen created the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs (”AZCPA”) to navigate around the registration requirements under FARA in response to that concern. The AZPCA was renamed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 1959 and became the preeminent political vehicle for the pro-Israel lobby in the decades that followed its creation.The AIPAC Act would amend FARA by adding a fourth paragraph that would additionally define a foreign principal as “any organization, association, corporation, or other entity....whose lobbying activities or stated mission is, either wholly or in part, to influence United States public policy or government action in furtherance of the political or economic interests of a foreign country or recognized state-affiliated political entity.” That language included in Massie’s proposed legislation would broaden the definition of a foreign principal to encompass domestic lobbying firms in the U.S. like AIPAC. The proposed legislation would also establish indicators for determining the foreign political alignment of lobbying firms and allow American citizens to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice to request investigations into potential FARA violations.Massie explained the calculus behind the proposed legislation designed to require AIPAC to register as a foreign agent shortly after introducing it into Congress on May 14th in an interview with Redacted News. "For some reason, they’re immune right now, and I think not just the money that’s spent in politics but the lobbying that happens on Capitol Hill should be reported if it’s a foreign country. Whether it’s Great Britain, Australia, Turkey, Qatar, or Israel, it needs to be reported," he stated, clarifying the amendment to FARA would apply to foreign principals lobbying on behalf of any nation.We need more transparency in the foreign interest lobbying on Capitol Hill. That’s why I introduced the Americans Insist on Political Agent Clarity Act today. pic.twitter.com/ZrZ0FVQPzA
