tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331396433182434044.post5510353193222798843..comments2023-09-24T12:47:57.051+01:00Comments on Unzipped: US Helsinki Commission to hold hearing on Armeniaartmikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11207317653711435445noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331396433182434044.post-1461402180687623132008-04-13T20:12:00.000+01:002008-04-13T20:12:00.000+01:00And Cardin helped Clinton pass NAFTA. Sounds like...And Cardin helped Clinton pass NAFTA. Sounds like both of these guys are the type that are sympathetic to the Kocharians of the world.Armen Filadelfiatsihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14511153187821312694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331396433182434044.post-51829612747470320652008-04-13T12:19:00.000+01:002008-04-13T12:19:00.000+01:00Very telling, Onnik. After all, there are many com...Very telling, Onnik. After all, there are many common grounds between Armenia and the US ;)artmikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11207317653711435445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331396433182434044.post-49420416693149305772008-04-13T12:01:00.000+01:002008-04-13T12:01:00.000+01:00I wonder how he escaped from being imprisoned for ...<I>I wonder how he escaped from being imprisoned for taking a bribe and perjury?! </I><BR/><BR/>And also that he later was able to become a Congressman... ;-)<BR/><BR/>Anyway, this is all I could find on Wikipedia so perhaps I'm being a little unfair, but anyway.<BR/><BR/><I>Hastings filed suit in federal court claiming that his impeachment trial was invalid because he was tried by a Senate committee, not in front of the full Senate, and that he had been acquitted in a criminal trial.</I><BR/><BR/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcee_Hastings<BR/><BR/>However, even though a criminal trial found him not guilty, investigations everyone else appears to think differently.<BR/><BR/><I>In spite of Hastings' not guilty verdict, Terrell Hodges, the chief federal judge of Florida's Middle District, and Anthony Alaimo, a Georgia judge, filed a complaint with the Judicial Council of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals urging a separate investigation into the matter. The Eleventh Circuit complied, hiring former Justice Department attorney John Doar to lead an investigative team made up of the appeals courts judges and three U.S. District judges. After an investigation that lasted nearly four years, Doar came back with an extensive report suggesting that Hastings had not only solicited a bribe, but also lied repeatedly under oath at his trial. ("Judge's Impeachment Urged," Washington Post, June 19, 1983)</I><BR/><BR/>Anyway, more information than any of us probably would like to know is at:<BR/>http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Alcee_Hastings_corruption_scandalAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331396433182434044.post-65967527213357131782008-04-13T11:50:00.000+01:002008-04-13T11:50:00.000+01:00Thanks for the info, Onnik. I had no idea about hi...Thanks for the info, Onnik. I had no idea about his persona. I wonder how he escaped from being imprisoned for taking a bribe and perjury?! <BR/><BR/>But then again, I am not too surprised. As I said earlier, some in the UK were shocked to hear that John Prescott came to Armenia as Europe's chief negotiator... And I am sure there are other examples too. No wonder that their missions do not achieve much, quite the contrary...artmikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11207317653711435445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331396433182434044.post-34363100136946188192008-04-13T11:32:00.000+01:002008-04-13T11:32:00.000+01:00Funny to see Alcee Hastings' name in connection wi...Funny to see Alcee Hastings' name in connection with the South Caucasus these days. In January he was heading the OSCE short-term election observation mission in Georgia, for example.<BR/><BR/>However, in the U.S. he is better known as being one of the few judges to be impeached and removed for corruption (he took a $150,000 bribe) and perjury. <BR/><BR/>I'm still surprised the Georgian opposition never picked up on that one. Still, in a region such as the South Caucasus, maybe they were simply confused why anyone in the U.S. would be shocked a judge took a bribe.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I wonder if he'll next turn up in Georgia again next month or in Azerbaijan in October.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com