Bondi orders FBI to stop fighting foreign influence on US politics
The order mentions the disbandment of the FBI task force (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
On her first day in office, US Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the FBI to halt its efforts to combat foreign influence on US politics. This includes secret influence campaigns by China, Russia, and other adversaries seeking to gain favor and sow chaos in American politics, reports NBC News.
The order, hidden on the fourth page of one of 14 political memos published by Bondi on Wednesday, includes the dissolution of the FBI's task force combating foreign influence. Additionally, it scales back the enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, despite years of warnings from US intelligence agencies about the growing and dangerous threat posed by foreign malicious influence operations, including disinformation.
“To free resources to address more pressing priorities, and end risks of further weaponization and abuses of prosecutorial discretion, the Foreign Influence Task Force shall be disbanded,” the order reads.
It also states that criminal charges for violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires individuals to register when lobbying on behalf of a foreign state, shall be limited to instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors.
Furthermore, the directive mentions that Department of Justice prosecutors shall focus on civil enforcement, regulatory initiatives, and public guidance.
Pam Bondi, through a separate directive, ended efforts to seize assets from Russian oligarchs that had been initiated after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
From now on, the personnel working on these projects will be reassigned to focus on combating drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
