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Turkey Under Media Scrutiny For ATTACKS ON U.S. GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

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  • Turkey Under Media Scrutiny For ATTACKS ON U.S. GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

    Armenian National Committee of America
    888 17th St., NW, Suite 904
    Washington, DC 20006
    Tel: (202) 775-1918
    Fax: (202) 775-5648
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Internet: www.anca.org

    PRESS RELEASE

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    August 3, 2005
    Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
    Tel: (202) 775-1918

    TURKEY UNDER MEDIA SCRUTINY FOR
    ATTACKS ON U.S. GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

    -- Major Story in Vanity Fair, Report by
    Public Citizen Allege Unethical Conduct
    by the Turkish Government and its Allies

    WASHINGTON, DC - A major news magazine and a leading citizens'
    group this week focused public attention on the unethical conduct of
    powerful opponents of legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide,
    reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

    Vanity Fair, in its September issue, published a 10-page story on
    FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, who was fired after "she accused a
    colleague of covering up illicit activity involving Turkish nationals."
    According to the article by contributing editor David Rose, Edmonds
    claims FBI wiretaps reveal that the Turkish government and its
    allies boasted of bribing - with as much as $500,000 - the Speaker
    of the House of Representatives as part of an alleged deal to stop
    consideration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

    The article cites accounts by Edmonds regarding FBI wiretaps of
    the Turkish Embassy and Turkish groups such as the American Turkish
    Council (ATC) and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA),
    including, "repeated references to Hastert's flip-flop in the fall of
    2000, over an issue which remains of intense concern to the Turkish
    government, the continuing campaign to have Congress designate the
    killings of Armenians in Turkey between 1915 and 1923 a genocide."

    Rose is careful to point out that "there is no evidence that any
    payment was ever made to Hastert or his campaign." According to
    the article, "Hastert's spokesman says the Congressman withdrew the
    genocide resolution only because of the approach from [President]
    Clinton, 'and to insinuate anything else just doesn't make any sense.'
    He adds that Hastert has no affiliation with the ATC or other groups
    reportedly mentioned in the wiretaps.'" The full article can be read
    in the September issue of Vanity Fair.

    In a separate development, CongressWatch, an arm of Public Citizen,
    recently released a 49-page report raising ethical concerns about
    lobbying by former Members of Congress. The report includes a 12-
    page case study of the Livingston Group's lobbying efforts for the
    Turkish Government. The report details the efforts by Livingston
    Group founder, former House Appropriations Chairman Bob Livingston,
    to secure a "$1 billion supplemental appropriation for Turkey. . .
    despite that country's refusal to allow U.S. troops to use its
    soil as a staging area for the Iraq invasion. He also helped kill
    an amendment that would have formally recognized the Armenian
    Genocide that occurred between 1915 and 1923. Turkey has always
    opposed this recognition." The Livingston Group has received over $9
    million in payments from Turkey. To read the entire report, visit:
    มาแนlotto สมครงายใน 1 นาท พรอมโปรโมชนเดดทกวน เวบหวยคณภาพ การนตจากผใชงานทวประเทศ จายสงสดบาทละ 950 แทงขนตเพยง 1 บาท


    "These behind-the-scenes accounts reveal a pattern of patently
    unethical and possibly even illegal conduct by the Turkish government
    and its allies in their efforts to oppose the Armenian Genocide
    Resolution," said Aram Hamparian. "Facing growing bipartisan
    Congressional support for this legislation, these interests are
    resorting to increasingly desperate means to avoid the international
    isolation that Turkey will face following U.S. recognition of the
    Armenian Genocide."

    In the months leading up the publication of these documents, the ANCA
    provided both Vanity Fair and Public Citizen with background materials,
    interviews, and first-hand accounts regarding Congressional efforts
    to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

    #####

  • #2
    Vanity Fair: Turks Boasted of Payments to Hastert

    Vanity Fair: Turks Boasted of Payments to Hastert
    19 Corporate Crime Reporter 32(1), August 3, 2005

    Corporate Crime Reporter, D.C.
    Aug 3 2005

    Turkish officials boasted of giving "tens of thousands of dollars in
    surreptious payments" to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois)
    in exchange for political favors.

    That allegation is contained a profile of Federal Bureau of
    Investigations (FBI) whistleblower Sibel Edmonds in the current issue
    of Vanity Fair magazine.

    The article, "An Inconvenient Patriot," by British writer David Rose,
    reports that Edmonds was asked to listen to wiretaps as part of what
    appeared to be an FBI public corruption probe into bribes paid to
    members of Congress - both Democrat and Republican.

    Rose, citing "some of the wiretaps," reports that "the FBI's targets
    had arranged for tens of thousands of dollars to be paid to Hastert's
    campaign funds in small checks."

    The article notes that under Federal Election Commission rules,
    "donations of less than $200 are not required to be itemized in
    public filings."

    The article reports that Edmonds has given confidential testimony
    on several occasions - to congressional staffers, to the Inspector
    General, and to staff from the 9/11 commission.

    "Edmonds reportedly added that the recordings also contained
    repeated references to Hastert's flip-flop, in the fall of 2000" to
    "the continuing campaign to have Congress designate the killings of
    Armenians in Turkey between 1915 and 1923 as genocide."

    According to the Vanity Fair article, the resolution never went
    anywhere until August 2000 when Hastert announced he was supporting
    it - in an effort to win over his district's large Armenian community.

    According to the article, the resolution passed the House International
    Relations Committee by a large majority "thanks to Hastert."

    "Then, on October 19, minutes before the full House vote, Hastert
    withdrew it," the article reports.

    Hastert said at the time that he withdrew it because of a letter he
    received from President Bill Clinton that the bill would harm U.S.
    interests.

    And while the Vanity Fair article reports that "there is no evidence
    that any payment was ever made to Hastert or to his campaigns,"
    it also reports that "a senior official at the Turkish Consulate is
    said to have claimed in one recording that the price for Hastert to
    withdraw the resolution would have been at least $500,000."

    The article reports that Edmonds testified that she heard about the
    payments when listening to "Turkish wiretap targets."

    In one wiretapped conversation, a Turkish official spoke to a State
    Department staffer.

    "They agreed that the State Department staffer would send a
    representative at an appointed time to the American-Turkish Council
    office, at 1111 14th Street, N.W. where he would be given $7,000 in
    cash," the article reports.

    Another call Edmonds heard allegedly discussed a payment to a
    Pentagon official "who seemed to be involved in weapons-procurement
    negotiations," according to the article.

    Hastert's spokesman could not be reached for comment.

    But he told Vanity Fair that Hastert is "unaware of Turkish interests
    making donations" and his staff has "not seen any pattern of donors
    with foreign names."

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