Republican’s ‘Whistleblower’ Charged as Unregistered Foreign Agent

Nikki McCann Ramirez
·2 min read
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The Department of Justice announced on Monday an indictment against Gal Luft, the Israeli-American co-head of a Maryland-based think tank, on charges related to violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Luft, currently a fugitive from American authorities, has been touted by Republicans as a potential whistleblower in their ongoing efforts to link the Biden family to corrupt business dealings abroad.

Luft was initially arrested in Cyprus in February, and fled the country after being released on bail. A six-count indictment was released on Monday. Charges include “offenses related to willfully failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (‘FARA’), arms trafficking, Iranian sanctions violations, and making false statements to federal agents.” The charges against Luft pose a collective maximum of 100 years in prison.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams alleged that Luft had “subverted foreign agent registration laws in the United States to seek to promote Chinese policies by acting through a former high-ranking U.S. Government official.”

The department wrote that Luft, in his capacity as co-director of a non-profit think tank, “agreed to covertly recruit and pay, on behalf of principals based in China, a former high-ranking U.S. government official (Individual-1), including in 2016 while the former official was an adviser to the then-President-elect, to publicly support certain policies with respect to China.”

Luft is further accused of negotiating “illicit arms transactions with, among others, certain Chinese individuals and entities,” including Libya, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran.

Last week Luft, who is still on the run from authorities, made various claims against the Biden family. In a 14-minute video obtained by The New York Post, Luft claims his February arrest was an attempt by the federal government to prevent him from exposing corruption by the Bidens — specifically that the Biden family had benefited financially from relationships with individuals connected to the Chinese military.

He claimed that in 2019 he had provided evidence of the family’s wrongdoing to federal authorities. “I am now being hunted by the very same people who I informed,” Luft said.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) has touted Luft as a “missing” whistleblower — who disappeared before the committee could interview him. On Friday, Comer indicated that he would be requesting the FBI’s notes from their past meetings with Luft.

Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson claimed on Sunday, before the release of the indictment, that authorities had arrested Luft “to silence him,” and called for the fugitive to be granted immunity.

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