Former U.S. official's work for Chinese client stirs concern over disclosure loopholes

When a Chinese drone company came under U.S. government scrutiny over its alleged ties to China's military, the company turned to one of America's pre-eminent lawyers: Loretta Lynch, a former attorney general in the Obama administration.

Lynch, who ran the U.S. Department of Justice from 2015 to 2017 and is now a partner at the Paul, Weiss law firm, wrote a letter to a senior Defense Department official last July on behalf of SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, asking that her client be removed from a list of Chinese military companies.

Advocating for foreign clients is legal and U.S. law includes a public disclosure exemption for lawyers.

But the letter, seen by Reuters, is an example of what transparency advocates and some members of Congress — dozens of whom have supported bills to change rules — say are gaps in the law that allow lawyers and lobbyists, including former officials, to avoid disclosing their advocacy for companies possibly subject to U.S. sanctions.

The Paul, Weiss law firm declined to comment on the letter, and Lynch did not respond to Reuters emails. DJI also declined to comment, but it has said previously that it is not a military company and that it was prepared to formally challenge its inclusion on the list.

The Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, a decades-old law requiring public disclosure of work done on behalf of non-U.S. entities, includes a list of exemptions, including for commercial activities and legal representation.

The work by the onetime top U.S. law enforcement officer on behalf of a company the Department of Defense says poses "threats to national security" comes as U.S. agencies warn about companies with links to China's Communist Party and as lawmakers push to tighten FARA's