ANCA insists on release of report on SOCAR’s funding of US Congressmen’s trip to Azerbaijan
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) seeks release of a 70-page Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) report dealing with “concerted, possibly criminal, efforts” by pro-Azerbaijani interests to secretly fund Congressional participation in an extravagant Baku conference, according to Asbarez.com.
In a letter sent earlier this week to Chairman Charles Dent (R-PA) and Ranking Member Linda Sanchez (D-CA) of this panel, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian called for the release of the findings “in the interests of government transparency and the rights of a fully informed electorate.” He stressed, “The Committee should not withhold from American citizens any information involving foreign attempts to manipulate our democratic system or that, in the Committee’s own words, reveals ‘evidence of concerted, possibly criminal, efforts’ by any party – foreign or domestic – seeking any manner of undue influence with U.S. policymakers.”
Asbarez reminds its readers that the House Ethics Committee, earlier this week, cleared 10 U.S. Representatives and over 30 Congressional staff who had been under investigation for allegedly accepting illegal foreign funding to participate in a 2013 conference, funded by the State oil company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR): “U.S.-Azerbaijan Convention: Vision for the Future.” The Committee found that the Members had not knowingly violated the law, since the nominal funders of the trip – the Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan (AFAZ) and groups associated with the Turkic American Association (TAA) – had apparently concealed from the Congress the fact that SOCAR was, in reality, the true source of the junkets’ financing. The House Ethics Committee has referred the case to the Department of Justice, but refused to release the OCE findings. The OCE, an independent, non-partisan entity charged with reviewing and, as appropriate, referring allegations of Congressional misconduct to the Ethics Committee, typically have their findings released to the public after the investigation is concluded.
In May 2013, the state oil company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR, secretly funded an all-expenses-paid trip to a conference in Baku (“U.S.-Azerbaijan Convention: Vision for the Future”) for 10 members of Congress and 32 staff members. Three former top aides to President Obama appeared as speakers at the event. The lawmakers and their staff members received hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of travel expenses, silk scarves, crystal tea sets and Azerbaijani rugs valued at $2,500 to $10,000.
Related:
The Washington Post: State Oil Company of Azerbaijan secretly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on US Congressmen
Albuquerque Journal: Pro-Azerbaijan lobbyists in US do not register officially and introduce ‘absurd’ resolutions
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