lobbyist Archives

When and how Turkish anti-Armenian lobbyist ended up in Armenia?

September 29, 2018 By administrator

YEREVAN. – US citizen and ethnic Turk Kevin (Kemal) Öksüz, who was apprehended in capital city Yerevan, had arrived in Armenia in July 2017, from Georgia.

The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia informed about the aforesaid in response to a written query by Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Öksüz was engaged in entrepreneurial activity in Armenia for about a year. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the company he founded in the country has avoided paying large amounts of taxes, and a criminal case has been filed in this regard.

The NSS also informed that while conducting business in Armenia, there was no information with respect to Öksüz carrying out actions that threaten the country’s national interests and security.

But when asked whether the NSS had received any information regarding Öksüz’s ties with the Azerbaijani government and his anti-Armenian activities in the US, the NSS did not respond saying that such information contains national and official secrets.

Kevin Öksüz, whom the US law enforcers are seeking, was found on August 29, in Yerevan.

As reported earlier, the US Justice Department has issued an indictment of Öksüz for his role in a plot to hide the fact that a 2013 congressional delegation trip to Azerbaijan was funded by that country’s government.

The US court charges him with one count of devising a scheme to falsify, conceal, and cover up material facts from the Ethics Committee of the US House of Representatives, and four counts of making false statements to Congress.

A warrant for his arrest was issued earlier this year

Earlier, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia had received a petition from the relevant US authorities that Öksüz be extradited.

On August 31, a Yerevan first instance court ruled that Kevin Öksüz be detained for one month.

Erdogan Allies Lobbied U.S. Congress Against Kurds

March 9, 2018 By administrator

Erdogan Allies Lobbied Congress Against Kurds

by John Rossomando

Leaders of Turkish-American groups closely tied to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lobbiedCongress last week to end U.S. support for the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) coalition that the U.S. supports against ISIS.

The groups included Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC), Cihannuma US, and MUSIAD USA, which the Turkish news site Haberler.com describes as the American branch of Erdogan’s Islamist AKP Party’s MUSIAD business network.

In a September 2016 speech to the group, Erdogan promised to help TASC, which he called an effective mechanism for uniting Turkish-American groups that lets them campaign on issues of common interest.

Last week’s lobbying effort took place although none of the organizations registered with the Justice Department as agents of a foreign government under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). All who lobby on behalf of foreign governments or political parties are required to register under the act. It was organized by Murat Guzel, a Pennsylvania businessman who sits on the boards of MUSIAD USA and TASC, the Turkish news site Haberler.com reported.

Guzel complained about $550 million in SDF support that the Pentagon has requested from Congress at a Capitol Hill news conference covered by Turkish media outlets and by Voice of America.

“This money is being paid for with our taxes, and it is ironic that US intelligence organizations also describe this group as an extension of the PKK as a terrorist organization,” Guzel said. “We have received very positive results especially from the talks that we had yesterday and today and we will increase our visits.”

Turkey invaded Syria’s predominately Kurdish Afrin region in January seeking to punish the YPG, which the Erdogan government views as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The PKK has waged a violent campaign for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey during the past 40 years and is designated as a terrorist organization by the State Department.

Turkish leaders including Erdogan have become increasingly militant in their rhetoric since the Afrin military campaign began, with some calling their invasion a “jihad.” Even as its American branch lobbied Congress, Cihannuma’s top leader in Turkey, Mustafa Sen, claimed that Turkey is at war with the United States in Syria,

Asserting they are part of a multi-ethnic group dedicated to fighting ISIS, Syrian Democratic Front officials distanced themselves from the PKK in January. State Department officials responded to Turkish complaints about the SDF that month, saying it “serves the cause of regional stability.” The SDF redeployed 1,700 fighters in the past week who had been fighting ISIS to resisting the Turkish army and its jihadist allies in the Free Syrian Army around Afrin.

MUSAID USA President Mustafa Tuncer also criticized U.S. support for the SDF at the news conference, saying the SDF is made up of terrorists.

Last week’s lobbying effort used talking points similar to those offered by Turkish officials in their dealings with the Trump administration since the invasion of Afrin.

“Washington is crawling with Turkish organizations whose true purpose seems to be to engage in lobbying on behalf of Erdogan’s positions or obsessions of the day,” American Enterprise Institute Turkey expert Michael Rubin told the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT). “There’s two reasons for this: Turks figure that if they violate the law, they can just go home. But even if they get caught, the price is worth it because getting in President Erdogan’s good graces can be very lucrative indeed.

“It’s not just MUSIAD USA: There’s at least a half dozen organizations and maybe twice that who have gone down the same rabbit hole.”

Influence operations by MUSAID USA and TASC have gone on for the past few years.

Guzel and Tuncer wound up on the FBI’s radar in 2016 on suspicion they were spying for Turkey, according to a leaked Sept. 8, 2016 email from MUSIAD USA Executive Director Ibrahim Uyar to Erdogan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak. It also noted that two FBI agents questioned Uyar, Guzel, Tuncer and two other men about MUSIAD and TASC.

Albayrak, who is Turkey’s energy minister, is widely considered to be Erdogan’s heir apparent. Media reports suggest that Albayrak personally profited from sales of ISIS oil.

“[The FBI agents] asked about MUSIAD and TASC. They are accusing me of trying to intervene in American politics on behalf of our President and making secret agents in the name of the Republic of Turkey. They have studied our work in the last two years and they have questions because of the report they received,” Uyar wrote.

Other emails released by WikiLeaks disclose that Guzel had frequent communications with Albayrak about his work.

The leaked documents show that these groups likely are funded through a secret discretionary budget used by Erdogan and his prime minister, said exiled Turkish journalist Abdullah Bozkurt, who said he reviewed them in-depth. Businesspeople who finance these operations in return receive favorable government contracts in Turkey, Bozkurt said.

TASC and MUSIAD USA have courted U.S. Islamist groups, including the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the United States Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO).

In his email to Albayrak, Uyar said he organized a TASC-sponsored demonstration outside the White House following the failed July 2016 Turkish coup attempt. CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad and USCMO Secretary General Oussama Jammal spoke at the protest.

“I am sending this earmarked to you to keep you informed. Your Ambassador is working to solve the problem. It will be better for us. Inshallah … We will be able to give thanks to you. I will continue to fight for our cause in our country,” Uyar wrote.

This wasn’t the first time that TASC’s activities allegedly had a link with Turkish intelligence operations in the U.S.

TASC organized an April 2015 demonstration in conjunction with U.S. Islamist groups to downplay the 1915 Armenian genocide that killed 1.5 million people. Turkish intelligence agents attended an earlier meeting where the demonstration was planned, Egypt’s Al-Bawaba newspaper reported. Leaders of the pro-Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian Americans for Freedom and Justice (EAFJ) and an assistant to the Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kilic also attended, according to a Facebook post by EAFJ leader Mahmoud ElSharkawy. Al-Bawaba also described ElSharkawy as a member of the international Muslim Brotherhood. EAFJ itself has strong ties with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

ElSharkawy and EAFJ President Hani Elkadi, another attendee at the 2015 demonstration’s planning meeting, became contacts for the march. They promoted a website called FactCheckArmenia.com on their Facebook pages. The Poynter Institutefound that meeting attendee Ayhan Özmekik ran FactCheckArmenia.com. It also found that Özmekik had connections to Erdogan’s son, Bilal. Özmekik’s Facebook post about the planning meeting also noted that the organizers discussed how to get Egyptian Islamists in America to coordinate with the Turkish ambassador’s assistant.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu promoted the FactCheckArmenia.com site. Özmekik’s Facebook page additionally shows that he met with Çavuşoğlu days before the April 2015 TASC-organized demonstration.

Due to the revelations in the leaked documents, it would be “judicial malpractice” for the Justice Department to not investigate these groups to determine if they acted as agents of a foreign power, Rubin told the IPT.

“There’s also the danger of not doing so: If Turkey gets away with this, not only might the agents of Turkey become emboldened in the way they have in Europe, where they have been caught red-handed engaging in espionage and perhaps even in attacking dissidents, but it sends the signal to other countries that they can skirt US laws with abandon,” Rubin said.

Source: https://www.investigativeproject.org/7365/erdogan-allies-lobbied-congress-against-kurds#.WqK6IH1pavc.twitter

US judge bars disgraced Turkish Lobbyist Ex-House speaker Dennis Hastert from being alone with children

December 13, 2017 By administrator

Part of the photo, This file photo taken on October 27, 2015 shows,surrounded by US Marshals, former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert as he leaves the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by AFP)

A US federal judge has ordered that Dennis Hastert, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives in Congress, never be left alone with anyone under 18 unless another adult is present who is aware of his conviction related to child sex abuse.

In his ruling on Tuesday from Chicago, US District Judge Thomas Durkin also ordered Hastert to install software that records all his computer activity, from browser history to email correspondence and internet chats.

The judge didn’t explain why the new restrictions on Hastert were called for now, three months into his two-year period of supervised release from prison.

Durkin sentenced Hastert, once one of the country’s most powerful politicians, to 15 months in prison in May 2016 for a financial crime linked to sexual abuse of boys.

Durkin described the former congressman as “a serial child molester” during the sentencing.

Hastert, 75, is America’s longest-serving Republican House speaker from 1999 to 2007 and the highest-ranking politician in US history to have gone to prison.

Hastert pleaded guilty in 2015 to violating banking rules as he sought to pay $3.5 million to a victim referred to only as Individual A to keep him quiet about the sex abuse.

Hastert couldn’t be charged with sexual abuse because statutes of limitation had long since expired.

Among the conditions Durkin set during sentencing in 2016 was that Hastert undergo intensive sex-offender treatment, which is designed to gauge the risk molesters still pose to children.

One common treatment for sex-offenders involves a penile plethysmograph, which gauges a known molester’s physical reaction to specific images.

Washington Armenian Genocide again victim of Jewish lobbyist Near East Policy (WINEP)

January 14, 2017 By administrator

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) has called on United States President-Elect Donald J. Trump to “guarantee” to Turkey that the Armenian Genocide will not be properly acknowledged by the U.S. Congress, in a recently published set of proposals regarding “U.S. Policy on Turkey,” The Armenian Weekly reports.

“The United States can quietly guarantee Turkey that the Armenian Genocide resolution in Congress will not pass. This has always been critical in the relationship, and most Turks care deeply about the issue,” reads a part of the paper authored by former U.S. ambassador to Ankara James F. Jeffrey and Turkish scholar Dr. Soner Cagaptay.

The paper on U.S.-Turkey relations is the first in a series of WINEP presidential transition papers addressing key policy challenges across the Middle East. In it, the two authors argue that the Trump administration should “revamp policy toward Turkey to emphasize a transactional approach to critical bilateral issues.”

A new approach to Turkey, Jeffrey and Cagaptay suggest, would restore focus to each side’s most important interests. “For Turkey, this includes the extradition of reputed coup plotter Fethullah Gulen; increased engagement on issues from Cyprus to Israel; and closer attention to Turkish equities in the Syria conflict. For the United States, a new approach would entail a stronger commitment to fighting the Islamic State; a return to peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK); closer cooperation on military moves, especially in Syria; and renewed respect for democratic freedoms,” reads a part of a statement released by the Washington Institute about its first “Transition 2017” paper.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reacted to the news of the publication via social media and other channels. “Why is [the Washington Institute] providing a platform for calls to block remembrance of a known case of genocide?” asked the ANCA in a tweet to Washington Institute Executive Director Robert Satloff.

Saudis hire former US lawmaker Rep. Howard to lobby and secure arms deals

November 24, 2016 By administrator

Saudi Arabia has reportedly hired a powerful former US lawmaker to lobby White House and Congress during president-elect Donald Trump’s tenure on allowing arms sales to the kingdom.

Riyadh added heavyweight former California Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon to its already formidable team of lobbyists at a time when US lawmakers seek to block arms sale to Saudi Arabia over its war on Yemen.

Saudi Arabia is under fire for human rights abuses in its two-year military campaign against Yemen, where US-made planes have bombed hospitals, schools and key infrastructure.

Over the summer, 64 US lawmakers signed a letter decrying the sale of cluster munitions to the kingdom, and in September, a bipartisan coalition nearly blocked a multi-billion dollar sale of tanks and other military equipment to the Saudi regime.

Between 2011 and 2015, the longtime GOP lawmaker was the chair of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Pentagon and its multibillion dollar foreign-military sales program to Saudi Arabia.

According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, McKeon was among the top five recipients of defense contractor money in the US House of Representatives.

McKeon is expected to push for continuity in the US-Saudi relationship amid the transfer of power from Barack Obama to Trump.

On his registration form, McKeon indicated he would “provide consulting and government relations counsel” and that he would “undertake specific advocacy requests with regard to legislative and public policy matters.”

McKeon also joins the Saudi lobby at a key moment when the Saudi regime has been hiring a fleet of firms to try to undo the law letting 9/11 victims’ families sue for its alleged connection to the attackers.

The September 11 attacks in the US which killed nearly 3,000 people and caused about $10 billion worth of property and infrastructure damage.

US officials assert that the attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda terrorists but many experts have raised questions about the official account. They believe that rogue elements within the US government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks in order to accelerate the US war machine and advance the Zionist agenda.

Analysts argue that Saudi Arabia only played a minor role in 9/11, but the operation was essentially carried out by Israeli and American intelligence agencies to destroy seven countries deemed enemies to Israel in five years.

By signing on as a Saudi lobbyist, McKeon will be lobbying his former colleagues to keep arming Saudi Arabia at a time of uncertainty for the US-Saudi alliance. Amid the transfer of power from Barack Obama to Trump, McKeon is expected to push for continuity in the US-Saudi relationship.

His years of experience on the House Armed Services Committee would put him in a privileged position to push Congress to continue to allow arms sales to Saudi Arabia, said Seth Binder, program manager for Security Assistance Monitor.

US arms sales continue “despite the growing concern over the increasing number of possible human rights violations committed by the Saudi-led coalition’s bombing in Yemen,” Binder added.

Washington: Saudi has lobbyists to confront 9/11 bill: Report

April 20, 2016 By administrator

Saudi Arabia has an army of Washington lobbyists to deploy as it tries to stop US Congress from passing legislation that could expose the country to litigation over the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a report says.

According to The Hill newspaper, which is published by Capitol Hill Publishing and covers congressional news, the kingdom employs a total of eight American firms that perform lobbying, consulting, public relations and legal work.

Five of the firms work for the Saudi Arabia embassy, while another two have registered to represent the Center for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court, an arm of the government, it said.

PR giant Edelman, meanwhile, is working for the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority to encourage international investment, the paper added.

If signed into law, the act would allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government for any role it may have had in the attacks.

Riyadh has threatened to sell off USD 750 billion in American assets held by Saudi Arabia if the bill is passed. The selling of the assets would prevent them from being frozen by US courts if American victims are enabled to sue Saudi Arabia.

The White House has, however, indicated that Obama, who is currently on a trip to Riyadh, will veto the legislation if it is passed.

According to The Hill, the hiring spree began early last year when Saudi Arabia signed six K Street firms and added BGR to its roster last month.

The K Street Project is an effort by the Republican Party to pressure Washington lobbying firms to hire Republicans in top positions, and to reward loyal GOP lobbyists with access to influential officials, an arrangement known as crony capitalism.

BGR Group is a lobbying firm based in Washington DC, three blocks from the White House, and also has an office in London.

According to disclosure records filed to the US Justice Department, Saudi Arabia spent more than $9.4 million on advocacy in Washington for all of 2015.

Separate from the legislative push, members of US Congress are discussing the declassification of 28 pages from the 2002 congressional inquiry that reportedly examined the link between forces in Saudi Arabia and 9/11.

The dispute is causing a diplomatic storm for the Obama administration. Saudi Arabia has long been an ally of the US despite the country’s history of abusing human rights.

Turkish Lobbyist DENNIS HASTERT PROSECUTORS WANT UP TO 6 MONTHS IN PRISON

April 8, 2016 By administrator

Dennis hestert (abc7chicago.com) The government’s pre sentencing memo divulges fresh details about the sexual misconduct underpinnings of the Hastert case – including the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy. (WLS)

CHICAGO (WLS) —

Prosecutors in a hush money case against ex-U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert are asking that a judge decide whether to put the former, powerful Illinois congressman in prison.

READ: Hastert sentencing memo from prosecutors

The government’s presentencing memo filed Friday night does divulge fresh details about the sexual misconduct underpinnings of the Hastert case – including the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy who was a wrestler on a team Hastert coached.

A veil of secrecy over the Hastert case has resulted in cloak and dagger efforts by legal observers and news organizations to determine why the former House Speaker had crafted a deal to pay $3.5 million to keep persons quiet about past misconduct.

Mr. Hastert pleaded guilty only to breaking banking laws and not to sexual misconduct or crimes that reveal the nature of the personal transgressions. He will be sentenced April 27 by District Judge Thomas M. Durkin in Chicago. Judge Durkin will determine a prison sentence of between zero and six months.

Hastert’s plea agreement with the government he once served called for that amount of prison time-no more than six months. There had been speculation by court watchers that prosecutors would ask for little or no time behind bars considering his health and lack of criminal history. Tonight’s court filing puts the decision on the judge, and asks for a period of court supervision as a sex offender regardless of whether he actually does jail time.

Prosecutors and Judge Durkin last month confirmed at a hearing in Chicago that the fundamental allegations against Hastert relate to sexual abuse. Other than that, from the beginning of what Hastert attorney’s describe as a tremendous fall from glory, there has been no official intonation explaining why any of it happened.

As the I-Team reported this week, defense attorneys want probation for the fallen, 74-year old Republican legend. They have asked for merciful consideration for the sickly Hastert, citing his health and the family shame he’s suffered.

Harut Sassounian: Better to Support Armenian Activists than Criticize Azeri & Turkish Lobbying

March 29, 2016 By administrator

For years, many critical books and articles have been written about foreign countries and domestic groups for hiring lobbying firms or making campaign contributions to influence government officials.

One such article was published last week by L. Michael Hager in the Foreign Policy Journal titled, “The Best Congress AIPAC Can Buy.” AIPAC is the acronym for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.The author acknowledges that “there is nothing illegal or morally wrong with lobbying Congress or candidates for office. In fact, it can serve a useful purpose in educating members and candidates about matters subject to legislation. The problem comes when the lobbyists use money to secure access or buy support for proposed bills and resolutions.” After that benign introduction, however, Hager concludes that “for the sake of our democracy, the flow of interest group money that is buying off our elected lawmakers must be stopped.”|

Hager states that “nowhere is the influence and power of a political lobby more evident than in the annual Policy Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)” held on March 22-24 in Washington, DC.

Conference speakers addressed “more than 15,000 pro-Israel Americans (including 2/3 of the current Members of Congress). Among the speakers were 30 members of the U.S. Congress, 25 of whom received 2016 contributions from pro-Israel PACs and individuals, averaging $36,000 per recipient ($908,000 in total). From each of those speakers, AIPAC gains a public expression of high level support for Israel.”

Hager reported that the AIPAC conference attracted nearly 400 speakers, including “Vice President Joe Biden and Presidential candidates Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and John Kasich.” According to the writer, “AIPAC generated contributions in the amount of $212,927 for Hillary Clinton and $203,850 for Ted Cruz. Marco Rubio received $132,552 and Lindsey Graham $74,200. No surprise that all of those candidates have pledged ‘full support’ for Israel.”

The author considers “The AIPAC-led pro-Israel lobby” as “probably the strongest, best organized and most effective lobby network in Washington, DC. For the 2015-2016 election cycle, the pro-Israel network has already dispensed $4,255,136 in contributions. The largest single amount ($259,688) went to Senator Charles Schumer of New York.”

Hager explains that “AIPAC itself does not make political contributions and is in fact legally prohibited from doing so. Instead it uses its considerable resources ($3 million annual lobbying budget) to link current and aspiring members of Congress with pro-Israel donors. AIPAC’s projection of invincibility encourages political candidates and officeholders to accept pro-Israel contributions or risk seeing those funds go to their opponents. For example, former Congressman Paul Findley and former Senator Charles Percy lost their seats for failure to adhere to the AIPAC line.”

The author’ criticisms emanate from his concern that “the appearance of conflict of interest erodes citizen trust in government. Given the critical importance of money for reelection campaigns, political contributions such as mentioned above have the potential to corrupt or create the appearance of corrupting otherwise honest officials.”

Hager acknowledges that AIPAC is “only one part of a larger picture, dominated by congressional fundraising and lobby contributions,” such as “Defense, pharmaceuticals, the NRA and other lobbies….”

In my view, it is justified to criticize lobbying firms and their paymasters when they violate U.S. laws. However, it is more important to strengthen one’s own lobbying efforts than disparage what others are doing. While it is necessary from an Armenian perspective to monitor closely the lobbying firms hired by Turkey and Azerbaijan, Armenians should focus on what they can do to support their two public affairs organizations in Washington — The Armenian Assembly and Armenian National Committee of America. Despite their limited staff and resources, these Armenian-American groups have been successfully countering the activities of major lobbying firms hired for millions of dollars by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Fortunately, Armenian-American groups do not need such exorbitant sums to pursue their political goals in Washington because it costs much less to present the truth of their just cause, unlike Turkey and Azerbaijan which have to spend huge amounts of money to deceive the politicians and the public!

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

US Former congressman Dan Burton quits promoting Azerbaijan’s interests in U.S.

March 9, 2016 By administrator

207722 BY Harut Sassounian

Publisher of the California Courier Harut Sassounian presents an article on Cong. Dan Burton‘s refusal to continue working as chairman of Azerbaijan America Alliance, a powerful Azeri propaganda outfit in the U.S.

The article reads:

Here is news that you don’t hear every day: a former Congressman stops working for a foreign client after not receiving his pay for a year!

This is exactly what happened to Cong. Dan Burton (Republican-Indiana) who quit last week as chairman of Azerbaijan America Alliance, a powerful Azeri propaganda outfit in the United States, after waiting a whole year to get paid.

What were his Azeri masters thinking? How could they cheat one of their agents in Washington? This is a good way to get your lobbyist turn against you!

Lobbyists promote a client’s interests, not because they support its cause, but to make money. Personal financial gain was the only reason why Cong. Burton was backing one of the world’s most repressive and corrupt governments. When the money stopped, there was no longer a reason for him to promote Pres. Aliyev’s dictatorial regime.

The Azerbaijan America Alliance was founded by tycoon Anar Mammadov, a 34-year-old billionaire playboy. Interestingly, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump had lent his name for a substantial fee to a luxurious hotel built by Mammadov’s company in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Reporter Carl Schreck and Radio Free Europe & Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) obtained a copy of the e-mail Cong. Burton sent on March 1, 2016 to James Fabiani whose Washington-based firm does lobbying work for the Azerbaijan America Alliance. “As I have not heard from you or Anar, and have not been paid for a year, please consider this e-mail as a letter of resignation as Chairman of the Azerbaijan America Alliance,” Cong. Burton wrote.

Here are further details from this scandalous affair disclosed by RFE/RL:

“Burton’s resignation follows months of speculation about the fate of the Azerbaijan America Alliance, a prominent pillar of a broader Azerbaijani lobbying campaign in the United States to portray Azerbaijan as a stable energy and security partner for the West. The lobby involves both private and state money.”

“Baku’s detractors accuse President Ilham Aliyev’s government and its proxies of trying to paper over an abysmal human rights record with “caviar diplomacy,” using gifts, vacations, and other expensive incentives to gain friends and curry favor with foreign officials.”

“Aliyev recently removed broad powers from the Transport Ministry, overseen by Mammadov’s father, suggesting the family’s influence in the government is waning.”

“Several reports in the Azerbaijani media since August have cited unidentified sources as saying that Mammadov planned to shutter the Azerbaijan America Alliance due to financial difficulties amid the broader economic crisis Azerbaijan is grappling with due to plunging energy prices.”

“Over the past five years, the Azerbaijan America Alliance has poured a total of $12.3 million into U.S. lobbying efforts, according to the public-interest website Opensecrets.org, having wined and dined Washington’s elite and pushed Baku’s interests in meetings with senior members of Congress.”

“The organization, which is not formally affiliated with the Azerbaijani state but has hewn closely to the Aliyev government’s line, has continued this spending, paying $1.46 million for U.S. lobbying services in 2015, most of which went to Fabiani & Company, according to public lobbying disclosures.”

“The group spent $430,000 for its 2012 dinner, which was attended by then-House of Representatives speaker John Boehner and 15 other members of Congress, including Burton, according to a 2013 filing under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).”

“Burton was named chairman of the Azerbaijan America Alliance in February 2013, a month after he left office after a 30-year career in Congress. He told RFE/RL this week that Fabiani introduced him to Mammadov, chairman of Garant Holding, a conglomerate with interests that include construction firms, hotels, and insurance companies.” “Investigations by RFE/RL have previously revealed that Anar Mammadov’s business interests are tied to the ministry overseen by his father, Ziya Mammadov.”

“Burton said that he did not engage in lobbying during his time with the Azerbaijan America Alliance, but that he would occasionally invite members of Congress to ‘social functions’ staged by the group. He also published opinion articles supporting the Azerbaijani government.”

Last May, I ran into Cong. Burton in the lobby of a New York hotel. I complained to him about his ongoing efforts on behalf of Azerbaijan and his votes against resolutions on the Armenian Genocide during his tenure in Congress. He gave me his business card, asking me to contact him…. I did not, and have no plans to do so now that he is no longer working as a propagandist for Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s lobbyist in European Parliament sentenced to 3,3 years for bribery

March 7, 2016 By administrator

f56dd5c3851a14_56dd5c3851a51.thumb Five years after a bribery scandal broke out in the European Parliament, former MEP Adrian Severin, who was also lobbying Azerbaijan’s interests in the EP, was sentenced to 3,3 years in prison in Romania for attempting to make changes in the European Union legislation in exchange for up to 100 thousand euros, according to The Sunday Times.

The story, known as the “cash-for-laws scandal,” goes back to 2011, when a group of journalists from The Sunday Times posed as lobbyists and offered money to 60 MEPs for adopting amendments watering down rules protecting bank customers across Europe. Adrian Severin, former Foreign Minister of Romania; Zoran Thaler, former Foreign Minister of Slovenia; and Ernst Strasser, Foreign Minister of Austria, agreed to the deal, according to the EurActiv.

Back then, the European Parliament said in a press release that on 21 March 2011, “the Romanian National Anti-Corruption Department instituted proceedings against Mr Severin on the basis that between December 2010 and March 2011 he allegedly accepted an offer of payment of €100,000 from representatives of a fake lobbying company ‘Taylor Jones Public Affairs’ (created by the ‘Sunday Times’)” to adopt amendments favourable for them and vote against those going against the interests of the company they represented. FOCUS information agency reports that a video filmed on the journalists’ hidden camera shows him agreeing to receive 4000 euros a day for his work. This prompted the European Parliament to waive Severin’s parliamentary immunity.

After being offered the deal, Severin, the vice-president of the Socialist Group (the second biggest in the EP), asked an unsuspecting colleague to table the amendment offered by the disguised lobbyists. The EurActiv cites an email sent from Severin to the reporters “just to let you know that the amendment desired by you has been tabled in due time,” before sending them a 12 thousand euro invoice for “consulting services.” Later Severin said he had done nothing illegal.

As a result, a political scandal broke out. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Parliament initiated an investigation into the case to punish the above-mentioned MEPs. However, the problem was that both the rules of the OLAF and the Codes of Conduct and Ethics of the European Parliament referred to misuse of public money rather than a private lobbying company. Therefore, the issue was to be solved in the frameworks of the legislation of the countries the MEPs under question were representing. Meanwhile, the media reported about Severin’s exclusion from the Socialist Group in 2011. However, he refused to leave his seat in the European Parliament and remained there until the completion of his term in 2014.

According to the Lawyer Herald, a law news portal, Adrian Severin’s sentence was possible because, under the Romanian Penal Code, giving bribe implies the promise, offering or giving money or other benefits.

In their time, there were different media reports about the above MEPs being lobbyists of the interests of various forces. In particular, the Russian service of Radio France Internationale called Adrian Severin “an open defender of Azerbaijan.”

Severin’s pro-Azerbaijan position was expressed both in his support of the country during votes and in his written questions, which are available on the EP website. Back in 2008, in response to a speech by Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for Trade and European Neighbourhood Policy, where she addressed the Georgian crisis and noted the EU’s commitment to offering support to Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova as regards their territorial integrity and sovereignty, Severin expressed his protest over “the omission of Azerbaijan from the speech by Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner.” Further, he asked the Commission to say whether it was “ready to prepare a plan to advance its relations and to step up its cooperation with Azerbaijan.”

In 2013, the Romanian MEP asked another written question to the Commission for the European Neighbourhood Policy. In the question, he noted that “Azerbaijan has an important regional role in the energy security, geoeconomic, geostrategic and cultural fields.” He also made an inquiry about the EU’s “alternatives” to define “the basis of a strategic partnership with Azerbaijan, including a declaration of the EU’s unequivocal support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, during the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius.” He asked the Commission whether the EU was committed to signing a visa facilitation agreement with Azerbaijan.

Severin was the last protagonist of the scandal to be sent to prison. Ernst Strasser was sentenced to four years in 2013, and Zoran Thaler received a two-and-a-half-year prison term in 2014. Before that, unlike the Romanian politician, they resigned as the scandal broke.