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ANCA REFUTES ACCUSATIONS
PanARMENIAN.Net
24.02.2009 13:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A high-profile ethics organization on Wednesday
asked federal agencies to investigate the Armenian National Committee
of America for alleged campaign-finance and lobbying violations.
In a seven-page complaint, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics
in Washington asserts that the Armenian-American group failed to
register either as a domestic lobbying group or as a foreign agent
despite its political work and its close ties to an Armenian political
party.
The Armenian National Committee of America is one of the country's
most prominent ethnic organizations and has worked closely with
members of Congress on Armenian genocide commemorative resolutions.
"We're not saying they should be out of business," said Melanie Sloan,
a former federal prosecutor who's now the head of the private Citizens
for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "We're saying there are
laws and they should be following them."
Sloan attached 161 pages worth of exhibits in support of the
allegations.
Armenian National Committee of America officials denounced the charges
as unfounded.
"We've taken a preliminary look at (the) allegations, and they are
without merit and full of inaccuracies and misrepresentations," said
Elizabeth Chouldjian, the Armenian National Committee's communications
director.
Chouldjian declined to undertake a point-by-point rebuttal of the
complaint, but she said that "the real story is why this is being
brought up now." She noted that the complaint was filed about two
months before the annual Armenian Genocide commemoration on April 24;
she didn't elaborate on a potential motive for the complaint's timing.
The Armenian National Committee of America describes itself on its
Web site as "the largest and most influential Armenian-American
grass-roots political organization." It's active in regions with
large Armenian-American populations, including New Jersey, Florida
and California.
Its allies are rallying renewed support for an Armenian genocide
resolution that collapsed in the last Congress. Under presidents of
both political parties, the Pentagon and State Department have opposed
the resolution as an insult to Turkey, which denies that mass deaths
from 1915 to 1923 amounted to genocide.
The genocide commemoration will pose a dilemma for President Barack
Obama. As a candidate, he voiced support for the resolution. As
president, he called Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Monday for
what the White House called a "warm and productive" chat.
The genocide resolution is also at the heart of the new complaint.
"Circumstantial evidence indicates that ANCA and its current or former
executive directors ... have lobbied Congress and the executive branch
heavily with regard to perennial congressional Armenian genocide
resolutions," the complaint says.
The complaint cites interviews and news releases in which Armenian
National Committee of America leaders tout their efforts to sway
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., among others.
The committee hasn't registered as a lobbyist with either the House
of Representatives or the Senate. Failure to register can be a felony
offense, though Sloan said potential problems often were resolved
simply by registering after the fact.
The Armenian Assembly of America, the nation's other prominent
Armenian-American organization, is registered and reported spending
$182,000 on lobbying last year.
"These are the rules, and everybody has to follow them," Sloan said.
The multi-pronged complaint asks the Internal Revenue Service to
review potential tax violations and asks the Justice Department to
open a criminal probe. It also asks the House and Senate to open
"companion inquiries" into the lobbying allegations.
Citing news accounts, a U.S. Embassy study and the research of Heather
Gregg, an assistant professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in
Monterey, Calif., the complaint contends that the Armenian National
Committee of America is "an arm" of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, a political party that's part of Armenia's ruling
coalition.
Agents of foreign political parties are required to register with
the Justice Department.
The Armenian National Committee of America can endorse political
candidates, as a 501(c)(4) organization. The affiliated Armenian
National Committee of America Western Region, based in Glendale,
Calif., cannot because it's a 501(c)(3) organization. The complaint
alleges that the Western office nonetheless participated in the
national organization's candidate endorsements, in part by sharing
a Web site.
Sloan said the complaint arose from "a tip" received late last year.
Sloan's nonprofit, six-year-old ethics group claims no partisan
affiliation, and it previously has filed ethics complaints about
lawmakers of both parties.
PanARMENIAN.Net
24.02.2009 13:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A high-profile ethics organization on Wednesday
asked federal agencies to investigate the Armenian National Committee
of America for alleged campaign-finance and lobbying violations.
In a seven-page complaint, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics
in Washington asserts that the Armenian-American group failed to
register either as a domestic lobbying group or as a foreign agent
despite its political work and its close ties to an Armenian political
party.
The Armenian National Committee of America is one of the country's
most prominent ethnic organizations and has worked closely with
members of Congress on Armenian genocide commemorative resolutions.
"We're not saying they should be out of business," said Melanie Sloan,
a former federal prosecutor who's now the head of the private Citizens
for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "We're saying there are
laws and they should be following them."
Sloan attached 161 pages worth of exhibits in support of the
allegations.
Armenian National Committee of America officials denounced the charges
as unfounded.
"We've taken a preliminary look at (the) allegations, and they are
without merit and full of inaccuracies and misrepresentations," said
Elizabeth Chouldjian, the Armenian National Committee's communications
director.
Chouldjian declined to undertake a point-by-point rebuttal of the
complaint, but she said that "the real story is why this is being
brought up now." She noted that the complaint was filed about two
months before the annual Armenian Genocide commemoration on April 24;
she didn't elaborate on a potential motive for the complaint's timing.
The Armenian National Committee of America describes itself on its
Web site as "the largest and most influential Armenian-American
grass-roots political organization." It's active in regions with
large Armenian-American populations, including New Jersey, Florida
and California.
Its allies are rallying renewed support for an Armenian genocide
resolution that collapsed in the last Congress. Under presidents of
both political parties, the Pentagon and State Department have opposed
the resolution as an insult to Turkey, which denies that mass deaths
from 1915 to 1923 amounted to genocide.
The genocide commemoration will pose a dilemma for President Barack
Obama. As a candidate, he voiced support for the resolution. As
president, he called Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Monday for
what the White House called a "warm and productive" chat.
The genocide resolution is also at the heart of the new complaint.
"Circumstantial evidence indicates that ANCA and its current or former
executive directors ... have lobbied Congress and the executive branch
heavily with regard to perennial congressional Armenian genocide
resolutions," the complaint says.
The complaint cites interviews and news releases in which Armenian
National Committee of America leaders tout their efforts to sway
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., among others.
The committee hasn't registered as a lobbyist with either the House
of Representatives or the Senate. Failure to register can be a felony
offense, though Sloan said potential problems often were resolved
simply by registering after the fact.
The Armenian Assembly of America, the nation's other prominent
Armenian-American organization, is registered and reported spending
$182,000 on lobbying last year.
"These are the rules, and everybody has to follow them," Sloan said.
The multi-pronged complaint asks the Internal Revenue Service to
review potential tax violations and asks the Justice Department to
open a criminal probe. It also asks the House and Senate to open
"companion inquiries" into the lobbying allegations.
Citing news accounts, a U.S. Embassy study and the research of Heather
Gregg, an assistant professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in
Monterey, Calif., the complaint contends that the Armenian National
Committee of America is "an arm" of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, a political party that's part of Armenia's ruling
coalition.
Agents of foreign political parties are required to register with
the Justice Department.
The Armenian National Committee of America can endorse political
candidates, as a 501(c)(4) organization. The affiliated Armenian
National Committee of America Western Region, based in Glendale,
Calif., cannot because it's a 501(c)(3) organization. The complaint
alleges that the Western office nonetheless participated in the
national organization's candidate endorsements, in part by sharing
a Web site.
Sloan said the complaint arose from "a tip" received late last year.
Sloan's nonprofit, six-year-old ethics group claims no partisan
affiliation, and it previously has filed ethics complaints about
lawmakers of both parties.