Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is again calling on the Justice Department to look into former Rep. David Rivera, R-Fla., for allegedly having worked for the Maduro regime in Venezuela.
Menendez, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made his comments in a Wednesday letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
"I write to reiterate my request that the Justice Department review whether former Congressman David M. Rivera violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act [FARA] by failing to register as a foreign agent working on behalf of the repressive regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela," he said.
"I am concerned that seemingly little progress has been made on this matter in the two years since I first raised the serious and credible allegations against Mr. Rivera with the department. If Mr. Rivera carried out work that requires registration under FARA, it is imperative that the Justice Department ensure he is held to account.
"To protect our national interest and promote continued transparency, I urge the Department to scrutinize Mr. Rivera's apparent work on behalf of a foreign adversary intent on undermining U.S. national security interests. The American people deserve to know whether a former Republican member of Congress was secretly doing the bidding of a dictator responsible for committing crimes against humanity in Venezuela."
According to Politico, there are allegations that Rivera, who represented parts of South Florida until 2013, did not register as a foreign agent despite working for Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., Venezuela's state-owned oil company.
The news outlet said the oil company allegedly had a $50 million agreement to hire Rivera's firm, Interamerican Consulting to provide "strategic consulting service."
Univision had reported that under U.S. law, persons or companies who are paid by a foreign government for consult or public relations services must register under FARA.
Politico could not reach Rivera for comment.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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