Grassley, Colleagues Push DOJ to Investigate Requirements for Hamas-Linked Campus Orgs to Register as Foreign Agents

Grassley, Colleagues Push DOJ to Investigate Requirements for Hamas-Linked Campus Orgs to Register as Foreign Agents

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley, a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote the Justice Department (DOJ) and FBI regarding Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) enforcement, raising concerns Hamas-linked entities are escaping FARA scrutiny as they seek to shape U.S. public opinion and policy outcomes through partnerships with campus organizations. Joining Grassley on the effort are Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

The senators' inquiry hones in on the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) - which received backing from an organization whose associated entities the U.S. government has implicated for financing Hamas - and the hundreds of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters NSJP claims to support across the U.S. Their letter reads, in part:

"It is incumbent upon all of us crack down on hidden foreign influence. […] The introduction of hostile foreign adversaries into domestic political discussion is especially of issue when it is fueling an alarming rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment. The public reporting appears to indicate that NSJP and related chapters may fit into the FARA definition of 'publicity agent,' at minimum, and its conduct, among other activity, may constitute a public relations effort designed to impact U.S. public opinion in favor of a foreign principal, which would meet FARA's definition of political activities.

"Taken as a whole, these actions require further investigation from DOJ and the FBI to fully determine whether NSJP and SJP chapters should register as foreign agents under FARA and the extent of Hamas and Iran's potential involvement."

Grassley and his colleagues cite numerous examples that signal NSJP and SJP chapters may have an obligation to register as agents under FARA. Several follow.

• Federal court filings from state Attorneys General assert NSJP's material support to Hamas.
• Dozens of SJP chapters echoed NSJP's social media messages lauding Hamas' brutal October 7, 2023, attack on Israel; some "[praised] the creativity" of Hamas' surprise attacks on Israeli civilians.
• NSJP urged SJP chapters in the U.S. to publicly facilitate and join "armed struggles, general strikes and popular demonstrations."
• NSJP launched a campaign against U.S. college administrators, pushing for divestments in Israel-connected assets.
• NSJP held a summer 2024 program for SJP participants to "deepen our understanding of our current political moment […] with the aim entrenching the frameworks necessary to sustain and grow the Student Intifada."
• NSJP has stated it "aim[s] to develop a student movement that is connected, disciplined, and equipped" with tools toward fulfilling its mission.

Considering this evidence and more, the senators are asking DOJ and FBI pointed questions about the steps they have taken to assess NSJP and SJP's potential requirement to register as foreign agents.

Read the full letter HERE.

Background:

Congress passed FARA in 1938 to identify Nazi propaganda and other foreign efforts to sway U.S. policy and public opinion. The content-neutral law was designed not to prohibit activity, but rather, to ensure certain individuals who act as agents of a foreign government or enterprise register with DOJ.

Grassley previously pressed for FARA enforcement as Confucius Institutes cropped up on college campuses, working to combat Chinese Communist Party influence in the U.S. education system. He has probed potential FARA violations in recent Congresses, including by Qatari media network Al Jazeera, a Ukrainian operative who consulted for the Democrat National Committee and a Russian lobbyist who attended a meeting with Donald Trump, Jr. Grassley questioned the Biden family's FARA compliance amid business dealings with a Chinese energy company and sought answers upon learning the top lobbying firm for Ukrainian energy company Burisma filed incomplete disclosures. A longtime advocate of enforcing FARA to the fullest extent, he is leading congressional oversight and legislative reforms to further strengthen the law.

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