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“THE ADMINISTRATION'S MIXED MESSAGE ON SUDAN” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E37-E38 on Jan. 18, 2012.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE ADMINISTRATION'S MIXED MESSAGE ON SUDAN
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HON. FRANK R. WOLF
of virginia
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I submit a copy of a letter I received from the assistant secretary for legislative affairs at the State Department in response to a December 13, 2011, letter to President Obama expressing my disbelief that the administration had granted the necessary waiver for the genocidal government of Sudan to obtain legal representation from Mr. Bart Fisher, a lawyer in Washington. I also submit the December 13 letter to the president.
I have written various administration officials at the State Department, Treasury and the White House since I learned of this indefensible development. Every response I have received to date attempts, unsuccessfully, to put my mind at ease by assuring me that the U.S. government has a ``firm policy of denying authorization to U.S. persons who seek to lobby or provide public relations services on behalf of the Government of Sudan for the lifting of sanctions or for any other purposes.'' However, the administration argues that ``Our system allows even the worse actors to receive legal advice on how to comply with our laws and to challenge sanction enforcement actions in court.''
I don't agree with their analysis. But even if I did, the restrictions on representation that the administration claims to have in place are inconsistent with what Mr. Fisher is actually being permitted to do. Mr. Fisher wrote me a letter claiming, ``Although the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has granted my law office a license, that license does not authorize any lobbying activities, and my office will engage in none. We will respond (emphasis added), however, to requests, for information from Members of Congress or the Obama Administration.''
As I pointed out in a December 15, 2011 letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner, I never requested information from Mr. Fisher. And yet, in the letter to my office, he tries to convince me, as a member of Congress, not anyone involved in court proceedings with the Government of Sudan, that the current sanctions regime should be altered. How can this not be understood to be lobbying?
Meanwhile, on Monday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Susan Rice sent a strongly worded letter to the president of the UN Security Council about the tragedy presently unfolding in Sudan--
specifically in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. Rice wrote, ``It is clear that the Government of Sudan has instituted a deliberate policy to prevent humanitarian agencies from reaching vulnerable civilians impacted by the conflict. She said that the people of these regions have been pushed to the ``brink of a major humanitarian crisis.'' She warned of ``famine conditions'' and concluded, ``A humanitarian disaster of this magnitude is unacceptable in any circumstance. It is particularly shameful when the path to averting large-scale loss of innocent lives is so clear. Mr. President, this crisis can be addressed by the Government of Sudan, if it were to allow the United Nations and other relied organizations immediate and unimpeded access to vulnerable civilians across Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile.''
I would argue that that is not the only thing that is shameful. This administration is splitting hairs. It is blind to its own inconsistency. I agree wholeheartedly with Ambassador Rice's analysis. And yet, the administration, in the face of past crimes against humanity and genocide and present actions which jeopardize the lives of thousands of people, has given the Government of Sudan the privilege a legal representation in our nation's capital--representation which constitutes lobbying.
The administration must reverse course and revoke Mr. Fisher's license lest Secretary Clinton, Secretary Geithner and President Obama be complicit in aiding a genocidal government.
U.S. Department of State,
Washington, DC, January 12, 2012.Hon. Frank R. Wolf,House of Representatives.
Dear Mr. Wolf: Thank you for your letter of December 13, 2011, to President Obama and your subsequent call to Secretary Clinton concerning reports that the Government of Sudan has attempted to retain a lobbyist to represent its interests in the United States. While we cannot comment on specific cases, the United States government has a firm policy of denying authorization to U.S. persons who seek to lobby or provide public relations services on behalf of the Government of Sudan for the lifting of sanctions or for any other purpose. There are no current Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licenses allowing U.S. persons to lobby or provide public relations services on behalf of the Government of Sudan.
We also recognize the importance of due process and opportunity for redress under the Sudan sanctions regime. Our system allows even the worst actors to receive legal advice on how to comply with our laws and to challenge sanction enforcement actions in court. However, such legal services do not include lobbying activities. There are investigation and enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with U.S. sanctions, which include the possibility of civil and criminal penalties for violations of sanctions regulations.
We hope this information is helpful in addressing your concerns. Please feel free to contact us further on this or any matter of concern to you.
Sincerely,
David S. Adams,Assistant Secretary, Legislative Affairs.
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House of Representatives,
December 13, 2011.Hon. Barack H. Obama,The President,The White House, Washington DC.
Dear Mr. President: I was appalled to learn yesterday that the genocidal government of Khartoum has hired a firm to represent it in Washington for the express purpose of trying
``to lift American sanctions against it,'' according to a piece which ran in Africa Intelligence, on December 10. This is an outrage.
The publication reported that the Law Office of Bart S. Fisher would be paid $20,000 a month plus expenses to represent this government which literally has blood on its hands. I have enclosed the article for your reference along with Mr. Fisher's documentation from the Foreign Agent Registration Unit which I accessed on the Department of Justice (DOJ) Web site.
I write today seeking immediate clarification on what appears to be an indefensible situation. According to this news report and information available on DOJ's Web site, Mr. Fisher is providing legal counsel to the government of Sudan and intends to make ``representations (including petitions) .
. . to U.S. government agencies regarding sanctions against the Republic of the Sudan.'' Was he granted a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the Treasury Department to do so? If not, is his representation in violation of the law? If so, why would the administration allow this to move forward?
Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, is an internationally indicted war criminal. He is accused by the International Criminal Court of five counts of crimes against humanity (murder, rape, torture, extermination, and forceful transfer of civilian population) and two counts of war crimes
(for directing attacks against the civilian population and pillaging). In June 2004 I led the first congressional delegation with Senator Sam Brownback to Darfur, soon after the world began hearing about the atrocities being committed against the people of that region. I witnessed the unfolding nightmare with my own eyes. I saw the scorched villages and teeming camps of displaced people. I heard the stories of murder and rape.
But Bashir's assault on his own people is not simply a thing of the past. My office has received regular reliable reports from individuals on the ground in the Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states of aerial bombardments, extrajudicial killings, illegal detention, disappearances, and indiscriminate attacks against civilians.
Furthermore, evidence gathered through satellite imagery by the Satellite Sentinel Project have found at least eight mass graves in and around Kadugli, the capital of Southern Kordofan.
Thousands have fled the violence. More than 20,000 are living in Yida refugee camp just over the border in South Sudan. But it turns out they aren't safe there either. Yida was hit by air strikes in November. A November 16 APP story reported that, ``. . . an Antonov aircraft flew in from the north and dropped five bombs in and around Yida.'' This cross-border assault by the government of Sudan has put humanitarian assistance to this vulnerable population in jeopardy. Bear in mind that it appears that this aerial assault on innocent civilians happened just days after the Mr. Fisher signed a contract with the government of Sudan.
Mr. Fisher's client has a notorious history of brutalizing its own people. No amount of ``representation'' can erase the images seared into the minds of many of charred bodies, brutalized women and mass graves.
I look forward to a prompt and detailed response from the administration about this important matter.
Best wishes.
Sincerely,
Frank R. Wolf,Member of Congress.
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