On February 21st, various defendants in the
U.S. v. Carson case pending in the Central District of California filed a historic challenge to the DOJ's interpretation that employees of alleged state-owned or state-controlled enterprises are “foreign officials” under the FCPA. (See
here for the prior post).
Yesterday, the DOJ filed its opposition brief (see
here).
The DOJ brief is supported by the same declaration from Clifton Johnson (Assistant Legal Adviser for Law Enforcement and Intelligence in the Legal Adviser's Office of the United States Department of State) ordered stricken in the
Lindsey "foreign official" challenge (see
here and
here) and also filed in the
O'Shea "foreign official" challenge (see
here).
The DOJ brief is also supported by a declaration from FBI Special Agent Brian Smith (
here) as to "some facts related to certain of the entities involved" in the case and "information pertaining to state-owned enterprises in China" and "certain portions of legislative history related" to the FCPA.
Also yesterday, Nathaniel Edmonds (Assistant Chief, DOJ Fraud Section) filed a notice of appearance in the case.
