U.S. Embassy Denies Accusations of Lobbying for Georgia’s Ex-President Saakashvili
On July 26, the United States Embassy in Tbilisi issued a statement addressing the accusations made by “some media outlets and amplified by political figures” against the Embassy and its employees regarding alleged engagement in lobbying on behalf of Georgia’s former President, Mikheil Saakashvili.
“As we have made clear, no one at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi has engaged in lobbying on behalf of former President Saakashvili or helped to schedule any meetings for his lobbyists. Malicious stories alleging or implying that Embassy employees received money from lobbying firms are categorically false and irresponsible,” – reads the statement.
Background
The allegations were based on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) report, which, based on the ruling party interpretation, showed that Evan Elliot, an employee of the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, engaged in a telephone call on March 7 of this year on behalf of Saakashvili. The purpose of the call stated in the report is to “Discuss a request from Poland to Georgia’s Ministry of Justice, seeking authorization for Polish physicians to immediately treat and evaluate Mr. Saakashvili for emergency life-saving treatment.”
What the report seems to indicate, however, is that Evan Elliot at the U.S. Embassy received several calls from the lobbyist company on this issue. [Note: this paragraph was added, and the above one was clarified from the initial reporting to reflect more accurately that the allegations of Mr. Elliot’s engagement were based on the interpretation by GD – Civil.ge 28 July, 2023]
The report further disclosed that the same employee had another scheduled phone call on March 8 to “Discuss the status of the Magnitsky List and arrange a meeting with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is currently visiting NYC, to seek a pardon for Mr. Saakashvili.”
During the past week, politicians from the ruling party and political group “People’s Power,” associated with the majority, commented on the report. The Mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze, expressed concern over the involvement of a foreign country’s embassy representative in such actions. He said explanations and answers were necessary, speculating that attempts were made to tarnish the country’s reputation with the ultimate aim of “imposing sanctions.
People’s Power MP Dimitri Khundadze echoed these concerns, saying that the embassy’s involvement was “a conspiracy against Georgia” to sanction the country. Another MP from the group, Eka Sepashvili, said that “individuals, including employees of the American Embassy, former and current [US] ambassadors,” are engaged in “anti-American, anti-Western propaganda which echoes Russia’s anti-European rhetoric” and that their actions and statements are “at the origin of anti-Western and anti-American sentiments in Georgian society.”
People’s Power is an anti-western outfit that regularly advances anti-Western conspiracy theories and was fronting the initiation of the draft law on “Transparency of Foreign Funding,” which was then formally supported by the ruling party, adopted in the first reading in the Parliament and only voted down after massive public protests.
Other FARA-related Allegations
The U.S. Department of Justice released the mentioned report on July 19 detailing the activities of the lobbying companies hired by Mikheil Saakashvili and his mother, Giuli Alasania. According to the documents, the companies “Akerman” and “GP International” engaged in various activities during the six-month reporting period.
These activities included phone calls and exchanging emails with medical experts, Georgian lawyers, and consultants to discuss Saakashvili’s health condition. Additionally, the companies prepared draft resolutions proposed to the European Parliament and communicated with the European Parliament’s Committee on Prevention of Torture for assistance, among other endeavors.
The declaration released on the same day reports that “GP International” provided strategic consulting and communications support for Giuli Alasania on behalf of Mikheil Saakashvili’s legal team, aiming to share information about Saakashvili’s health and advocate for his release. They engaged media, other stakeholders, and recommended engagement modalities with the US Congress.
According to those reports, $96,393 was spent on lobbying activities, with Giuli Alasania, Temur Alasania, and “Akerman” involved in money transfers. Meanwhile, “Akerman” received $75,451 from Temur Alasania for lobbying activities related to Saakashvili.
In another document published on the website, dated February 28, materials prepared by “GP International” for Western media about the ex-president of Georgia were included. The lobbyists stated in the release they had prepared that Mikheil Saakashvili’s health is at risk, urging US President Joe Biden and leaders of free countries to take action to secure his release.
Lastly, in the recent FARA report, the activities of the PR media company Cision PR Newswire were highlighted. The company, Cision PR Newswire, was involved in distributing press releases with specific content aimed at reaching international media. One such press release mentioned the efforts of a coalition led by the fourth president of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, to save the life of Saakashvili.
The ruling party and affiliated media alleged that Margvelashvili received up to $11,500 on behalf of Mikheil Saakashvili for this service. Margvelashvili has denied the accusation. It is apparent from the document that the money was used for the distribution of the press release that includes Margvelashvili’s name in the title.
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