II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1469 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit interfering in elections 

with agents of a foreign government. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2019 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. DURBIN, 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. HARRIS, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit 

interfering in elections with agents of a foreign government. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prevention of Foreign 

5 Interference with Elections Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INTERFERENCE IN ELECTIONS BY FOREIGN NA2 TIONALS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 29 of title 18, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 612. Interference in elections by foreign nationals 

7 ‘‘(a) PENALTY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever— 

9 ‘‘(A) conspires with an individual, while 

10 having knowledge or reasonable cause to believe 

11 such individual is a foreign national, to prevent, 

12 obstruct, impede, interfere with, promote, sup13 port, or oppose the nomination or the election 

14 of any candidate for any Federal, State, or local 

15 office, or any ballot measure, initiative, or ref16 erendum; and 

17 ‘‘(B) knows or has reasonable cause to be18 lieve that an interfering act would be or has 

19 been committed to effect the object of the con20 spiracy; 

21 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not 

22 more than 5 years, or both. 

23 ‘‘(2) AGENTS OF FOREIGN POWERS.—Whoever 

24 violates paragraph (1) by conspiring with an agent 

25 of a foreign power shall be fined under this title, im26 prisoned for not more than 10 years, or both. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CONSECUTIVE SENTENCE.—No term of impris2 onment imposed on a person under this section shall run 

3 concurrently with any other term of imprisonment im4 posed on the person under any other provision of law. 

5 ‘‘(c) INJUNCTIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever it shall appear 

7 that any person is engaged or is about to engage in 

8 any act which constitutes a violation of this section, 

9 the Attorney General may bring a civil action in a 

10 district court of the United States seeking an order 

11 to enjoin such act. 

12 ‘‘(2) ACTION BY COURT.—The court shall pro13 ceed as soon as practicable to the hearing and deter14 mination of a civil action brought under this sub15 section, and may, at any time before final deter16 mination, enter such a restraining order or prohibi17 tion, or take such other action, as is warranted to 

18 prevent a continuing and substantial injury to the 

19 United States, a State, or a locality, or to any per20 son or class of persons for whose protection the civil 

21 action is brought. 

22 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A proceeding under 

24 this subsection shall be governed by the Federal 

25 Rules of Civil Procedure, except that, if an inVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 28, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1469.IS S1469

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1 dictment has been returned against the re2 spondent, discovery shall be governed by the 

3 Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. 

4 ‘‘(B) SEALED PROCEEDINGS.—If a civil ac5 tion is brought under this subsection, before an 

6 indictment is returned against the respondent 

7 or while an indictment against the respondent 

8 is under seal— 

9 ‘‘(i) the court shall place the civil ac10 tion under seal; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) when the indictment is unsealed, 

12 the court shall unseal the civil action un13 less good cause exists to keep the civil ac14 tion under seal. 

15 ‘‘(4) CLASSIFIED INFORMATION IF INDICTMENT

16 HAS NOT BEEN RETURNED AGAINST RESPOND17 ENT.—For any civil proceeding brought by the At18 torney General under this subsection in which an in19 dictment has not been returned against the respond20 ent, classified information in the civil proceeding 

21 shall be subject to the procedures described in sec22 tion 2339B(f). 

23 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

24 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agent of a foreign power’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given to the term in 

2 section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveil3 lance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801); and 

4 ‘‘(B) does not include a United States per5 son (as defined under section 101 of the For6 eign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 

7 U.S.C. 1801)); 

8 ‘‘(2) the term ‘classified information’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 1 of the Classified 

10 Information Procedures Act (18 U.S.C. App.); 

11 ‘‘(3) the term ‘foreign national’— 

12 ‘‘(A) means a foreign principal, as such 

13 term is defined by section 1(b) of the Foreign 

14 Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 

15 611(b)); and 

16 ‘‘(B) does not include any individual who is 

17 a citizen of the United States or a lawful per18 manent resident of the United States; and 

19 ‘‘(4) the term ‘interfering act’ means any of20 fense, that does have to be otherwise proven, under 

21 or violation of— 

22 ‘‘(A) this title; 

23 ‘‘(B) section 12 of the Voting Rights Act 

24 of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10308); 


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1 ‘‘(C) the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

2 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.); or 

3 ‘‘(D) chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986. 

5 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec6 tion shall be construed or applied to abridge the exercise 

7 of rights guaranteed under the First Amendment to the 

8 Constitution of the United States.’’. 

9 (b) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act, an 

10 amendment made by this Act, or the application of such 

11 provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is 

12 held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, the 

13 amendments made by this Act, and the applications of the 

14 provisions of such to any other person or circumstance 

15 shall not be affected thereby. 

16 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

17 The table of sections for chapter 29 of title 18, United 

18 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

‘‘612. Interference in elections by foreign nationals.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. INADMISSIBILITY FOR INTERFERENCE IN ELEC21 TIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS. 

22 Section 212(a)(10)(D) of the Immigration and Na23 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(10)(D)) is amended to 

24 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(D) UNLAWFUL VOTERS AND ELECTION

2 INTERFERENCE BY FOREIGN NATIONALS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) UNLAWFUL VOTERS.—Except as 

4 provided in clause (iii), any alien who has 

5 voted in violation of any Federal, State, or 

6 local constitutional provision, statute, ordi7 nance, or regulation is inadmissible. 

8 ‘‘(ii) ELECTION INTERFERENCE BY

9 FOREIGN NATIONALS.— 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 

11 provided in subclause (II) and clause 

12 (iii), any alien convicted of violating 

13 section 612 of title 18, United States 

14 Code, is inadmissible. 

15 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—If an alien 

16 described in subclause (I) is eligible 

17 under section 245(j) for an adjust18 ment of status to that of an alien law19 fully admitted for permanent resi20 dence, the Secretary of Homeland Se21 curity, in the Secretary’s sole, unre22 viewable discretion, may waive the ap23 plicability of subclause (I) with re24 spect to such alien. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—An alien shall not 

2 be considered to be inadmissible under this 

3 subparagraph if— 

4 ‘‘(I) the alien voted in a Federal, 

5 State, or local election (including an 

6 initiative, recall, or referendum) in 

7 violation of a lawful restriction of vot8 ing to citizens; 

9 ‘‘(II) each natural parent of the 

10 alien (or, in the case of an adopted 

11 alien, each adoptive parent of the 

12 alien) is or was a United States cit13 izen (whether by birth or naturaliza14 tion); 

15 ‘‘(III) the alien permanently re16 sided in the United States before 

17 reaching 16 years of age; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) the alien reasonably be19 lieved at the time of the violation de20 scribed in clause (i) or (ii)(I) that he 

21 or she was a United States citizen.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING PROHIBITIONS ON EXPENDI23 TURES BY FOREIGN NATIONALS. 

24 Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

25 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(C), by inserting ‘‘, sub2 ject to subsection (c)’’ after ‘‘within the meaning of 

3 section 304(f)(3)’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub5 sections: 

6 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION TO ELECTIONEERING COMMU7 NICATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of ap10 plying subsection (a)(1)(C) and subsection (d), 

11 an ‘electioneering communication’— 

12 ‘‘(i) does not include a news story, 

13 commentary, editorial, or other commu14 nication produced and distributed in the 

15 ordinary course of bona fide press activity 

16 by a news or press service or association, 

17 newspaper, magazine, periodical, or other 

18 publication as determined under subpara19 graph (B); 

20 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in clause (i), 

21 includes an Internet or digital communica22 tion that otherwise meets the requirements 

23 of section 304(f)(3) as modified by this 

24 paragraph; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) includes a communication that 

2 does not refer to a clearly identified can3 didate for Federal office as described in 

4 subparagraph (A)(i)(I) of section 304(f)(3) 

5 if— 

6 ‘‘(I) the communication otherwise 

7 meets the requirements of such sec8 tion as modified by this paragraph ex9 cept that items (aa) and (bb) of sub10 paragraph (A)(i)(II) of such section 

11 shall each be applied by substituting 

12 ‘Federal, State, or local office’ for ‘the 

13 office sought by the candidate’; 

14 ‘‘(II) the communication— 

15 ‘‘(aa) references voting or a 

16 Federal, State, or local election; 

17 ‘‘(bb) addresses an issue 

18 that is reasonably understood to 

19 distinguish one candidate for 

20 Federal, State, or local office 

21 from another; 

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1 eral, State, or local office on that 

2 same issue; 

3 ‘‘(dd) expresses approval or 

4 disapproval of a position reason5 ably identified with a candidate 

6 for Federal, State, or local office 

7 and presented in substantially 

8 similar terms, regardless of 

9 whether there is a specific ref10 erence to that candidate; or 

11 ‘‘(ee) references an employee 

12 of a candidate or campaign for 

13 Federal, State, or local office or 

14 a political party; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) does not include a commercial 

16 advertisement for goods or services by a 

17 foreign corporation or business entity. 

18 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF BONA FIDE

19 PRESS ACTIVITY.—For purposes of subpara20 graph (A)(i), a news story, commentary, edi21 torial, or other communication is not produced 

22 and distributed in the ordinary course of bona 

23 fide press activity by a news or press service or 

24 association, newspaper, magazine, periodical, or 


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1 other publication and the exception under such 

2 subparagraph shall not apply if— 

3 ‘‘(i) such media outlet is owned, di4 rected, supervised, controlled, subsidized, 

5 or financed by a government of a foreign 

6 country, as defined in section 1 of the For7 eign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 

8 U.S.C. 611); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) such news story, commentary, 

10 editorial, or other communication— 

11 ‘‘(I) is directed, produced, or dis12 tributed, at the direction of govern13 ment or political party officials; and 

14 ‘‘(II) promotes, attacks, sup15 ports, or opposes any candidate for 

16 public office or political party in the 

17 United States. 

18 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN INDIVIDUAL INTERNET ACTIVITY

19 EXCEPTION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—When an individual or 

21 a group of individuals engages in Internet ac22 tivities for the purposes of influencing an elec23 tion, neither of the following is a contribution 

24 or expenditure for purposes of this section by 

25 that individual or group of individuals: 


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1 ‘‘(i) The uncompensated personal 

2 services of the individual related to such 

3 Internet activities. The exception under the 

4 preceding sentence shall not apply to indi5 viduals or a group of individuals acting on 

6 behalf of or in any capacity at the order, 

7 request, or under the direction or control, 

8 of a government of a foreign country, a 

9 foreign political party, or a person whose 

10 activities are directly or indirectly super11 vised, directed, controlled, financed, or 

12 subsidized in whole or in major part by a 

13 government of a foreign country or a for14 eign political party. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The use of equipment or services 

16 by the individual for uncompensated Inter17 net activities, regardless of the identity of 

18 the owner of the equipment or services. 

19 The exception under the preceding sen20 tence shall not apply to equipment or serv21 ices supplied or provided directly or indi22 rectly by a government of a foreign coun23 try, a foreign political party, or a person 

24 whose activities are directly or indirectly 

25 supervised, directed, controlled, financed, 


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1 or subsidized in whole or in major part by 

2 a government of a foreign country or a for3 eign political party. 

4 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 

5 paragraph, the terms ‘Internet activities’ and 

6 ‘equipment and services’ have the meaning 

7 given such terms in section 100.94 of title 11, 

8 Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 

9 regulation). 

10 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON PROVIDING SUBSTANTIAL AS11 SISTANCE TO A FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS AND FOREIGN

12 POLITICAL PARTIES IN MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS, DONA13 TIONS, OR EXPENDITURES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No person shall knowingly 

15 provide substantial assistance to a foreign national, 

16 including a foreign government or foreign political 

17 party, with respect to directly or indirectly making 

18 a contribution or donation, or other thing of value, 

19 or an expenditure, independent expenditure, or dis20 bursement for an electioneering communication 

21 (within the meaning of section 304(f)(3)), or any 

22 other act prohibited under subsection (a). 

23 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—As used in this subsection, 

24 the term ‘providing substantial assistance’ means, 

25 with respect to an act described in paragraph (1), 


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1 the facilitation of such act by a foreign national, in2 cluding a foreign government or foreign political 

3 party. Such facilitation includes the knowing republi4 cation of foreign government and foreign political 

5 party electioneering communications referred to in 

6 subsection (b), regardless of whether the commu7 nication was made in concert or cooperation with or 

8 at the request or suggestion of a foreign government 

9 or foreign political party.’’. 

Æ 


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