US ARMENIAN GROUP FACES INVESTIGATION

Hurriyet
March 23 2009
Turkey

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Justice has announced it will
launch a probe into a complaint filed by a high-profile ethics
organization that the Armenian National Committee of Armenia, or ANCA,
the largest U.S. Armenian group, is involved in campaign finance and
lobbying violations.

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, or CREW, said last month
that ANCA had 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. It called for a formal investigation
against ANCA.

Heather Hunt, chief of the registration unit at the counterespionage
section of the National Security Division at the justice department,
said in a March 16 letter to Melanie Sloan, who heads CREW, that the
department would look into the complaint.

US to take appropriate action

"We will take the information you provided under advisement to
determine if it raises a Foreign Agents Registration Act concern,
and we assure you that if the statute is applicable, we will take
the appropriate action," Hunt said.

The CREW complaint said ANCA is an arm of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, a political party that is part of Armenia’s ruling
coalition.

ANCA also has not registered as a lobbyist with either the house or
the senate, CREW said. Failure to register can be a felony offense.

The complaint asked the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to review
potential tax violations and the justice department to open a criminal
probe. The complaint also asked the house and the senate to open
inquiries into the lobbying situation.

Lobbying

"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," CREW said.

ANCA officials deny any wrongdoing. Analysts view ANCA as the most
radical U.S. Armenian group in criticizing Turkey. It strongly
urges the U.S. administration and congress to formally recognize the
Armenians’ claims of genocide.

In last year’s election campaign, ANCA supported then-Democratic
contender Barack Obama, who was elected president in November.

ANCA also endorsed dozens of candidates who backed the Armenian cause,
in the congressional elections.CREW says it is a nonprofit organization
with no partisan affiliation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress