[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                    COUNTERING RUSSIA'S TERRORISTIC 
                            MERCENARIES

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

             COMMISSION ON SECURITY & COOPERATION IN EUROPE

                        U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION

                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                             MARCH 9, 2023

                               __________

 Printed for the use of the Commission Security & Cooperation in Europe

                              [CSCE118-2]
                              
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                       Available via www.csce.gov
                       
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                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
51-584                      WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
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             COMMISSION ON SECURITY & COOPERATION IN EUROPE

                        U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION

          U.S. HOUSE                              U.S SENATE


JOE WILSON, South Carolina Chairman		BEN CARDIN, Maryland Co-Chairman
STEVE COHEN, Tennessee Ranking 			ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 
    Member					    Ranking Member
ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama			RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
EMANUEL CLEAVER II, Missouri			JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
RUBEN GALLEGO, Arizona				JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina			THOM TILLIS, North Carolina
MIKE LAWLER, New York				SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin
VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
MARC VEASEY, Texas                                
                                     

                            EXECUTIVE BRANCH
                 Department of State - to be appointed
                Department of Defense - to be appointed
                Department of Commerce - to be appointed
                         
                         
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

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                                                                   Page

                             COMMISSIONERS

Hon. Joe Wilson, Chairman, U.S. Senator From South Carolina......     1

Hon. Steven Cohen, Ranking Member, U.S. Senator From Tennessee...     3

                               WITNESSES

Justyna Gudzowska, Director of Illicit Finance Policy, The Sentry     3

Jason Blazakis, Director, Middlebury Institute of International 
  Studies [MIIS] Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and 
  Counterterrorism [CTEC]........................................     5

Jason Wright, Partner, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP..    10

                 ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD

Opening Statement Of Hon. Ben Cardin, Co-Chairman, U.S. House 
  From Maryland..................................................    29

 
              COUNTERING RUSSIA'S TERRORISTIC MERCENARIES

                              ----------                              

   COMMISSION ON SECURITY & COOPERATION IN 
                                    EUROPE,
                          U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION,
                                  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
                                            Thursday, March 9, 2023

    The Hearing Was Held From 10:11 a.m. To 11:35 a.m., Room 
2020 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, 
Representative Joe Wilson [R-SC], Chairman, Commission for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe, presiding.
    Committee Members Present: Representative Joe Wilson [R-
SC], Chairman; Representative Steve Cohen [D-TN], Ranking 
Member; Senator Jeanne Shaheen [D-NH]; Representative Victoria 
Spartz [R-IN]; Senator Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]; 
Representative Mike Lawler [R-NY]; Senator Richard Blumenthal 
[D-CT].
    Witnesses: Justyna Gudzowska, Director of Illicit Finance 
Policy, The Sentry; Jason Blazakis, Director, Middlebury 
Institute of International Studies [MIIS] Center on Terrorism, 
Extremism, and Counterterrorism [CTEC]; Jason Wright, Partner, 
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP.

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOE WILSON, CHAIRMAN, U.S. HOUSE FROM 
                         SOUTH CAROLINA

    Chairman Wilson: Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of 
the Ukrainian embassy here in Washington, and friends of 
democracy, I am just so grateful to have you here today, and 
what an extraordinary time. The Commission will come to order. 
Good morning to all of you who have joined us today.
    It is real impressive, this is a full house. It actually is 
an indication of the interest by the people of the United 
States, obviously, Western civilization, of the interest that 
there is in terms of opposing authoritarians around the world. 
Again last night, the Ukraine National Information Service had 
a reception here on Capitol Hill. I have been to a lot of 
receptions, but I have never been to one where during the 
course of it, because of people pressing against the windows 
and doors as sardines, it was just--to see the resolve of so 
many people, and the interest, and love, and affection that the 
people of America have for the courage and inspiration of the 
people of Ukraine.
    Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge that we do 
have embassy officials here. I want to thank them for coming. 
Gosh, the Ukrainian embassy here in Washington, with the 
Ambassador, has just made such a difference communicating with 
the people of the United States. Commission members will be 
coming and going. So grateful to me that it is bipartisan. On 
the House side, I am grateful to work with Congressman Steve 
Cohen, who's the ranking member on the Democratic side. Then 
I'm grateful that our Senate colleagues, Senator Ben Cardin, is 
going to be leading co-chair along with Senator Roger Wicker.
    So people are coming and going. Then, as an indication of 
why they are coming and going, it is--I was here last night for 
an Education and Workforce Committee meeting until 2:00 in the 
morning. So it is always a reminder to me that democracy is the 
worst system there is, except for all the others. So--because 
we should not be meeting at 2:00 in the morning, Okay? But that 
is what is called reflecting the views of the people, and it 
can lead to some level of inconvenience--understatement.
    Today's hearing will focus on, gruesomely, the notorious 
proxy war criminal Putin has deployed in Putin's murderous war 
on the Ukrainian people. The Wagner Group, owned by Yevgeny 
Prigozhin, is the organization that we will be discussing 
today. This shadowy paramilitary organization operating in 
Ukraine since 2014 has also served as a blunt instrument of the 
Kremlin's murderous attacks across Africa in Mali, Sudan, 
Libya, and the Central Africa Republic, as well as Syria. The 
Wagner Group has spread terror far and wide, committing acts of 
political violence resulting in the massacre of thousands of 
civilians in mass atrocities, as in Bucha in Ukraine and Moura 
in Mali. Wherever Wagner goes, atrocities are soon to follow.
    The mercenaries rape, plunder, kidnap, torture, and exploit 
on a massive scale, traffic children, kill and threaten 
journalists, and are credibly accused of placing landmines in 
cities and nuclear power plants, even abusing nerve agents in 
Libya. When one sees the propaganda videos that have earned 
Wagner the moniker ``Putin's bloody sledgehammer'' they are 
actually no different from videos of the Islamic State 
decapitating its captives. It is past the time to recognize the 
Wagner Group for what it is, a foreign terrorist organization 
operating at the--Putin's behest.
    I recognize that the Wagner Group has not operated with 
total impunity. Administrations past and present have levied 
sanctions against Wagner and its owner for violating Ukraine's 
sovereignty as an arm of Russia's defense and intelligence 
agencies, as a violator of religious freedom and human rights. 
The State Department recently designated Wagner a transnational 
criminal organization. Yet, Wagner has not faced the full face 
of the U.S. law as a consequence of being designated as a 
foreign terrorist organization. In fact, just yesterday there 
was an annual threat assessment by the U.S. intelligence 
community. It states that, indeed, Putin will continue to use 
Wagner to increase its influence, undercut U.S. leadership, and 
gain access to valuable resources being stolen from different 
countries that they operate in, and subjecting the people there 
to servitude.
    This hearing will assess the case for a terrorist 
designation and explore how doing so could vastly strengthen 
and expand the reach of U.S. sanctions. I believe the case is 
clear. Wagner is no mere criminal enterprise in it for profit. 
It is not the mafia. Wagner commits political violence to 
advance Putin's interests, terrorism pure and simple. Those who 
aid and abet Wagner, whoever they are and wherever they may be, 
materially support terrorism. It is no accident that Wagner 
receives weapons from the Democratic People's Republic of North 
Korea, a State sponsor of terrorism. Designating Wagner as a 
foreign terrorist organization would undermine its operations 
and networks of support, and act as a powerful deterrent to 
recruitment. It would also deter other authoritarian states, 
such as the Chinese Communist Party, that might be inclined to 
emulate Putin's use of Wagner.
    To this end, I have joined with the ranking member Steve 
Cohen in sponsoring the Holding Accountable Russian Mercenaries 
Act, also known as the HARM Act, introduced along with the 
companion legislation in the Senate by Commission Co-chair 
Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland and ranking member Roger Wicker 
of Mississippi. This bipartisan legislation, cosponsored by 
many of our fellow commissioners along with prominent Members 
of Congress, would direct the Secretary of State to designate 
of the Wagner Group and its affiliates and successors as a 
foreign terrorist organization. Our esteemed witnesses today 
include former counterterrorism officials and attorneys 
involved in the prosecution of terrorism, well-placed to make 
this case for a Foreign Terrorist Organization or FTO 
designation.
    We have with us Justyna Gudzowska, director of illicit 
finance policy at The Sentry, a nongovernmental investigative 
and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational 
predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, 
repression, and kleptocracy. We look forward to your testimony, 
which will provide an overview of the Wagner's terrorist 
activities, including in Ukraine and Africa. She will draw on 
her expertise as a former attorney advisor for the Department 
of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and the U.N. 
Security Council on ISIS and Al-Qaida.
    We have with us Jason Blazakis, former director of the 
Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office in the Bureau 
of Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State, who will 
explain how terrorist designations are made, whether Wagner 
deserves such a designation, and what it would accomplish. Mr. 
Blazakis is currently with both the Middlebury Institute of 
International Studies and the Soufan Center.
    Finally, we have Jason Wright, partner of Curtis, Mallet-
Prevost, Cold & Mosle LLP, a former judge advocate of the U.S. 
Army. He is the kind of attorney we hope we will practically 
empower by designating the Wagner Group a terrorist 
organization. I will also note that he has a very distinguished 
service in the Law School of Washington and Lee University of 
Lexington, Virginia, as a graduate of James Madison University 
right up the valley. So, Mr. Wright, is quite familiar with 
western Virginia. We look forward to hearing what additional 
tools he and his legal colleagues will have at their disposal 
to pursue Wagner once it is so designated.
    I am so grateful that we have Victoria Spartz with us 
today, and all the way from Indiana. Then Congressman Mike 
Lawler. It is hard to imagine--a brand-new Member of Congress, 
but he has really jumped in, from the State of New York. Hey, I 
left out, with Victoria, she is the first Member of Congress 
who was born in the Ukraine to serve in Congress. So--and then 
Mike is pretty smart. He married a beautiful young--he married 
over his head, right? A beautiful young lady from Moldova. So 
we have got people who have family association. Then with my 
oldest son marrying a Polish American, we can talk about how 
much we appreciate Central and Eastern Europe. Well, many of 
our families have married into that, and we have certainly all 
benefited.
    Before we turn to witnesses, I am really grateful to show 
you something that even Victoria will be surprised about. This 
I--this is a fragment of a wing of a Russian SU24-M, a 
supersonic tactical bomber. It belongs to a fleet of aircraft 
piloted by Wagner terrorists and was given to the Helsinki 
Commission in January as a concrete example of the murderous 
power of this organization. Can you imagine a supersonic 
tactical bomber being controlled by terrorists? This particular 
jet was downed over Bakhmut by Ukraine's brave defenders on 
December the 2nd, 2022. As the courageous men and women of 
Ukraine's armed forces continue their valiant struggle against 
Wagner and, indeed, the full force of Putin's military, they 
look to us to do our part legislatively and diplomatically to 
take similarly bold actions against Wagner and the Putin State 
to limit their ability to cause death and destruction, not just 
in Ukraine but, sadly, around the world.
    With that, we will begin immediately with our witnesses. 
Justyna, look forward to hearing from you.
    Ms. Gudzowska: Thank you very much, Chairman Wilson. 
Distinguished Members of Congress, distinguished guests, thank 
you so much for holding this hearing. It is truly an honor to 
testify on such a critical issue.
    My name is Justyna Gudzowska. I am the director of illicit 
finance policy at The Sentry, a nonprofit organization that 
follows the dirty money connected to war crimes and atrocities. 
I have spent my career countering financial crime. Previously I 
worked for the Treasury Department on sanctions against Iran 
and for the U.N. Security Council on countering the financing 
of terrorist groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaida. Most recently, I 
was the lead sanctions attorney for the global bank Morgan 
Stanley.
    So today's hearing fits squarely within my work and The 
Sentry's mission. But this subject is also personal for me, 
like it is for you. I spent my childhood in Poland living 
behind the Iron Curtain. I know what it is like to live under 
Russia's thumb. It could not be more clear to me that the 
Ukrainian people are fighting not only for their own freedom, 
but for all of our freedom.
    The chief focus of my testimony today is the history and 
conduct of the Wagner Group, which is ostensibly a private 
outfit but actually functions as an armed proxy of the Kremlin. 
Against the backdrop of Russian expansionism and the illegal 
invasion of Ukraine, we have witnessed a surge in the Wagner 
Group's involvement on the battlefield and an elevation of the 
group's profile more generally. You have likely heard about the 
extreme brutality practiced by Wagner in Ukraine, including 
human wave attacks, mass atrocities against civilians, and 
extrajudicial executions, such as the recent killing of a 
defector with a sledgehammer, a crime that was videotaped and 
widely distributed on social media.
    What is less well known is that for years prior to the 
invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been steadily expanding its 
influence with the help of the Wagner Group, leaving a trail of 
death and devastation around the world. In addition to Ukraine, 
Wagner has deployed to other trouble spots--Syria, Sudan, 
Libya, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali. It may 
seem that since invading Ukraine, Russia has been increasingly 
isolated as a global pariah, but in Africa the Wagner Group has 
continued to project Russian influence. Wagner has reportedly 
laid the groundwork in Burkina Faso and has its eyes on 
Cameroon and Chad where, according to U.S. intelligence, it may 
be trying to assassinate the country's pro-Western leader.
    Simply put, the Wagner Group has become an integral 
component of Russia's geopolitical strategy. Although the group 
tends to adjust its playbook in response to specific 
circumstances in country, its operations in Africa tend to 
follow a pattern. Embed in resource-rich countries with 
volatile political and security environments. Forge symbiotic 
relationships with corrupt leaders. Provide training to 
security forces under the guise of counterinsurgency or 
counterterrorism. Pursue local business opportunities, and 
engage in elaborate pro-Russia and anti-Western propaganda, and 
carry out atrocities in furtherance of these aims. All while 
maintaining links to the Kremlin.
    Wagner has been a destabilizing force since 2014, and the 
group's continued access to resources could undermine the 
unprecedented international sanctions effort to isolate Russia. 
The U.S. has responded to this pernicious threat by sanctioning 
the Wagner Group, its operatives, and some of its front 
companies under various sanctions regimes. Most recently, it 
has been mentioned already, the Biden administration labeled 
Wagner a transnational criminal organization, or TCO. What the 
U.S. Government has not done is used the most powerful economic 
tool in its arsenal. It is time for the U.S. to designate the 
Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization, or FTO, 
which, critically, would bring into play the extraterritorial 
and criminal material support statute.
    This move would serve as a powerful deterrent for anyone 
who is thinking about working with Wagner. Designating Wagner 
as a criminal organization is a step in the right direction, 
but it does not carry the same powerful consequences as an FTO 
designation. This is why the bipartisan HARM Act is such a 
vital piece of legislation. I believe my colleagues will speak 
to the process and practical consequences of an FTO 
designation, but what I would like to do today is talk to you 
about why Wagner fits the definition of a foreign terrorist 
organization. I am going to do this by explaining the role of 
the group in the Central African Republic.
    The Sentry has been investigating the Wagner Group since 
its arrival in the Central African Republic, or CAR, 5 years 
ago. When Wagner first arrived in CAR, the country had 
experienced decades of deadly and armed conflicts. Russia, 
through the Wagner Group, promised security to President 
Touadera and his inner circle. A Wagner operative was installed 
as the president's national security advisor. In exchange for 
this security, CAR would provide Wagner with access to valuable 
natural resources, such as gold and diamonds. The fact that 
Wagner also spends money in CAR on sophisticated Hollywood-
style propaganda glorifying Russia makes it clear that the 
group is not there just for economic spoils, but also to 
project Russian power abroad.
    Wagner fighters and Wagner-trained Central African soldiers 
have used terror as a weapon against the civilian population. 
They have committed mass rape, torture, forced disappearance 
and dislocation, and they have killed thousands of civilians. 
Wagner has given orders to cleanse areas purportedly occupied 
by rebel groups, which has resulted in atrocities committed 
against civilians, including women and children. A joint 
investigation by The Sentry and CNN of an incident in Bambari 
revealed that Wagner mercenaries indiscriminately killed 
civilians sheltering in and around a mosque. In addition to The 
Sentry, other groups and multiple U.N. bodies have documented 
such atrocities. The bottom line is, that Wagner targets 
civilians.
    In fact, according to The Sentry's local sources in CAR, 
Wagner mercenaries give orders to kill everyone and leave no 
trace. In CAR, Wagner's atrocities are often concentrated 
around mining areas. In order to exploit the minerals, Wagner 
engages in cleansing operations around mines. The modus 
operandi is simple: The CAR government revokes licenses given 
to third-country companies and transfers the concession to 
Wagner-linked entities, while Wagner fighters come and secure 
the area for themselves. They execute local residents to create 
a climate of fear, and signal to others that the mines are off 
limits. A U.N. official stated, with respect to Wagner 
atrocities in CAR: People on the ground are absolutely 
terrified.
    During the course of our investigations, civilians 
interviewed by The Sentry used the terms ``Terror'' and 
``Fear'' repeatedly to describe Wagner's operations in the 
Central African Republic. The Wagner Group is a transnational 
threat, much like other terror organizations. Defeating this 
threat will require a genuinely international effort focused on 
the group's financing, propaganda, and movement of foreign 
fighters, as we saw in the successful international effort to 
combat ISIS. The U.S. needs to take the initiative here by 
leveraging one of its most powerful financial tools and calling 
the Wagner Group what it is, a terror group.
    Before I finish, I want to leave you with one word of 
caution. An FTO designation is a powerful measure that can have 
negative humanitarian consequences by chilling the work of 
legitimate nonprofit organizations that are afraid of running 
afoul of the material support statute. This is especially the 
case when the terrorist group has de facto control of 
territory, as Wagner does in CAR. CAR is one of the poorest 
countries in the world and is dependent on humanitarian aid. In 
order to prevent further harm to the population, it is 
important to ensure the humanitarian consequences of any 
designation are properly mitigated.
    In conclusion, I urge Congress and the administration to 
implement the toughest economic tools the U.S. Government has 
at its disposal to counter the Wagner threat and choke off the 
group's resources, while minimizing negative impacts on 
civilians in fragile countries where Wagner operates. Thank you 
very much for your attention. I will be happy to answer any 
questions you may have.
    Chairman Wilson: Thank you very much. As a true indication 
of bipartisanship, we have been joined by Senator Jeanne 
Shaheen, all the way from New Hampshire. So grateful--.
    Senator Shaheen: But really from the Senate. [Laughter.]
    Chairman Wilson: Okay.
    Senator Shaheen: So that is a little farther.
    Chairman Wilson: Okay. But from the House of Lords, all 
right? But, no, but we are so grateful, indeed, at this 
bipartisan--hey, the support of the people of Ukraine is 
bipartisan. Ms. Gudzowska, your Polish background. Again, I am 
so grateful my daughter in law, Jennifer Miskewicz Wilson, 
family's from Krakow. So I identify--and then I was in Poland 
before the COVID. At that time something there was really 
startling, and that is that Poland was the only country in 
Europe that had 25 years of uninterrupted economic growth. You 
think of how far Poland's come, 200 years of division, and then 
the Hitler invasion of September the 1st, 1939, and the Stalin 
invasion from the other side, on September the 16th, the same 
month, 1939. To see where Poland is today, it is so exciting. 
That can be a message to the people of Ukraine. So thank you.
    We are grateful to have with us all the way from Rhode 
Island, this is amazing, Senator Whitehouse. Just grateful for 
your service and honored to be here with you. Again, 
bipartisanship is live in front of you right here. I would--so 
with this, Mr. Blazakis.
    Mr. Blazakis: Good morning. Thank you, commissioners, for 
inviting me to testify today on the activities of the Russian-
based organization that goes by the name Wagner. The work you 
are doing to examine whether this notorious organization should 
be sanctioned as a terrorist group is vitally important. 
Indeed, each day that goes by without new pressure exerting 
upon the group provide the Russian Federation an important 
source of finance, propaganda, manpower, natural resources, and 
access to geostrategically important countries and leaders 
across the globe.
    My name is Jason Blazakis, and I am a professor at the 
Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, 
California. I am also the director of Middleburg's Center on 
Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, CTEC for short. I 
have served in these dual roles since July 2018, and at the 
same time a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, a 
nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank based in New York City. I 
want to emphasize that my testimony today contains my views, 
and are not necessarily reflective of the views of Middlebury 
or the Soufan Center. I also ask that my full written testimony 
be added to the congressional record.
    Now, prior to joining the Middlebury Institute, CTEC, and 
the Soufan Center, I worked in the government for nearly 20 
years. Of those years in government service, I worked across 
both Republican and Democratic administrations. The last 10 and 
a half years of my government service was spent at the Counter 
Terrorism Bureau, the CT Bureau, at the U.S. Department of 
State. At the CT Bureau, between early 2008 and July 2018, I 
directed the activities of the Office of Counter Terrorism 
Finance and Designations. Simply put, Myself and my team at the 
CT Bureau were responsible for evaluating and compiling the 
underlying evidence that led to determinations made by the 
secretary of State regarding which groups should be labeled as 
foreign terrorist organizations, FTOs for short, pursuant to 
the Immigration and Nationality Act.
    My office was also responsible for recommending which 
groups or individuals should be designated as specially 
designated global terrorists, pursuant to Executive Order 
13224. Additionally, my office was responsible for developing 
the evidence required for the listing of State sponsors of 
terrorism to assist with various legal statutes. In my time at 
the State Department, I oversaw the designations of hundreds of 
individuals, organizations, and countries as terrorists. Based 
on my experience of adding groups to the FTO list, there is no 
question that the Wagner Group meets the legal criteria set 
forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act.
    Wagner is a foreign-based organization engaged in terrorist 
activity that is a direct threat to U.S. national security 
interests. That is the criteria for adding FTOs to the list. My 
written testimony explores deeply the details of how the group 
meets the legal criteria, but instead of spending time on that 
I thought it beneficial to go over the practical benefits the 
designation of Wagner as an FTO would provide, especially in 
light of the fact that it is designated already pursuant to 
four different executive orders.
    The three primary consequences of the FTO designation 
include an asset freeze, material support prosecutions, and 
there are immigration consequences connected to the FTO 
designation. The latter two consequences are important benefits 
that make the designation worth pursuing. The chief benefit of 
the FTO designation is the material support prosecution the 
U.S. Government could pursue against members and financial 
backers of the Wagner Group. In my years of government service, 
prosecutors have expressed an overwhelming preference for 
prosecuting individuals whose support can be traced back to an 
FTO. Not only are FTO cases easier to prosecute, but they often 
result often in much longer prison sentences than, say, 
individuals who are prosecuted for supporting a transnational 
criminal organization.
    Furthermore, the reach of the FTO regime is much longer. It 
has extraterritorial effects. To summarize, the FTO designation 
would ratchet up law enforcement pressure against the Wagner 
Group, while also ensuring the group cannot gain entry into the 
United States. The FTO designation of the Wagner Group would 
also have intangible benefits. First, it could have a deterrent 
effect. The mere idea of someone working with a designated 
terrorist group could deter leaders in countries from inviting 
Wagner operatives to provide the so-called security that they 
provide, that Justyna mentioned. Further, it may change the 
calculations of countries that are already doing business with 
Wagner. The FTO designation ultimately could result in de-
risking.
    The FTO designation may also have an ability to affect 
Wagner's recruitment to the organization. Adding the Wagner 
Group to the FTO list may change the calculations of specific 
recruits if they knew that they were joining a terrorist group. 
Now, based on my direct experience, U.S. national security 
agencies focus more resources on terrorist groups than they do 
criminal enterprises. Labeling the Wagner Group as a terrorist 
group would possibly increase the prioritization the United 
States intelligence community puts on the group.
    This could result in more assets, human or technical, 
collecting information on Wagner, with additional analysts 
devoted to spending time uncovering Prigozhin's front 
companies, it also increases the likelihood the United States 
can shed more light on Wagner's money trail. The terrorist 
designation may also make it easier for U.S. intelligence 
agencies and U.S. law enforcement agencies to share and receive 
information from their overseas counterparts regarding the 
activities of the Wagner Group. All these things will make--
become much easier, and easier to facilitate, if the State 
Department labels the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist 
organization.
    Finally, there are reports that the Wagner Group is trying 
to recruit Americans over social media. The Wagner Group also 
spews is propaganda over U.S.-owned social media platforms. In 
my experience, once an organization is treated by the U.S. 
Government as a foreign terrorist organization, social media 
companies will remove content associated with that designated 
group very quickly. Designating the Wagner Group as a terrorist 
group will provide social media companies more leverage for 
content removals of Wagner-associated content.
    My written testimony gets into those details and many more. 
I look forward to your questions.
    Chairman Wilson: Thank you very much, Mr. Blazakis. 
Actually, your State Department background and your expertise 
is so much appreciated.
    We are grateful for Jason Wright, formerly the director of 
the International Law Clinic at Washington and Lee University. 
Mr. Wright.
    Mr. Wright: Chairman Wilson and commission members, thank 
you for your time and for this opportunity to appear before 
your distinguished Commission. My name is Jason Wright and I am 
honored to highlight for you and the American people the legal 
reasons why an FTO designation matters.
    For context, I would like to briefly share my background in 
this area. From 2005 to 2014, I served as an Army judge 
advocate during the global war on terrorism, with tours in 
Germany, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay. I am now a litigation 
partner at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle, where I chair 
the firm's national security law and sanctions and export 
control practice groups. I have taught international criminal 
law, terrorism, and the laws of war at Georgetown and 
Washington and Lee Universities. I continue to serve as a JAG 
in the Army Reserve and as an assistant professor of law at 
West Point, where I teach constitutional law, military law, 
national security law, and public international law.
    Based on my Reserve military service, I am obliged to State 
this disclaimer, that my views are my own and do not 
necessarily represent those views of the Department of Defense 
or its components. I am also pleased to share, Mr. Wilson, that 
although I am a Virginian by birth and by education, I am also 
a constituent of Mr. Lawler's in the proud 17th. Thank you, 
sir.
    Commissioners, based on my firsthand experience, similar to 
my colleagues, I am proud to testify that the might of the U.S. 
Government to combat terrorist organizations through military, 
economic, and law enforcement means is unparalleled. But to be 
fully effective, these means must be enabled. In my testimony 
today, and also in my written testimony for the record, I will 
explain why the designation of the Wagner Group as a foreign 
terrorist organization can unlock a range of legal tools to 
neutralize, disrupt, and defeat their global ambitions. Most 
importantly, to deter others from providing material support to 
their activities.
    As you have heard, since 2016 Prigozhin and his private 
military company have been sanctioned several times under 
various executive orders pursuant to the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. Despite these 
sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department, Prigozhin 
has successfully evaded these sanctions. Just last month a 
Financial Times investigation found that Prigozhin has 
generated more than a quarter of a billion dollars in revenue 
while under these IEEPA sanctions. He has done this while 
continuing to expand his global ambitions in the Middle East, 
in Africa, and in Europe.
    So why does an FTO designation address this problem set? 
There are several legal reasons. First, an FTO designation 
triggers the material support statutes by creating a strong 
prosecutorial tool. These laws would make it a crime for 
anybody in the world, such as fighters, trainers, suppliers, 
and financiers, to assist Prigozhin and the Wagner Group.
    Second, an FTO designation helps the United States in its 
bilateral relationships with other countries to enforce the 
rule of law. It would enable U.S. prosecutors to provide 
meaningful mutual legal assistance for the prosecution of 
Wagner Group members in those countries.
    Third, an FTO designation provides a focal point for 
interagency coordination or integrated deterrence. Simply put, 
it activates the resources of the U.S. national security might 
to counter Wagner's global terrorism. Right now, the Treasury 
Department is the lead, under IEEPA. But an FTO designation 
activates the coordinated interagency efforts of the National 
Security Council, the Department of Homeland Security, the 
Department of Defense, the CIA, the NSA, the FBI, the DOJ, and 
the State Department, among others.
    Fourth, it provides greater leverage for international and 
diplomatic coordination to isolate the Wagner Group to protect 
U.S. nationals and to advance U.S. homeland and national 
security interests here and abroad. Finally, an FTO designation 
provides international legal clarity and U.S. legal 
stewardship.
    Members, in my opinion, the global war on terrorism is not 
over. We have simply started a new chapter. A new threat has 
emerged. The world is watching Prigozhin, a real-life Bond 
villain, grow his global ambitions to disrupt international 
peace and security through his terrorist organization, the 
Wagner Group. An FTO designation provides essential tools to 
isolate Prigozhin and his terrorist network. An FTO designation 
also helps to protect Americans and to deter others from around 
the world from providing him and his network any form of 
assistance.
    We won the first chapter in the global war on terrorism by 
subduing the threat posed by Al-Qaida and ISIS by using all of 
our instruments of power. We may be able to close this second 
chapter quickly by acting decisively again, and by 
demonstrating U.S. global leadership. An FTO designation is a 
global and legal force multiplier that can help the U.S. and 
our allies to neutralize, disrupt, and defeat Prigozhin, and 
any other imitators who seek to counter U.S. national interest. 
Thank you.
    Chairman Wilson: Thank you very much, Mr. Wright. As a 
former JAG myself, I appreciate your service continuing. That 
is fantastic. At this time, we are going to begin, 5 minutes. 
Gosh, we have been really fortunate. We have another member of 
the U.S. Senate, is not that amazing, to come to this side of 
the house. So Senator Richard Blumenthal.
    Senator Blumenthal: It took me a while to find it.
    Chairman Wilson: No, no, hey, hey. [Laughter.] Hey, hey--
    Senator Blumenthal: [?]: We are lost little lambs over 
here, Joe.
    Chairman Wilson: No, no, no, hey, hey, hey. Anybody who is 
been in the Rayburn Building knows that it is easy to get lost, 
Okay? With that in mind, look how smart they are, they made it. 
[Laughter.] So but with this in mind, we are going to have a 5-
minute rule. The staff is going to be really good to make sure 
that we begin and control ourselves to 5 minutes. So please--
and we will be alternating between the House, Senate, and even 
different political parties. So this is good.
    I have got to restate again that sadly--and one of our 
commissioners is Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee. She once 
said good news has no feet bad news has wings. So the good news 
of Republicans and Democrats, House and Senate members working 
together to support the people of Ukraine, this needs to be 
understood by the people of Ukraine and it needs to also be 
understood by Mr. Putin. So as we proceed, I will begin.
    Ms. Gudzowska, I agree with you that we are actually seeing 
a worldwide competition, to me, between democracies with rule 
of law. I am really grateful the University of South Carolina, 
with the leadership of Lindsey Graham, we have--the law school 
has worked with the University of Kyiv on a rule of law 
program. So it's real live, and that is rule of law with 
democracies as opposed to authoritarians with rule of gun. It 
is so important. We see that today in Ukraine by Putin, but we 
know the Chinese Communist Party is threatening the people of 
Taiwan, and then so concerning additionally Iran is developing 
ICBMs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, to vaporize the 
people of Israel and to vaporize the people of the United 
States.
    So with that in mind, how serious all of this is, Mr. 
Blazakis, some have indicated that the foreign terrorist 
organization designation for the Wagner Group would lead 
directly to a designation of Putin and Russia as a State 
sponsor of terrorism. Is this correct? Why or why not?
    Mr. Blazakis: It is incorrect. As somebody who was 
responsible for shaping the State sponsor of terrorism list--
which, for the record, is very short, with just four countries 
on it--Iran, Syria, Cuba, and North Korea. There are many other 
countries that meet the legal criteria that are not on that 
list. So there is flexibility in the context of creating the 
State sponsor of terrorism list. Otherwise, you would have a 
number of countries--Afghanistan, as one example, as currently 
led by the Taliban, a designated--specially designated global 
terrorist group pursuant to Executive Order 13224. The Haqqani 
Network has members within ministerial positions in 
Afghanistan. Yet, Afghanistan is not labeled a state sponsor of 
terrorism.
    Russia could already be designated, quite frankly, as a 
state sponsor of terrorism today, right now, irrespective of 
whether or not the Wagner Group is listed as a terrorist group. 
The Russian Imperial Movement is an example of Russia providing 
support and sanctuary to a U.S.-designated terrorist group. The 
Russian imperial movement was designated by the Trump 
administration in April 2020. It has training camps in St. 
Petersburg. It trained an individual to carry out an attack in 
Sweden. The Russian Federation has carried out assassinations 
worldwide, assassinations very similar to the kind North Korea 
carried out, that led them to be added to the terrorism list in 
2017.
    All this to say, very quickly, there is no automaticity if 
you were to add Wagner to the terrorist list, the FTO rolls. It 
does not mean the State Department would have to designate 
Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
    Chairman Wilson: Well, thank you. That is particularly 
revealing about Haqqani. So thank you for showing the 
differentiation. Hey, I have a great appreciation of trial 
lawyers. I know that they can be very innovative and 
enterprising. In fact, my oldest son, Alan Wilson, is the 
attorney general of South Carolina. So I know that if we can 
unleash trial lawyers in the world, gosh, how good that would 
be.
    So new tools for prosecutors, Mr. Wright. How would a 
foreign terrorist organization designation empower you, i.e., 
trial lawyers, as a prosecutor or prosecutor, to go after the 
Wagner assets and disrupt its aspirations?
    Mr. Wright: Thank you, Chairman Wilson. First, if I can 
speak to the criminal aspects that Mr. Blazakis referred to and 
I also touched on as well. The FTO designation really opens up 
the world for prospective criminal prosecution for U.S. 
prosecutors. It has a very clear extraterritorial effect for 
anyone who finances, supports the Wagner Group, whether they're 
fighters, suppliers, you name it. So the material support 
statutes really provide a great extraterritorial hook for U.S. 
prosecutors to go after those individuals.
    The material support statutes also have a lower standard of 
mens rea, or statement of mind, for prosecutors to prove 
whether someone knowingly commits a violation versus willfully. 
That is the current standard under IEEPA. There is also an 
extended statute of limitations for any injury or death for 
these statutes. So, criminally, it really provides a lot more 
advantages for U.S. prosecutors. In fact, there have been 
almost twice as many prosecutions under the material support 
statutes than there have been under those prosecutions pursuant 
to IEEPA.
    Now, if I can touch on the civil aspects, Mr. Wilson, an 
FTO designation really helps Americans, those U.S. nationals 
who are injured by the activities of Wagner and by any other 
entities that aid or support Wagner. It would provide a private 
right of action in the United States for those individuals to 
go after Wagner as part of an effort really to continue to 
deter not just Wagner, but any other entities that aid or abet 
Wagner in their activities.
    Chairman Wilson: Well, thank you very much. Indeed, the 
thought of American and worldwide trial lawyers going after 
them is really exciting, because these are enterprising 
individuals. Thank you. I am really grateful, Ms. Gudzowska, 
that--a question and then we will proceed. That is, how do we 
know the Wagner Group operates to service Putin's interests 
rather than just simply for profit?
    Ms. Gudzowska: Well, there are a number of clear 
indications that Wagner serves Putin's interests. First of all, 
it was formed in 2014. The Wagner Group was the little green 
men you heard about in the Ukraine, in eastern Ukraine, that 
gave Putin plausible deniability at that time. Their operations 
have expanded. For example, if you look at the Central African 
Republic, they first came in after discussions between the 
Central African government and Russia. They came in on a 
Russian plane with Russian arms. So the link is clear. We know 
Prigozhin is also a long-time ally of Putin.
    Third, we know they do not operate just for profit like a 
criminal group because they also spend money. One of the key 
goals in those countries is to project Russian power, Russian 
influence. They do that through elaborate propaganda, pro-
Russia, anti-Western. That costs money. So they're not just 
there for the resources to make as much money as possible. They 
also spend money. So there is really two goals when they go 
into a country--access to resources and to project Russian 
power and Russian influence.
    Chairman Wilson: Thank you very much. It was really 
interesting your estimation of their propaganda as Hollywood 
style. That is shocking.
    But thank goodness we have got good people, like Senator 
Jeanne Shaheen is. We will proceed with here. We have been 
joined by Congressman Steve--the ranking member, Congressman 
Steve Cohen of the State of Tennessee. But we will proceed with 
Senator Shaheen.
    Senator Shaheen: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am 
very pleased to be part of this bicameral, bipartisan show of 
support for Ukraine and opposition to the Wagner Group, and 
appreciate the work of the Helsinki Commission in bringing this 
hearing forth today. I am convinced, on the foreign terrorist 
designation. I am a co-sponsor of legislation in the Senate 
that is bipartisan that would do that. I think the sooner we do 
it, the better.
    The question that I have is--a number of questions--more 
about the Wagner Group. In the Armed Services Committee in the 
Senate last week we heard testimony from one of the witnesses 
that there is growing friction between Prigozhin and the Wagner 
Group and Putin and the regular military. Can anybody here 
speak to that, and how you see that being resolved? I am sure 
most people here saw the video of Prigozhin asking for more 
support. So I do not know who would like to respond to that.
    Ms. Gudzowska: Well, I think it is--you know no one 
understands Putin's mind except for Putin. So it is very 
difficult to know what is really going on. Certainly, Prigozhin 
has been poking the ministry of defense. He has been, you know, 
very aggressively speaking out against Shoigu and Gerasimov, 
the leaders, really, of the war. But it is unclear what Putin 
thinks about it. I have seen articles kind of saying both ways, 
that Putin likes this type of competition but also that 
Prigozhin might have political aspirations. So I think it is 
quite unclear. There is a lot of palace intrigue, but it is 
hard to say definitively whether there is a rift between Putin 
and Prigozhin. He certainly continues to act in Putin's 
interests.
    Senator Shaheen: Does everybody agree with that? There is 
no--
    Mr. Blazakis: I would just add I think there is an 
interesting development with the possible creation of another 
PMC, PMC Gazprom. I think Putin has seen the success of the 
Wagner Group, but also Putin probably recognizes that Prigozhin 
is increasingly becoming an internal threat. When you have a 
private military company or a terrorist group like Wagner that 
has more than 60,000 members, with an arsenal of weapons and 
aircraft, as the chairman showed us--fighting aircraft--that 
is--that is potentially a threat, an internal threat. I think 
the creation of the PMC in Gazprom could be one way to think 
about the future of how the U.S.--or, how the Russian 
Federation projects power through PMCs in the future, should 
Prigozhin and the Wagner Group fold.
    Senator Shaheen: I think you testified, Mr. Blazakis, that 
they have been recruiting in the U.S. Do we have any sense of 
the success that they have had recruiting?
    Mr. Blazakis: Thankfully, I have not seen any reflections 
of success, of individuals who are American citizens who have 
willfully joined the Wagner Group. So it is not been 
successful. But I would agree with Justyna that they are 
Hollywood-like productions. You can go see some of their movies 
and their ratings on IMDb. It is quite problematic. I think 
they are trying to continue to make inroads. If nothing else, 
they try to polarize the American public as it relates to its 
support to Ukraine during this time.
    Senator Shaheen: Can you speak to the success that they 
have had in other places recruiting? There have been reports 
that they have been recruiting in the Balkans, in particular in 
Serbia. That was denied by the Serbs, but do we have any 
credible evidence of the success they are having?
    Mr. Blazakis: Yes, no, the Department of State has gone out 
there to Serbia to specifically bring this issue up. It is a 
real issue. Serbia does have individuals who have joined the 
Wagner Group. Interestingly enough, there have been multiple 
reports that former Afghan special operators, trained by United 
States, have also been recruited by the Wagner Group. The 
Wagner Group has also made an effort to recruit from Syria and 
Iraq individuals into the fold. So they have had some success 
recruiting on the outside of the Russian Federation. They do 
not just have to rely on recruitment from prisons.
    Senator Shaheen: I am not sure who wants to answer this, 
maybe you Ms. Gudzowska. But you talked about the theatrics of 
the Wagner Group. They have been very successful at 
disinformation. So what should we be doing to respond to that 
disinformation much more successfully than we have today?
    Ms. Gudzowska: I think we need to counter the 
disinformation. I think that is critical. When I was at the 
United Nations, we had the rise of ISIS. There was a coalition 
formed to combat ISIS. That coalition focused on its financing, 
the movement of fighters--which Jason was just talking about--
and the propaganda. So there needs to be a coalition, a global 
effort to counter its propaganda because it is so good at 
propaganda.
    The perception that Wagner and Russia are a successful 
private military group, successful against fighting 
counterinsurgencies and counterterrorism, also needs to be 
countered, because that is actually false. We saw them routed 
in Mozambique. In Mali, the terrorism threat has actually grown 
since Wagner entered the picture. So I think we need to make an 
effort to counter that propaganda, that they are a successful 
outfit, by highlighting their failures and highlighting the 
atrocities, the steep price that these countries pay to get 
Wagner in. Of course, the resource predation--the economic 
predation they engage in.
    Senator Shaheen: Thank you very much.
    Chairman Wilson: Thank you so much, Senator Shaheen.
    We now proceed--and we could tell you that Ukrainian 
Americans have significance and have been successful in 
America. We can tell you that every day, but we have a living 
example of success with Congresswoman Victoria Spartz. Born in 
Ukraine, representing the beautiful State of Indiana.
    Representative Spartz: Thank you so much. Sorry for my 
Yankee accent. [Laughs.] But I actually was going to say Jason, 
I have a question, but we have two Jasons. So I have to say 
last names. So I have quick questions for Mr. Blazakis, if I 
say it right. Are you aware of any involvement of Wagner Group 
in Mexico, Central America?
    Mr. Blazakis: The indications I have seen in Wagner in the 
south of the United States is primarily focused on activities 
in Venezuela. I am not as familiar with activities they may be 
engaged in Mexico City.
    Representative Spartz: Okay. Then from--you know, kind of 
ended a little bit, you know, sort of definitions. What do you 
believe would be probably the strongest examples of activities 
that pose a threat to our national security or the national 
security of other nationals? What would be the really the 
strongest examples?
    Mr. Blazakis: You know, the Wagner Group is obviously 
operating in Ukraine, projecting an important fighting force on 
behalf of the Russian Federation. The United States has a 
vested interest in preserving Ukraine's sovereignty. The 
criteria for designating foreign terrorist organization, the 
third criteria is, is the group's activity carrying out--being 
carried out by the group a threat to U.S. national security 
interests? So inherently the group's activities in Ukraine 
represent a threat to U.S. national security interests, 
specifically our foreign policy and broader geostrategic 
interests.
    Then I think Justyna mentioned a specific attack the group 
was engaged in, in Bambari. Again, the activity in places like 
Bambari in the Central African Republic, the activity of the 
Wagner Group in Mali and elsewhere, that have been well 
documented, where civilians are being killed is providing 
propaganda coups also at the same time for groups like ISIS and 
Al-Qaida, who are reconstituting in that part of the world. So 
in fact, Wagner Group is not helping the situation. It is 
inflaming the situation and providing more leverage to ISIS and 
Al-Qaida, and more space to operate freely. So in that sense, 
it is also a threat to U.S. national security interests.
    Representative Spartz: Have you--actually, I have been, you 
know, working on European security, but I have a lot of 
different issues. Recently came up is the situation in Africa 
and really involvement of China. Have you seen any increasing 
activity or it is still the same, what really Wagner Group is 
doing and the collaboration with China--Chinese Communist 
Party--in Africa? Justyna?
    Ms Gudzowska: I have not seen anything related to China 
specifically. Certainly, in Africa, the threat from Wagner is 
spreading. They are going into new countries. As the rest of 
the world is isolating Russia, Wagner threat is spreading. They 
are looking to join other countries all--you know, like Burkina 
Faso--all very resource-rich countries. I can not speak to the 
China--.
    Representative Spartz: But is not it, Wagner Group, really 
used to support a lot of corrupt governments in Africa that 
China likes to work with? Because our people do not want to 
work with them, right? There is a lot of control of resources 
that has really come out now with a lot of different issues. It 
seems like it is--you know, I hear from people from Africa that 
there is increasing activity there in the recent times. So 
maybe that is--maybe, Justyna, quickly about that. Do you 
believe designating the Wagner Group at FTO would have some--
because we have so many loopholes in different sanctions. Would 
it allow them to maybe close some loopholes or make it harder--
or, better enforcement of what Russia is doing, in the 
enforcement of sanctions against Russia?
    Ms. Gudzowska: Yes, definitely. I think the FTO tool is 
just a stronger tool than sanctions because it brings to bear 
another separate law. That is the material support statute. It 
is a criminal statute, as has been discussed. It is 
extraterritorial. So the prosecution can occur against foreign 
persons. For just sanctions, there are really limits on 
jurisdiction. You know, the conduct has to be in the U.S., or 
it has to be by a U.S. person. So the jurisdictional limits are 
more significant with an IEEPA designation, as strong as it is. 
It is just not as strong as an FTO designation.
    Representative Spartz: Right. Maybe something--you know, 
any of you could comment, maybe Jason--do you--have you seen--
because it seems like--you know, have they seen any ideological 
or--for recruitment or some motivation? Like, I could see how 
they could do it in Serbia, you know, some propaganda to do 
actually recruitment, you know, for Wagner Group. I can see it 
is happening in Africa right now. Russia is doing strong 
propaganda, I am sure, as it also allows some. You know, but 
have you seen any recruitment using ideological propaganda?
    Mr. Wright: Well, certainly. Thank you. That touches on 
some of my statements about essentially imposters. There is 
some reporting in Belarus that Wagner went and trained a 
private military company in Belarus to also engage in offensive 
operations. There is some news reporting about that. I believe 
the name of the entity is Gardservis. Then to speak--at least 
to address one of your earlier questions, there is also some 
reporting about Wagner's attempts to engage in disinformation 
campaigns in Mexico. This was allegedly pre-COVID, but that was 
a plan that was shut down, allegedly. There was a Politico 
report that came out in February addressing some of their 
global ambitions in this regard. So I think the risk is real, 
not just about recruitment but continued disinformation 
campaigns across continents.
    Representative Spartz: My time expired. Thank you. I yield 
back.
    Chairman Wilson: Thank you very much, Congresswoman Spartz. 
We appreciate her Indiana accent. It was very clear.
    So with that, we are really grateful to be joined by 
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island.
    Senator Whitehouse: Thank you, Chairman. Thanks to the 
Helsinki Commission for holding this, and to our witnesses for 
being with us. I should report that we are pushing for a date 
for a vote with Leader Schumer on the designation of the Wagner 
Group as a foreign terrorist organization. I want to salute 
Senator Blumenthal, who is sitting next to me, for his work and 
Senator Graham. We just were in Kyiv not long ago. One of our 
big takeaways is this really needed to be done. So I hope it 
will be shortly.
    Ms. Gudzowska, could you just give us a quick explanation 
on how the financial institutions, lawyers, company formation 
agents, and other enablers facilitate the Wagner Group's money 
laundering and financial crimes, and how the FTO designation 
would impair that?
    Ms. Gudzowska: Thank you very much. Thank you for this 
question. I am a big fan of the Enablers Act, so I am glad you 
asked this.
    Senator Whitehouse: We are still working on it.
    Ms. Gudzowska: Yes. [Laughs.] So I think that is a very 
critical component. That is because the Wagner Group works 
through front companies. Wherever it goes, it sets up front 
companies--in CAR, in Sudan. That is how it is able to exploit 
those resources. To set up front companies, you have to have 
people willing to do that. You need lawyers. You need company 
formation agents. So those people need to be targeted as well. 
Their obligations need to be higher. We also need to raise 
awareness--.
    Senator Whitehouse: An FTO designation would facilitate 
that?
    Ms. Gudzowska: Yes, because it just raises the bar. You can 
be prosecuted for doing business with the Wagner Group, whether 
you are sitting in the U.S. or a different country, if you are 
providing material support.
    Senator Whitehouse: Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Blazakis, 
what is your view on how other countries would view Wagner's 
actions? Would we be isolating ourselves by designating them a 
terrorist organization, or joining a consensus?
    Mr. Blazakis: I think for the designation to be as 
effective as it could be, it is important for the United States 
to align itself and to work with other countries to also 
designate under their own legal authorities the Wagner Group as 
a terrorist group. I testified in October--.
    Senator Whitehouse: Which is already beginning, correct?
    Mr. Blazakis: Which is, yes. I testified at the House of 
Commons Foreign Affairs Committee in the U.K. There is an 
initiative within the U.K. Parliament to proscribe the Wagner 
Group as a terrorist group. There was a report recently, about 
a month ago, that the Home Office, who has the legal authority 
to designate terrorist groups in the U.K., is at the threshold 
of possibly designating the group. I don't think the United 
States would isolate itself by sanctioning the Wagner Group as 
a terrorist group, but rather it could serve as the inspiration 
for other countries to do the same.
    Senator Whitehouse: Mr. Wright, this will be my last 
question, the--in addition to being little green men, and in 
addition to being a mercenary army for Vladimir Putin, the 
Wagner Group also provides muscle for kleptocrats, at a price, 
usually out of the national revenues of the kleptocrats they 
are protecting. What is your assessment of how important it is 
to follow the money, to get at all these lines of business? How 
good do you think we are at it right now? How much room for 
improvement is there?
    Mr. Wright: Well, to address the first part of your 
question, it is critically important to follow the money. You 
take away the resources, and it certainly can restrict the 
scope of their activities. That is one of the goals really of 
an FTO designation, is its global deterrent effect. It can have 
a deterrent effect on those individuals that are willing to 
support their efforts.
    Senator Whitehouse: Do you have an assessment of how well 
we are doing or how much room for improvement there is?
    Mr. Wright: Well, I can not speak to that, as far as the 
Department of Justice internally or otherwise, but I can just 
speak to the statistics. Generally speaking, FTO prosecutions 
have been much more successful than any prosecutions under 
IEEPA. There is almost a two fold number of successful 
prosecutions under those statutes. So it has been an effective 
tool, at least in the fight against Al-Qaida and ISIS as well, 
by example.
    Senator Whitehouse: Great. Well, with colleagues joining, I 
do not want to take any more time. But I would invite the other 
witnesses if they have further comments on that to take the 
question as a question for the record. Would love to have any 
further response you can to offer in writing. Thank you. Thanks 
again, Chairman. This is a very good stuff.
    Chairman Wilson: Hey, thank you so much, Senator. 
Appreciate your insight. It is exciting to hear the legislation 
proceeding. That is so positive. Thank you.
    Indeed, next we will proceed to Congressman Mike Lawler of 
New York. I want to remind you again, his wife is from Moldova, 
and how insightful this is. By accident, dictator Lukashenko of 
Belarus was showing a map, and by accident it showed an error 
of the puppet troops proceeding into Moldova. So if anybody 
wonders what is happening, hey, it is so important for the 
victory of Ukraine, because we know that the next country that 
they would proceed to would be Moldova, and it, of course, 
would be the Republic of Georgia. Then Putin has expressed a 
keen interest in Narva, which happens to be in Estonia. It is 
shocking that there has been an indication that he would like 
to have a land route to Kaliningrad, which means going through 
Lithuania. Then who would imagine, last week there was an 
announcement of Putin being very interested in redrawing the 
national boundaries of Poland. Gee whiz.
    With that, Congressman Mike Lawler.
    Representative Lawler: Thank you, Chairman. Thank you all 
for your testimony. Welcome Mr. Wright, my constituent. To the 
Chairman's point, my wife is from Moldova. Her family lives 
about 30 miles from the Ukraine border, near Transnistria. You 
know, obviously, the Wagner Group has been heavily involved in 
Ukraine. Have we seen activity spilling out into other former 
Soviet satellite countries to date?
    Mr. Blazakis: I have not seen any reflections of that. 
Although, obviously Wagner has operated, as my co-panelist has 
mentioned, in Belarus, reportedly. So there are indications of 
that.
    Representative Lawler: Okay. We know that North Korea has 
provided military assistance to the Wagner Group. How, in your 
estimation, has the United States responded to this 
intelligence? How do you think our government should respond--
be responding to other nations, like China, who may provide 
military assistance to the Wagner Group, or directly to Russia, 
in the future?
    Mr. Blazakis: So North Korea is one of the most sanctioned 
countries in the world, but nonetheless the fact that it is 
providing military armaments to Wagner I think requires a stern 
response by the Biden administration to explore additional 
sanctions against specific individuals or organizations who may 
have provided those arms to the Wagner--the group. An 
interesting tool that is not--.
    Representative Lawler: To date, have we seen any of those 
potential sanctions take place?
    Mr. Blazakis: No, I have not seen anything specifically. 
That is a relatively new development that occurred at the end 
of 2022. Designations do take some time to unroll. So they may 
be looking at potential targets still for possibly designation. 
So that is one thing about the designations process, generally 
it could take many months to unfold before a designation 
culminates.
    Representative Lawler: Understood. With respect to 
designating the Wagner Group as an FTO, how specifically--and I 
know you have all been touching on this in your testimony--but 
U.S. efforts to hold the company accountable for its continued 
threat to security. How would this designation really allow us 
to do that as an effective tool?
    Mr. Wright: Well, it empowers the full counterterrorism 
might of the U.S. Government, ultimately. Part of our national 
security strategy has been--and the national security 
strategies over the last several years is this concept of 
integrated deterrence. Really it activates our counterterrorism 
powers across the alphabet soup of military, defense, and 
intelligence agencies. Specifically, it empowers the Department 
of Justice, really, with a--with a very strong criminal law 
enforcement tool, that tool of deterrence which we have been 
speaking about.
    Truly, any member, or any fighter, or any financier, any 
supplier who wants to provide beans, bullets, money to the 
Wagner group and their terrorist network anywhere in the world 
now falls under the jurisdiction for prosecution to the United 
States, which is an extraordinarily powerful tool that exists 
globally. That is--that is really, I think, the strongest 
benefit, if we are talking about that law enforcement tool. You 
know, certainly there is diplomatic pressure as well, and 
diplomatic aspects of such a designation, which have been 
touched on a little bit here today. But in the end, really it 
is this criminal power that we have with a concentrated, 
coordinated focal point for U.S. Government efforts, is really 
the animating difference here, with an FTO designation versus 
the existing sanctions regime.
    Then, Congressman, just to address one of our earlier 
questions, you know, under the IEEPA sanctions there is only 
been piecemeal designations in relation to the Wagner Group. 
The Wagner Group, as we all know, have been designated many 
times, and there is a history here. But in terms of other 
enablers, there is been some ad hoc designations as SDNs. Most 
recently, on January 23rd, there was a laundry list of 
companies in various countries--China, Russia, Luxembourg, 
Central African Republic, and UAE. Just those SDN designations, 
what it primarily does is just prevent U.S. persons from 
engaging in transactions with them, or conduct that occurs on 
U.S. soil, or transit through the U.S., or has a deterrent 
effect on these other non-U.S. persons.
    Representative Lawler: So you believe this designation 
would allow us to hold other countries and other bad actors 
accountable for engaging and cooperating with them?
    Mr. Wright: One hundred percent.
    Representative Lawler: Thank you.
    Chairman Wilson: Thank you very much, Congressman Lawler. 
It is refreshing that Congressman Lawler has acknowledged that 
he married over his head. [Laughter.] Which has certainly 
created the circumstance of his being elected to Congress. We 
are so fortunate to have, again, a member of the Senate come 
all the way over to the House. This is startling. Senator 
Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.
    Senator Blumenthal: From Connecticut is right. Thank you, 
Mr. Chairman. Many of us both the House and the Senate married 
above ourselves. So that is true in my case as well. I 
appreciate your very warm welcome to the House. It would have 
been worth the price of admission just to hear you suggest that 
we ought to unleash the trial lawyers of the world. [Laughter.] 
As a recovering trial lawyer myself, and former attorney 
general of Connecticut and U.S. attorney, which leads me really 
to my question.
    As I think all of us know, these designations and laws are 
only as good as the enforcement of them. So when we apply 
sanctions--whether it is as a foreign terrorist organization or 
some other designation--my question always is: Who is enforcing 
these provisions? How effective has it been? Let me ask all the 
members of the panel, in terms of the present sanctions regime, 
are there companies that we ought to be looking at that may be 
violating these sanctions, because the Congress has 
investigatory powers? Is our Department of Treasury or State 
doing as much as they can or should?
    I understand that designating the Wagner Group as a foreign 
terrorist organization would enable stronger sanctions on 
anybody dealing with it. I am the lead co-sponsor in the 
Senate, along with Senator Graham. It is bipartisan. As Senator 
Whitehouse said, we expect we'll get a vote if not next week, 
hopefully very, very soon. Then I hope we will have a House 
vote as well. I applaud Representative Cohen, I just read his 
bill which I think is very, very effective, and that we will 
have bipartisan support here as well, which obviously this 
session is helping to build.
    But I think in getting a vote, it helps to say: This is 
going to have real impact, because it will be enforced. So I 
would like to hear from you about the record so far, the 
companies we should be looking at. You do not have to name them 
here. You can do it in a private meeting. But I would be very 
thankful for your suggestions. I will just begin with you.
    Ms. Gudzowska: Happy to start. It is a great question. I 
think the difficulty with sanctions is that it is often a game 
of whack-a-mole. You sanction some entities, and unfortunately 
the sanctioning of Wagner Group front companies has been a bit 
sporadic, and it has not been well-coordinated with our allies, 
especially the EU and U.K. So I think we should continue the 
sanctions efforts, sanction more front companies as soon as we 
know about them, and at The Sentry we know of quite a few that 
have not been sanctioned, frankly. But we need to do it with 
our allies.
    But you can not sanction everybody. So that is why the FTO 
designation is so important, because it has this deterrent 
effect. It ups the ante. It makes other actors, other 
companies, less likely to deal with Wagner, because they know 
that America's prosecutorial arm will come after them, and can 
come after them. So I think that is why it would have such an 
impact. It just really raises the bar. Dealing with a criminal 
organization does not scare people in the same way that dealing 
with an FTO would.
    Senator Blumenthal: Well said. Thank you.
    Mr. Blazakis: In terms of operationalizing sanctions, that 
is also the most important thing that can be done, with the 
current array of sanctions deployed against the Wagner Group, 
but also any future designations. Then speaking on 
designations, I agree with Justyna that if you look at the 
number of specially designated nationals, whether entities, 
businesses, or individuals heretofore designated by the U.S. 
Government, you are talking about 20 to 30 entities and 
individuals. You think about the scope and the size of Wagner, 
you're talking tens of thousands of individuals.
    So there is certainly more designation targets that can be 
pursued. Which targets would be the best to pursue, I think, is 
dependent on intelligence, but in law enforcement-related 
expansion of authorities, which all the FTO designation would 
very likely provide. Because that would increase, in my mind, 
the prioritization the U.S. Government puts on the group if it 
is labeled a terrorist group. That could generate more 
intelligence and law enforcement sources, cultivation of 
sources, that could lead to more information, that can allow us 
to actually have some tangible assets frozen associated with 
this group.
    To date, I am not aware of any assets associated with the 
Wagner Group that have been frozen because of the U.S. 
Government designations. Nor am I aware of any prosecutions of 
Wagner individuals heretofore.
    Senator Blumenthal: Mr. Wright.
    Mr. Wright: Thank you, Senator. I do not have much further 
to add, other than what we are dealing with here is certainly a 
terrorist network that is engaged in a number of shell 
companies all over the world. so it certainly is a monumental 
enterprise. What really an FTO designation does is it helps 
unleash all of those tools. The focus can be much like ISIS and 
Al-Qaida in stopping the flow of funds, stopping the flow of 
fighters, and stopping the flow of arms and munitions.
    Senator Blumenthal: I want to thank all of you and regard 
this testimony the beginning of a conversation. We would like 
to reach out to each of you, Ms. Gudzowska, Mr. Blazakis, Mr. 
Wright, because enforcement is so important. By the way, we 
have passed unanimously in the U.S. Senate a resolution 
sponsored by Senator Graham and myself to designate Russia as a 
State sponsor of terrorism. One of the high points of my 
service in the U.S. Senate was to present a copy of that 
resolution to President Zelensky in Kyiv, in his office.
    We may doubt from time to time the moral force of what we 
do in the Congress. Very often we pass stuff and it seems to 
have no effect. But I can tell you, in terms of the morale for 
the people of Ukraine, that resolution, the visit of the 
president, all of these actions that we take have real impact. 
So I think designating the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist 
organization would be in that--would be in that same spirit, 
and would have much the same effect. But when it comes right 
down to it, we do need enforcement. We need to make it count. 
So thank you all.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Wilson: Thank you, Senator. Again, thank you for 
your courage to go to Kyiv to present that. Then it is--I know 
Mr. Wright will appreciate this--that I enjoy very much your 
working together, bipartisan, with Senator Lindsey Graham of 
South Carolina. He and I were fellow JAG officers. So that is 
how we got to know each other. So there is such a positive 
association. Thank you. Then, hey, again, showing the--.
    Senator Blumenthal: It is only slightly harder to get to 
Kyiv than to get here from the Senate. [Laughter.]
    Chairman Wilson: Oh, no, no. Well, no, hey, hey.
    Senator Blumenthal: We do not have to take an overnight 
train.
    Chairman Wilson: Oh, hey--oh, hey, Senator, coming from the 
Longworth Building was a challenge.
    But with that in mind, someone who meets challenges is my 
Co-chair--and thank goodness for--of another political party--
but Congressman Steve Cohen of Memphis, Tennessee.
    Representative Cohen: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank our 
witnesses for being with us today. Mr. Chairman Wilson is the 
Co-sponsor of our legislation. We worked together in support of 
efforts to try to designate agents that are clearly terrorist 
groups or genociders. We had a bill last year to declare Russia 
a perpetrator of genocide, but for some reason the State 
Department did not work with us on that, and apparently my 
Chairman of--Democratic Chairman did not work with us either. 
It was rather difficult because, just like Mr. Blumenthal 
recognized--Senator Blumenthal--how much that is appreciated in 
Ukraine. They would have appreciated the designation. Zelensky 
particularly asked us when he came to the Congress to designate 
them as a genocider. Sometimes the State Department needs a 
kick in the rear. A strong kick in the rear. That is what this 
bill might do, what it is trying to do.
    Mr. Wright, you might have discussed this--I was in the 
Transportation Committee--do you have any ideas, or anybody 
else have any ideas, why the State Department is being so 
reticent? I mean, I know about the theory of Africa countries, 
and blah, blah, blah, and may be a precursor to naming Russia a 
terrorist group. You know, are they afraid of shadows, or what 
is their reasons for being timid?
    Mr. Wright: Well, on the question of a genocide, generally 
speaking under the Genocide Convention there is an obligation, 
once an event or conflict or series of events is categorized as 
a genocide, it requires states to undertake affirmative 
obligations to stop and prevent the genocide. So I know 
historically the U.S. Government has been traditionally 
reluctant to call a spade a spade when, in fact, it is a spade, 
based on that international obligation.
    Representative Cohen: But that obligation's when the 
government--the administration does it. If the Congress does 
it, it does not put those obligations on them.
    Mr. Wright: That is right. That is right. What I am 
speaking to is just really the obligation under the genocide 
convention more particularly. That is my understanding as to 
the general reluctance, not just within the United States, but 
within the international community. I think we all can observe 
what is happening and when it is happening. But when the issues 
of State responsibilities come into play, I think that is 
probably the resistance from the State Department. I have not 
studied this issue in particular. I can only speak to my 
understanding generally of those obligations. But that would be 
my assessment, sir. But perhaps my colleagues have some 
additional thoughts.
    Representative Cohen: Please. I want to ask you another 
question, Mr. Blazakis. This is to educate me. I mean, I know a 
little bit about Ian Fleming, but I do not know a whole lot 
about international bad guys, like he did. He probably 
envisioned Prigozhin. How many other organizations like this 
have there been, or are there, that are just private groups 
that are just out there to do bad things in mass quantities?
    Mr. Blazakis: So I would love to also respond to your last 
question, since I used to be one of those people you probably 
kicked in the butt when I worked at the State Department as the 
head of the office that made the FTO designations. [Laughter.] 
I will say, congressional pressure is actually really helpful 
to get things moving within the executive branch. I was there 
where there was a lot of controversy about the possible 
designation of Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organization, 
and the Haqqani Network. Congressional bills were really 
important in terms of gathering momentum within the executive 
branch. So I think the HARM Act is particularly important.
    The reasons why the State Department may not have 
designated the group--it could be a range of reasons. One 
reason could be very simply the process to designate foreign 
terrorist organizations can take up to a year gathering the 
evidence, compiling it, and coordinating it within the 
interagency to ensure that other national security agencies 
don't have equities that could be impaired with respect to the 
designation.
    The other point I would make is the State Department has 
not added a foreign terrorist organization to the list since 
2021. I think there could be a few reasons for that. One reason 
is I know they don't have the coordinator right now for 
counterterrorism. You know, fighting within the State 
Department on challenging issues like this could be where 
maybe, say, the European Affairs Bureau could be opposed to the 
designation, requires a political appointee that has some 
gumption, that can take on those interagency fights. So I think 
that might be another point that's important in the context of 
this conversation.
    The other point I would make is there is a perception often 
in the State Department that designations or sanctions more 
generally can tie the hands of diplomats, and force them into 
boxes they do not want to be in. I think this is a perception 
that probably exists from the State Department thinking that if 
you were to add Wagner to the list, somehow it is going to 
result in some kind of State sponsor of terrorism designation 
for Russia. Which, as I mentioned earlier, would not be the 
case. So in the context of why there is a delay, I think this 
is perhaps why we are seeing some delay from the State 
Department.
    Representative Cohen: How about these other groups? Are 
there other groups that are--you know, in the world, have there 
been other groups like the Wagner Group that have been so 
outrageous, and so large, and so effective?
    Mr. Blazakis: Yes. So Wagner is, in one sense, unique 
because it is a significantly large organizations, with tens of 
thousands of individuals, that have the full backing of a 
country that has significant power, Russia in this context. But 
we have seen the State Department designate paramilitary or 
PMC-like groups in the past. A really good example of that 
would be the AUC in Colombia. The AUC paramilitary force, 
created ostensibly by the Colombian government, to go after 
leftists within Colombia, to include the FARC. Went off the 
rails, carried out heinous acts against civilians at the same 
time. They were designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
    So I think there is an analog where designating the PMC 
will not set a precedent for the State Department, because you 
have had organizations like it sanctioned before. Then, of 
course, Hezbollah is a foreign terrorist organization. It has 
very similar capabilities as the Wagner Group in terms of the 
scope of personnel and the backing it gets from States, 
particularly a State like Iran.
    Representative Cohen: If I can just have one more question. 
Thank you. Assuming the sanctions are supposed to be effective, 
and we put more sanctions on them, and all these kind of 
things. If the Wagner Group is effective in fighting this war, 
is Putin going to do anything to stop the Wagner Group? Can he 
just take them and make them instead--appoint Prigozhin a 
deputy, and his group becomes part of the Russian military, and 
blah, blah, blah?
    Mr. Blazakis: Yes. I think the most likely scenario is 
Prigozhin gets a little too big for his britches and stops 
himself, and results to his ultimate demise, probably at the 
hands of Putin or others within Putin's inner circle. I do 
think Prigozhin has made an effort to not only project power in 
places like Ukraine and places like the Central African 
Republic, but also is trying to make inroads internally within 
Russia.
    You know, Prigozhin created a tech center in St. Petersburg 
because of the brain drain from Moscow in terms of skills that 
the country's losing, because people just do not want to get up 
and fight for Putin. In that sense, I think Prigozhin is trying 
to gain a bigger foothold within Russia, to have a domestic 
presence. I think that tech sector he is created is actually 
one way to do that. So I do see him trying to become perhaps 
more involved in domestic politics as well.
    Representative Cohen: I yield back the remainder of my 
time.
    Chairman Wilson: Hear, hear. Hey, I wanted to--absolutely. 
But I want to thank Congressman Cohen. Now you will see why my 
wife Roxanne thinks he is a superstar. So I am really grateful 
for this.
    As we conclude, I want to thank the Helsinki Commission 
staff and Demitra Pappas has just been instrumental in 
providing extraordinary documentation as we have prepared 
today. But again, it is such an honor to have such 
distinguished individuals here as witnesses, and the 
credibility you have. But, again, to show the American people 
the bipartisan--so strongly in favor of victory for the people 
of Ukraine.
    With that, I would also, as we adjourn, I would like for 
the three of us to join you back there for a picture. So please 
stay seated because it is just an honor to have you here. With 
this, and the Representatives from the Ukrainian Embassy, gosh, 
the Ukrainian Americans who are here, as we face just 
incredible situations I am just so hopeful for the people of 
Ukraine, people of United States, which is vital to our 
national security. With that, we are adjourned. [Sounds gavel.]
    [Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the hearing ended.]

?

      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
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                 Additional Submissions for the Record

=======================================================================


                  Additional Submission for the Record

 OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BEN CARDIN, CO-CHAIRMAN, U.S. HOUSE 
                         FROM MARYLAND

    Senator Cardin: Thank you, Chairman Wilson, for convening 
this hearing of the Helsinki Commission to examine how Congress 
and the United States government can bring its most powerful 
tools to bare against one of the most dangerous entities 
currently in the international system, the Russian mercenary 
network that goes by the name Wagner Group.
    Mr. Chairman, Putin unprovoked and illegal war against 
Ukraine has been made deadly because of the Wagner Group. As 
the Commission will hear from today's witnesses, these 
mercenaries have been credibly linked to countless atrocities 
in Ukraine and across the African continent, as well as other 
places including Syria.
    I credited the administration with sanctioning Wagner and 
its leadership on several occasions, including on January 26, 
when the U.S. Department of the Treasuary Sanctioned Wagner as 
a Transnational Criminal Organization.
    However, I and many of my colleagues believe we can and 
must go further and designate the Wagner Group a Foreign 
Terrorist Organization.
    First, let's be clear: Wagner is not simply some criminal 
organization that is in it for the money; yes, some people are 
getting rich, and certainly, criminal acts are taking place. 
But this is not a drug cartel or mafia group. Wagner, as the 
Administration has on numerous occasions asserted, operates in 
the service of Kremlin interests. The atrocities and terrorism 
are intrinsic to Wagner's operations in order to produce a 
political effect.
    Secondly, designating Wagner as a Foreign Terrorist 
Organization would unlock additional tools and authorities that 
I believe would have a significant negative effect on Wagner's 
ability to rape and pillage in the service of Kremlin 
interests. Not only would it make material support to the group 
subject to U.S. criminal jurisdiction; it would also limit 
Wagner's recruitment, and deter others from working with or 
employing Wagner now and in the future. It would also send a 
strong message that we will not tolerate Wagner-type groups as 
an accepted actor in the international system; in short--no one 
should think that emulating Wagner is a good idea.
    Mr. Chairman, it is for these reasons that I have been 
proud to co-sponsor, with a strong bipartisan group of Senate 
colleagues\1\ led by Senator Wicker, the Holding Accountable 
Russian Mercenaries Act--also known as the HARM Act. This 
legislation would direct the Secretary of State to designate 
Wagner Group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. I am also 
grateful to our colleagues in the House of Representatives, led 
by Congressman Cohen and a number of our fellow Helsinki 
Commissioners, who have introduce the HARM Act in their 
chamber. I thank the witnesses present at today's hearing for 
their important views on the merits of this legislation and the 
effects it is likely to have.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ [U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., 
Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., 
and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Mr. Chairman, there is a strong and growing bipartisan and 
international consensus that Wagner Group's uniquely destrutive 
and terroristc actions merit the use of our strongest tools in 
response. I urge my colleagues, and the Administration, to join 
us on the right side of history in designating Wagner Group an 
Foreign Terrorist Organizations as soon as possible.
    Senator Wicker: Chairman Wilson, thank you for bringing the 
Commission together to discuss what we should do about one of 
Putin's most deadly and vicious tools--the Wagner Group.
     These Kremlin-directed mercenaries have in recent months 
made international headlines for their exceptional barbarism 
and brutality as lead elements of Putin's forces in Ukraine, 
where they have committed countless atrocities of the most vile 
sort.
    However, the people of countries such as Syria, the Central 
African Republic, or Mali know all too well that the Wagner 
Group is no new and emerging actor. In fact, for years this 
shadow army of thugs has expanded its reach throughout the 
Middle East and Africa, raping and pillaging at every stop. It 
has managed to corrupt the political systems in which it 
operates, securing rights to extract mineral resources that 
fund Wagner Group operations elsewhere, including in Ukraine.
    Mr. Chairman, the United States should call this shadow 
army what it is: a foreign terrorist organization. We must hold 
the Wagner Group and any who support these terrorists 
accountable for the atrocities they have committed across the 
globe.
    Its no secret to anyone in this room that since Putin 
launched his lawless and brutal invasion on Ukraine just more 
than a year ago, Congress has been out in front of the 
Administration every step of the way in ensuring the strongest 
possible support for the brave Ukrainian people as they fight 
for their freedom and independence--a fight that has direct 
implications for the national security of the United States. 
Eventually the Administration has, for the most part, come 
around to positions that were already largely in the 
Congressional mainstream.
    That is why it is so important once again for Congress to 
lead the way, and why I am so proud to have introduced, with a 
strong bipartisan group of Senate colleague1, the Holding 
Accountable Russian Mercenaries Act--also known as the HARM 
Act.
    This legislation is both morally clear--Wagner Group 
clearly meeets whatever standards you might want to measure it 
against as a terrorist group--and has a demonstrable impact, as 
it will hurt Wagner's operations immediately and definitively.
      
           

                                 [all]