SPEAKER HASTERT SHOULD COME CLEAN BY DISCLOSING ALL
CONTRIBUTIONS
30-08-2005 14:30:00 | USA | Articles and Analyses
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
Several important developments have taken place since
Vanity Fair magazine reported that a Turkish diplomat had talked
about arranging for $500,000 in small, un-itemized contributions
of less than $200 each to House Speaker Dennis Hastert in order
to block a congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide in
Fall 2000.
A watchdog Group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in
Government, filed a complaint on August 16 urging federal
officials to investigate whether Speaker Hastert's campaign did
indeed illegally accept campaign contributions from foreign
nationals.
According to Vanity Fair, the FBI had wiretapped several
Turkish subjects or "targets" in the United States who had
discussed arranging "for tens of thousands of dollars to be paid
to Hastert's campaign funds in small checks."
Sibel Edmonds, a Turkish translator working for the FBI,
was asked by her superiors to review more than 40 recorded
conversations of "a senior official" at the Turkish Consulate in
Chicago as well as members of the American-Turkish Council (ATC)
and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) in
Washington, D.C., according to Vanity Fair.
A spokesman for Speaker Hastert is quoted by Vanity Fair as
saying that the Speaker has "no affiliation with ATC or other
groups reportedly mentioned in the wiretaps. He does not know
these organizations." ATC and ATAA issued separate statements
denying the allegations made in the Vanity Fair article.
By claiming that the Speaker "does not know these [Turkish]
groups," his spokesman is simply undermining Hastert's
credibility and giving credence to the allegations made against
him. A quick search on google reveals that the spokesman's
assertions are contradicted by the following facts:
- The then President of ATC, Lincoln McCurdy, sent a letter
to Hastert in September of 2000, urging him to block the pending
congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide;
- ATC paid for several trips to Turkey by the staff of the
House Republican leadership;
- The Turkish-US Business Council (TUBC), the counterpart
in Turkey of the American Turkish Council, reported on its web
site that it hosted the Speaker of the House in Turkey in 2002
(he also visited Turkey in 1997 and 2004);
- The Turkish Daily News reported in its Feb. 5, 2005 issue
that the TUBC "helped create a Turkish caucus in the U.S.
Congress" and "lobbied successfully with U.S. lawmakers" to
increase Turkey's textile quotas and obtain the "rejection of
the so-called Armenian genocide bill in the U.S. Congress;"
- Ercument Kilic, the then President of ATAA, wrote a
letter to Hastert on July 20, 2004, to thank him for blocking
yet another Armenian resolution in the House. Kilic called
Hastert "a national leader and a great statesman."
It would, therefore, be inconceivable that Speaker Hastert
as well as his staff would be unaware of ATC and ATAA given
these groups' active involvement in various congressional issues
for several years.
Back in October 23, 2000, the Turkish newspaper Sabah
published an article that sounded too bizarre to be taken
seriously at the time, but in the light of recent revelations,
it now merits a second look. Sabah reported that in order to
persuade Speaker Hastert to block the Armenian Genocide
resolution, "the Chairman of AIPAC [The American Israel Public
Affairs Committee] met with Hastert and explained to him 'all
the concerns in plain English.'" The AIPAC Chairman then
reportedly pressured Hastert by telling him: "You may well gain
a few more Armenian votes, but have you stopped to consider how
many Jewish votes you will lose by this?"
Sabah further reported: "Another Jew had come down from
Chicago and put the squeeze on Hastert because they had financed
the Republicans to the tune of $10 million or more." Hastert
agreed to block the Armenian Genocide resolution on condition
that Pres. Clinton make such a request in writing. Sabah
reported that a "Jewish Turk from Istanbul" then contacted
former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres who in turn persuaded
Clinton to write the requested letter. Hastert used Clinton's
letter as a cover to pull the resolution from the House floor.
To set the record straight, once and for all, Speaker
Hastert should itemize and make public all campaign
contributions he has received under $200, even though he is not
legally required to do so.
Hastert has twice reneged on his promise to allow the
Armenian Genocide resolution to come to a vote on the House
floor. As another such resolution is currently pending in the
House, it remains to be seen whether the Speaker would once
again prevent the congressmen from casting their votes on this
issue? Or, would he again hide behind the President or some
other official to cover up for his unexplained desire to cater
to Turkish interests?
If the Speaker refuses to voluntarily disclose all of his
campaign contributions, the citizens of this country must
pressure him to do so by:
- Demanding that there be a joint Congressional hearing on
his campaign funds (click on www.justacitizen.com and sign the
petition calling for such a hearing);
- Making a contribution to the National Security
Whistleblowers Coalition for a newspaper ad campaign concerning
the Hastert allegations (click on www.nswbc.com);
- Making a contribution to the ACLU to support Sibel
Edmonds' petition to the Supreme Court; and
- Making a contribution to the ad campaign to have the
Federal Election Commission investigate the Hastert campaign
contributions (click on www.citizensforethics.org).
This issue is not a matter of Armenians vs. Turks. It has
more to do with upholding the laws of the United States of
America, starting with the Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives!