On December 20, 2023, the Knight Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Foundation for Global Political Exchange challenging the decision of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to prohibit the Foundation from including certain individuals in the political discussions that the Foundation hosts.

The Foundation is a U.S. non-profit organization that promotes professional and academic enrichment through convenings in the Middle East and North Africa called “Exchanges.” Each Exchange involves small-group, immersive dialogues that allow participants—including journalists, human rights advocates, and government officials—to engage with and question thirty to forty of the key stakeholders from across the political landscape of a subject country. In advance of the Foundation’s January 2023 Beirut Exchange, OFAC informed the Foundation that it could not lawfully include in these discussions five prominent political figures who were designated under a U.S. sanctions regime or were members of a designated organization.

The lawsuit argued that OFAC’s decision exceeded OFAC’s statutory and regulatory authority and violated the First Amendment. It asked the court to declare that OFAC’s actions were unlawful and to bar the agency from enforcing its regulations against the Foundation for including designated speakers in its political dialogues.

On November 12, 2024, the parties reached a settlement agreement under which OFAC reversed its position and made clear that including sanctioned speakers in events like the Beirut Exchange is not prohibited by U.S. sanctions law. This welcome result will allow the Foundation and other organizations like it to foster political dialogue between Americans and people abroad without the fear of civil or criminal liability.

Status: The parties settled and dismissed the case on November 12, 2024.

Case Information: The Found. for Glob. Pol. Exch. v. Dep’t of the Treasury, No. 1:23-cv-03777 (D.D.C.)