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Guenter Lewy sues for defamation

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  • Guenter Lewy sues for defamation

    Guess who Guenter Lewy's lawyer is ??

    Going After a Scholar's Critic
    May 4, 2009

    Guenter Lewy, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, is a scholar whose work has been praised by Turkey’s government. When the embassy of Turkey in Washington was upset over a PBS documentary on the Armenian genocide during World War I, the ambassador's statement on the program noted the work of "respected scholar Guenter Lewy, whose latest book The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide documents the incomplete historic record and excessive politicization associated with the issue."

    Lewy does not believe that the slaughter of Armenians during World War I was a genocide – a position that puts him outside the consensus of scholars of genocide. Lewy’s 2005 book on the subject argues that while there were indeed many tragic deaths, there was no attempt by those in power to commit genocide, and that war was the primary cause of the deaths. In an interview two years ago, Lewy said that the book -- which was criticized by some scholars of genocide -- had been rejected by 11 publishers, including 4 university presses, before the University of Utah Press published it.

    Among those who joined the attacks on the book and Lewy was the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group known for its studies of hate groups -- a focus that has led the center to criticize Holocaust deniers and those who deny the attacks or bias experienced by members of various groups. Lewy featured prominently in an article published by the center last year, “State of Denial."

    Now Lewy -- with backing from the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund -- is seeking millions in damages from the center in a lawsuit for defamation.

    The lawsuit asserts a set of facts about what happened to the Armenians that differ from what many historians say. Generally, the suit characterizes the question of an Armenian genocide as open to question and debate.

    "Since the conclusion of World War I and the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, an historical and legal controversy has raged over whether, in the context of war and an undeniable Armenian rebellion against the Ottoman government in favor of its enemies, the deaths of a large number of Ottoman Armenians as a result of combat, disease, starvation, exposure, and massacre constituted the crime of genocide," the suit says.

    "At present, those who dispute that the genocide label is apt are characteristically maligned by those who favor the genocide thesis as indistinguishable from 'Holocaust deniers' who are either bigoted against Armenians or Christians or are on the Turkish government payroll. Little solace can be derived from the fact such current intimidations mark an improvement from earlier decades. Then, those who defended the contra-genocide thesis could expect physical assaults or even assassination attempts."

    Some scholars fear that the suit is part of a campaign to silence those who criticize scholarship that Turkey favors. In recent months, the Turkish American group has sent letters to the presidents of Hampshire College and McGill University on campus disputes involving the Armenian genocide, suggested a willingness to become involved with disputes large and small concerning the way the Armenian genocide is discussed.

    Simon Payaslian, who holds an endowed chair in Armenian history and literature at Boston University, said he was not familiar with the lawsuit or its specific claims. But he sees it as part of a pattern. “I think the pro-Turkish scholars have launched a new wave of denialist argument.”

    Related issues of academic freedom and academic integrity are at play, Payaslian said. Part of academic freedom should be the right of those who disagree with scholars to question their work. Payaslian said he strongly disagrees with Lewy’s book and sees its theories about the genocide as being wrong, and deserving of strong scholarly scrutiny. He said that he fears that pro-Turkish groups “are trying to suffocate any kind of criticisms that these nationalists think is objectionable.”

    The lawsuit against the Southern Poverty Law Center says of Lewy that he "bravely acted pursuant to the highest standards of scholarly integrity in his research, writing, and speaking about the fate of the Ottoman Armenians in the midst of a climate hostile to open inquiry and debate."

    Two quotes in the Southern Poverty Law Center article are cited as defamatory. One states: "Lewy is one of the most active members of a network of American scholars, influence peddlers and website operators, financed by hundreds of thousands of dollars each year from the government of Turkey, who promote the denial of the Armenian genocide. ...”

    The other states: “Lewy makes similar revisionist claims in his 2005 book The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide and in frequent lectures at university campuses across the country. ... Revisionist historians who conjure doubt about the Armenian genocide and are paid by the Turkish government provided politicians with the intellectual cover they needed to claim they were refusing to dictate history rather than caving in to a foreign government’s present-day interests.” (The article goes on to mention specific support by Turkey for research or research centers involving American scholars, but does not cite an example of Turkey providing funds to Lewy.)

    According to the suit, the statements "assert or imply" acts "of moral turpitude" in that they imply that Lewy "has and continues to compromise his scholarship on the fate of the Ottoman Armenians and disputes the genocide characterization of the events of 1915-1916 in exchange for money from the Government of Turkey" and that Lewy "deceives his readers and audiences when he addresses the controversy surrounding the Armenian allegation of genocide by concealing his receipt of money from the Government of Turkey."

    Further the suit says that the statements "individually and taken as a whole in context of the article ... are defamatory because they falsely impute to Plaintiff academic corruption, fraud and deceit. ..." As a result of the accusations, the suit says that Lewy has had his "scholarly credibility" hurt and has lost book sales and speaking engagements.

    "The acute stigma attached to failures to disclose the receipt of money or its equivalent that could distort academic or professional judgments finds expression in a welter of government conflict-of-interest regulations and financial disclosure standards embraced by highly respected professional publications, including the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, The New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association."

    The Southern Poverty Law Center declined to comment on the suit, saying that it was its policy not to discuss litigation.

    The issue of whether Turkish support for research in the United States comes with strings attached has been contentious in the past. Last year, a scholar who teaches at the State University of New York at Binghamton went public with his complaint that he was given a choice by Turkish officials -- after using the word "genocide" to describe what happened to the Armenians -- of either quitting his position as chair of the Institute of Turkish Studies, based at Georgetown university, with support from Turkey's government, or of seeing support for the center evaporate. (The Turkish embassy in Washington strongly denies these allegations.)

    Lewy's number is unlisted and his lawyer, Bruce Fein, said he is traveling. Fein said he could not answer the question of whether Lewy has ever received support from Turkey or from research entities supported by Turkey. Fein said that was "not a key fact at all" because the suit is based on the accusation that support from Turkey compromised Lewy's scholarship, which isn't the same as receiving support from Turkey.

    "He could have gotten $10 in tax reimbursements in Istanbul," Fein said.

    Asked if it wasn't odd for a lawyer to file a defamation suit focused on the alleged implications of a scholar receiving support from Turkey, without knowing if the scholar had received support from Turkey, Fein said "you can draw whatever inferences you want."

    — Scott Jaschik

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  • #2
    Re: Guenter Lewy sues for defamation

    El Greco, who is Bruce Fein? Sorry I don't know.
    Last edited by Anoush; 05-04-2009, 01:41 PM.

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    • #3
      Re: Guenter Lewy sues for defamation

      Originally posted by Anonymouse
      That's his lawyer.
      Hi Anon; thanks for answering. Yes I figured that but the reason why I asked it is because he said guess who G. Lewys' lawyer is, and I thought that there is more to him than a name. I just wanted to know if there's more to Bruce Fein's past perhaps he had more to say about the man. But thank you Anon.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Guenter Lewy sues for defamation

        Originally posted by Anoush View Post
        Hi Anon; thanks for answering. Yes I figured that but the reason why I asked it is because he said guess who G. Lewys' lawyer is, and I thought that there is more to him than a name. I just wanted to know if there's more to Bruce Fein's past perhaps he had more to say about the man. But thank you Anon.


        There you are janig

        Bruce Fein & Turkey
        Saturday, May 2, 2009
        There was a great discussion on Bill Moyer's Journal on Friday regarding torture. The guests were Mark Danner and Bruce Fein . As you pro...








        There was a great discussion on Bill Moyer's Journal on Friday regarding torture. The guests were Mark Danner and Bruce Fein. As you probably know, Danner recently wrote a terrific article in the NYRB on torture and the Red Cross report, and Bruce Fein has been an elequent Republican voice on the constitution and rule of law, and called for the impeachment of George Bush way back when. Fein was also associate deputy attorney general under the Regan Administration. As it happens, I was looking into Fein earlier this week.

        Fein is Chairman and co-founder (with Bob Barr, David Keene and Richard Viguerie) of a group called the American Freedom Agenda which was founded in March 2007.

        The ten points of the American Freedom Agenda pledge are:

        No military commissions except on the battlefield.
        No evidence extracted by torture or coercion.
        No detaining citizens as unlawful enemy combatants.
        Restoring habeas corpus for suspected alien enemy combatants.
        Prohibiting warrantless spying by the National Security Agency in violation of law.
        Renouncing presidential signing statements.
        Ending secret government by invoking State Secrets Privilege.
        Stopping extraordinary rendition by the United States.
        Stopping threats to prosecuting journalists under the Espionage Act of 1917.
        Ending the listing of individuals or organizations as terrorists based on secret evidence.
        All of those are admirable, of course, although the events of the last 24 hours warrant that item #9 deserves to be highlighted. That item has an odd specificity to it.

        You see, Bruce Fein is now in private practice as a lobbyist. He has one company called Fein & Fein with his son Bruce which provides "premium appellate, trial, regulatory, and media services." He has another at the same address called The Lichfield Group with only two principals, the other being a Mathilde Fein, presumably a family member. The 'Expertise' page on Lichfield's website claims a lot of things.

        Under a category called "United States and Canada" they claim, among other things, "high level connections with the Department of Justice, the Department of State, and the Central Intelligence Agency, on the one hand, to The New York Times, The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal."

        Under "Central and Eastern Europe," they claim, among other things, that their services "reach constitutional reform, oil and gas, NATO and European Union membership, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and OPIC, relations with the Hague Tribunal, WTO problems."

        Under "South America," they claim, among other things, to provide consulting regarding "drug trafficking, money laundering, and thickening ties with the United States Congress, the Executive Branch, and law and regulatory enforcement agencies."

        Under "The Middle East and North Africa" they note that "The Group offers consulting in areas of major concern:... terrorism; nuclear and missile proliferation money laundering; free trade agreements with the United States; oil and gas exploration, refining, and transportation."

        Also, Mathilde Fein was "recently invited by the Foreign Policy Institute of Turkey and Bilkent University to present a paper on democratic elections in Iraq and human rights issues."

        I don't want to be accused of cherry picking here, so please read the 'expertise' page at the site.

        Fein has another company called Bruce Fein & Associates, located at 1025 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 1000. Washington, D.C.. 20036, which incidentally shares that address with the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund - TALDF, where Bruce Fein is the main contact. A bunch of similar astro-trurf groups - including the Turkish Coalition of America, TCA - share the same address. Bruce Fein is 'resident scholar' at the Turkish Coalition of America. Fein's Huffington Post bio also notes that he was previously 'resident scholar' at ATAA. According to Sibel Edmonds, the ATAA conducts "the dirty activities" of the Turkey/Israeli lobby - including delivering bribes and other forms of blackmail to congressmen like Hastert, Roy Blunt, Tom Lantos, Dan Burton and others. Phil Giraldi similarly fingers ATAA here.

        Fein's Huffington Post bio also notes that he has been "a consultant to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus." Isn't that odd. Just last month I noted that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was at the heart of Sibel's money laundering claims -and that the TRNC was also at the heart of money laundering operations for Central Asian dictators, terrorists like Osama Bin Laden, and "US government agencies," "certain US government people," "certain non-profit organizations in the US," "certain US institutions including banking institutions," and "certain US-based organizations."

        So, yeah, Bruce Fein is a 'resident scholar' at the Turkish Coalition of America, which, as Mizgin notes, "is closely linked to the Deep State and has created and founded an "academic" program to officially deny the Armenian genocide."

        The president of the Turkish Coalition of America is Lincoln McCurdy who "was the president and chief executive officer, 1998 - 2004, and executive director, 1989 – 1998, of the American-Turkish Council (ATC) in Washington." The ATC is at the heart of Sibel's claims.

        It should therefore not surprise anyone that Bruce Fein would be called upon to write op-eds such as this which parrots Turkey's position on the Armenian genocide. Fein's position, coincidentally, mimics the genocide-denial position of Bob Livingston, who has long been on Turkey's payroll. Who'd have thought that different people, with different ideological bents, paid to have the same opinion, would actually have the same 'opinion'?


        I don't care whether the Armenian genocide resolution makes sense or not (Giraldi argues that it is stupid - but I can't find the link) - but the fact that someone with the apparent stature and integrity of Bruce Fein has apparently succumbed to Mammon on this issue is cause for concern for us all.
        Last edited by Gavur; 05-04-2009, 02:49 PM. Reason: Bold
        "All truth passes through three stages:
        First, it is ridiculed;
        Second, it is violently opposed; and
        Third, it is accepted as self-evident."

        Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Guenter Lewy sues for defamation

          Wow Gavur jan, thanks a lot for all this information. Then he is a lobbyist for the turks, for sure. I thought at the back of my mind that I heard his name or read it somewhere on the internet before; but I wasn't so sure. But thank you for enlightening me about this nice (very sarcastically said of course) man.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Guenter Lewy sues for defamation

            Watch More Videos of Fein:

            "All truth passes through three stages:
            First, it is ridiculed;
            Second, it is violently opposed; and
            Third, it is accepted as self-evident."

            Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Guenter Lewy sues for defamation

              Five bucks he's xxxish

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Guenter Lewy sues for defamation

                Originally posted by Pazooki View Post
                Five bucks he's xxxish
                A lawyer... xxxish? That's unpossible

                Bruce Feinstein?

                This guy is a piece of work... he was in Toronto last year to brief the Canadian Tamil public and non-Tamil Canadians about his work under the directions and instructions of Tamils for Justice.

                Fein acted "on behalf of Tamils Against Genocide" to espouse their cause, including attempts to bring criminal charges against American citizens who are prominent members of the Sri Lankan government.
                "Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it." ~Malcolm X

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