CPAC, Not Registered As A Foreign Agent, Is Taking Money From Foreign Interests Anyway

ORLANDO, Fla. — Organizers of the CPAC conference have taken tens of thousands of dollars in sponsorship fees from foreign interests – including one which is actively advocating against legislation before Congress – without registering as foreign agents.

Neither Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, nor CPAC itself appears to be registered as a foreign representative under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a circumstance that drew a complaint to the Department of Justice this week.

“There is sufficient evidence of alleged violations to support a federal criminal or civil investigation,” the complaint reads, according to a copy obtained by HuffPost.

The complaint names Schlapp, his wife, Mercedes Schlapp, a former Trump White House official and prominent player at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the American Conservative Union, the ACU Foundation, and Cove Strategies, Matt Schlapp’s consulting firm.

The complaint was provided to HuffPost on condition of anonymity by a conservative activist who would likely face retaliation in business relationships.

ACU officials did not respond to HuffPost’s queries about the complaint.

The Department of Justice FARA unit told HuffPost that it “does not comment on any activities the staff conducts in its efforts to enforce the Act, nor does it comment on compliance matters related to registered agents or other parties.”

CPAC is a production of the ACU Foundation, which is a 501(c)3 educational charity under the federal tax code. The group has posted prominent signs at the conference venue stating: “Electioneering is strictly prohibited. Those found to be electioneering may be asked to leave the premises.”

FARA, meanwhile, requires those who are paid to advance the interests of foreign entities in the United States to register that affiliation. At CPAC this year, foreign entities likely paid CPAC’s organizers at least $200,000 to participate in the four-day event.

The conference attracts a few thousand activists from around the country, but also dozens of sitting members of Congress and congressional candidates, several of whom are also paying CPAC for exhibition space while another dozen or so are appearing as featured speakers.

The foreign groups participating at CPAC include New Direction, a conservative think tank in Europe, CPAC Hungary, the Japanese Conservative Union, and CPAC Korea. According to CPAC’s own “sponsorship prospectus,” the groups were charged based on the size and prominence of their display space.

Based on the published tiers, CPAC Hungary was charged $15,000 for its 10-by-10-foot booth, while the Japanese Conservative Union and CPAC Korea each paid $75,000 for their 20-by-10-foot booths. Their packages also included three-minute videos to be shown from the main stage and two Facebook shares and two retweets from the CPAC social media accounts.

CPAC Korea’s video played Friday afternoon and urged viewers to sign a petition calling for the defeat of a House bill that would encourage a peace treaty between North and South Korea. The group is displaying signs and distributing literature from its booth in the exhibit hall telling attendees to “End the #fakepeace on the Korean peninsula act – OPPOSE H.R. 3446.”