ANCA and FRA : How know this link ?

[24avril1915]

How know this link ?

 

http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/37305

 

http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/37306

 

[Yervant1]

ANCA Accused of Lobbying Violations

By Michael Doyle

Fresno Bee

WASHINGTON - 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 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 San Joaquin Valley

lawmakers on Armenian genocide commemorative resolutions.

"We're not saying they should be out of business," said Melanie Sloan, a

former federal prosecutor who heads the private Citizens for Responsibilityand

Ethics in Washington . "We're saying there are laws, and they should be

following them."

Sloan attached 161 pages 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," ANCA Communications

Director Elizabeth Chouldjian said.

Chouldjian declined to undertake a point-by-point rebuttal of the complaint,

but she said "the real story is why this is being brought up now." She noted

the complaint was filed about two months before the annual April 24 Armenian

genocide commemoration; she did not 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 grassroots political

organization." It is active in regions with large Armenian-American populations,

including New Jersey, Florida and California.

Currently, Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, and other ANCA allies are

rallying renewed support for an Armenian genocide resolution that collapsedlast

Congress. Under presidents of both parties, the Pentagon and State Department

have opposed the resolution as an insult to Turkey, which denies that mass

deaths between 1915 and 1923 amounted to a genocide.

"Circumstantial evidence indicates that ANCA and its current or former

executive directors =80¦ have lobbied Congress and the executive branch heavily with

regard to perennial congressional Armenian genocide resolutions," the complaint

states.

The complaint cites interviews and press releases, in which ANCA leaders tout

their efforts to sway Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., among others.

The Armenian National Committee of America has not registered as a lobbyist

with either the House or Senate. Failure to register can be a felony offense,

though Sloan said potential problems are often 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 complaint asks the Internal Revenue Service to review potential tax

violations and the Justice Department to open a criminal probe. The complaint also

asks the House and Senate to open "companion inquiries" into the lobbying

allegations.

Citing press accounts, a U.S. embassy study and the research of Heather

Gregg, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, the complaint

contends ANCA is "an arm" of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. The latter is

a political party that is part of Armenia 's ruling coalition.

Agents of foreign political parties are required to register with the Justice

Department. ANCA can endorse political candidates, as a group organized under

section 501 © (4) of the federal tax code. The affiliated ANCA-Western

Region, based in Glendale, cannot because it is a 501 © (3) organization.The

complaint alleges the Western Region 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.