DOJ Obtains $30,000 Lobbying Disclosure Act Settlement

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia recently entered into a settlement with a lobbyist that includes a $30,000 fine for missing Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) reports. The lobbyist had been facing the prospect of over $5 million in potential fines related to LDA compliance. This case is similar to other recent LDA enforcement actions in that the LDA registrant appears to have ignored multiple communications from Congress and the U.S. Attorney's Office. The clear message to LDA registrants is to take compliance seriously and not to ignore communications from the Secretary of the Senate, Clerk of the House, or the U.S. Attorney's Office. Since 1995, the Secretary of the Senate has referred a total of 13,536 potential LDA violations to the U.S. Attorney's Office.