OHIO ELECTIONS COMMISSION TO HEAR SCHMIDT V. KRIKORIAN "BLOOD MONEY" CASE
2009/09/30 | 14:44
The Miami Herald reports that the Turkish "blood money" case
alleging that Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) accepted $30,000 in Turkish
contributions in exchange for opposing an Armenian genocide resolution
will be heard by the Ohio Elections Commission tomorrow.
The case, known as Schmidt v. Krikorian, began when David Krikorian,
Schmidt’s challenger, accused the incumbent of knowingly accepting
the hush money at a February 2008 event at a restaurant called Cafe
Istanbul, where participants included Turkish Coalition of America
President Lincoln McCurdy.
If the commission decides that Krikorian lied or spoke with
"reckless disregard" for the truth or falsity of his statements,
commissioners could reprimand him or forward the case for possible
criminal prosecution under an Ohio "false statement" law.
"This is not an acceptable way to campaign; you can’t just run out
and accuse people of taking bribes," Bruce Fein, an attorney with
the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund, said Tuesday.
"I’m not a student of history, and I’m still trying to figure it all
out," Schmidt repeated several times during an Aug. 24 deposition,
adding that, "I wasn’t there."
Krikorian, who ran as an independent last year but has since identified
himself as a Democrat, claimed that Schmidt’s opposition to the
Armenian genocide resolution was tied to her campaign contributions.