ON WATCH

Report: DOJ Orders Two Chinese Media Organizations to Register as Foreign Agents

The Justice Department told Russian media outlet RT to register as a foreign agent last year.

The Justice Department has reportedly ordered two Chinese state-run news agencies to register as foreign agents in recent weeks in an effort to “combat foreign influence operations” as the November midterms draw closer. The Wall Street Journal reports that the DOJ told Xinhua News Agency and China Global Television Network to register under a “previously obscure foreign lobbying law” that has been recently used against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Russian media outlet RT was also ordered to register as a foreign agent by the Justice Department late last year. This week, the U.S. and China have escalated a trade war that has resulted in $200 billion worth of Chinese goods being slapped with tariffs.