Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Elise Stefanik co-led a letter with Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) to Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the DOJ to open an investigation into the Drone Advocacy Alliance, which is funded by Communist Chinese drone company DJI, for potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
The Drone Advocacy Alliance is an advocacy group that, according to their website, is funded and maintained by DJI. The Drone Advocacy Alliance works to influence American citizens to lobby against legislation that would prohibit the use of DJI in America including the American Security Drone Act and the Countering CCP Drones Act. The Drone Advocacy Alliance is working on behalf of a foreign adversary in the United States and should be registered under FARA, which requires individuals and organizations that are doing political or advocacy work on behalf of a foreign entity in the United States to register with the Department of Justice and to disclose their relationships, activities, receipts, and disbursements in support of their activities.
In the letter, the lawmakers state, “FARA is intended to protect U.S. national security by requiring enhanced transparency into certain activities of organizations operating in the U.S. on behalf of foreign entities, including lobbying to influence U.S. policy.”
The lawmakers continue, “CCP-controlled drone company DJI is sponsoring and using the Drone Advocacy Alliance to market DJI drones as critical lifesaving tools that do not pose risks to U.S. national security. However, the opposite is the case. DJI is directly facilitating genocidal crimes, arming the Chinese military, and advancing the strategic objectives of the CCP, an adversary that threatens U.S. national security.”
Read the full letter here.
