Former U.S. official’s work for Chinese client stirs concern over disclosure loopholes
Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch 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. Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images 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 …