The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating the work of Blue Star Strategies, a democratic lobbying firm that worked closely with Ukrainian gas company Burisma while Hunter Biden served on the board.
The investigation comes as the Justice Department increases skepticism about foreign governments and their efforts to influence American politics.
The Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office, which has a separate investigation into Hunter Biden’s finances, is also involved in the Blue Star Strategies investigation.
“One focus of the investigation is whether the firm failed to comply with disclosure requirements under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a law that requires Americans to disclose lobbying and public affairs work for foreign officials and political parties,” a report said, per the Daily Wire. “There is no indication that Hunter Biden is a target of the investigation into Blue Star. Karen Tramontano, one of Blue Star’s co-founders, testified that Hunter Biden did not direct any of the firm’s work for Burisma.”
David Laufman, who oversaw FARA enforcement at the Justice Department under Obama and Trump, said that the department’s “enforcement of FARA is now considerably more rigorous, seen not only in high-profile criminal prosecutions but also in day-to-day regulatory enforcement such as administrative inquiries into why parties are not registered, accountability for deficiencies in filings, and inspections of books and records.”
