Last week I received a request to provide my sworn deposition and affidavit testimony in a case pending before the Ohio Elections Commission; Schmidt v. Krikorian.Here are a few excerpts by politico on the case:
“Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), a two-term congresswoman, has filed a formal complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission contending that David Krikorian, who ran against her in 2008 as an independent but is challenging her again in 2010 as a Democrat, slandered her in the closing weeks of last year’s campaign. At issue is a hard-hitting flier Krikorian distributed, accusing Schmidt of taking campaign cash — “blood money,” as he declared in the leaflet — from Turkish interests in exchange for her opposition to recognizing the World War I-era deaths of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman government in Turkey.”
"Schmidt, for her part, has become something of a hero to the Turkish-American community. The co-chairwoman of the Congressional Turkish Caucus, Schmidt has taken more than $10,000 from the Turkish Coalition USA Political Action Committee over the past several years — making it one of her top campaign contributors. The Turkish Coalition of America, an organization that opposes genocide recognition, sponsored a Schmidt trip to Turkey over the Memorial Day recess which cost more than $10,000, according to LegiStorm, a congressional watchdog website.”
"Krikorian — who has regularly blasted Schmidt on a host of other issues — argues that with that stream of funding, Schmidt has become beholden to a Turkish lobby that now views Schmidt as one of its top champions in Congress. “It looks like Turkish interests have focused in on a particular representative,” said Krikorian. “They’ve found a taker in Rep. Schmidt.” "
On Monday, August 3, I submitted my sealed unsigned declaration to the Attorney General’s Office at the Department of Justice. The government was given until the end of the day to respond, however, we received no response. My attorneys then gave the government another chance to respond, requesting their response in writing by noon today. Again, we received no official response.
Later, DOJ attorneys asserted that the Attorney General’s Office at the Justice Department had either lost or could not locate the confidential sealed affidavit and the accompanying letter!!!After the second deadline expired I provided my signed declaration to the attorneys for Mr. Krikorian. They are also subpoenaing my deposition, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 8, at 10:30 a.m., in Washington DC.My sworn declaration includes information in the following areas:
How certain Turkish entities had illegally infiltrated and influenced various U.S. government agencies and officials, including but not limited to the Department of State, the Department of Defense and individual members of the United States Congress.How certain Turkish American cultural and business lobby groups conduct their illegal operations with direct and indirect support from the foreign governments.
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