[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E37-E38]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE ADMINISTRATION'S MIXED MESSAGE ON SUDAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 18, 2012

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I submit a copy of a letter I received from 
the assistant secretary for legislative affairs at the State Department 
in response to a December 13, 2011, letter to President Obama 
expressing my disbelief that the administration had granted the 
necessary waiver for the genocidal government of Sudan to obtain legal 
representation from Mr. Bart Fisher, a lawyer in Washington. I also 
submit the December 13 letter to the president.
  I have written various administration officials at the State 
Department, Treasury and the White House since I learned of this 
indefensible development. Every response I have received to date 
attempts, unsuccessfully, to put my mind at ease by assuring me that 
the U.S. government has a ``firm policy of denying authorization to 
U.S. persons who seek to lobby or provide public relations services on 
behalf of the Government of Sudan for the lifting of sanctions or for 
any other purposes.'' However, the administration argues that ``Our 
system allows even the worse actors to receive legal advice on how to 
comply with our laws and to challenge sanction enforcement actions in 
court.''
  I don't agree with their analysis. But even if I did, the 
restrictions on representation that the administration claims to have 
in place are inconsistent with what Mr. Fisher is actually being 
permitted to do. Mr. Fisher wrote me a letter claiming, ``Although the 
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has granted my law office a 
license, that license does not authorize any lobbying activities, and 
my office will engage in none. We will respond (emphasis added), 
however, to requests, for information from Members of Congress or the 
Obama Administration.''
  As I pointed out in a December 15, 2011 letter to Treasury Secretary 
Geithner, I never requested information from Mr. Fisher. And yet, in 
the letter to my office, he tries to convince me, as a member of 
Congress, not anyone involved in court proceedings with the Government 
of Sudan, that the current sanctions regime should be altered. How can 
this not be understood to be lobbying?
  Meanwhile, on Monday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) 
Susan Rice sent a strongly worded letter to the president of the UN 
Security Council about the tragedy presently unfolding in Sudan--
specifically in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. Rice wrote, ``It is 
clear that the Government of Sudan has instituted a deliberate policy 
to prevent humanitarian agencies from reaching vulnerable civilians 
impacted by the conflict. She said that the people of these regions 
have been pushed to the ``brink of a major humanitarian crisis.'' She 
warned of ``famine conditions'' and concluded, ``A humanitarian 
disaster of this magnitude is unacceptable in any circumstance. It is 
particularly shameful when the path to averting large-scale loss of 
innocent lives is so clear. Mr. President, this crisis can be addressed 
by the Government of Sudan, if it were to allow the United Nations and 
other relied organizations immediate and unimpeded access to vulnerable 
civilians across Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile.''
  I would argue that that is not the only thing that is shameful. This 
administration is splitting hairs. It is blind to its own 
inconsistency. I agree wholeheartedly with Ambassador Rice's analysis. 
And yet, the administration, in the face of past crimes against 
humanity and genocide and present actions which jeopardize the lives of 
thousands of people, has given the Government of Sudan the privilege a 
legal representation in our nation's capital--representation which 
constitutes lobbying.
  The administration must reverse course and revoke Mr. Fisher's 
license lest Secretary Clinton, Secretary Geithner and President Obama 
be complicit in aiding a genocidal government.

                                     U.S. Department of State,

                                 Washington, DC, January 12, 2012.
     Hon. Frank R. Wolf,
     House of Representatives.
       Dear Mr. Wolf: Thank you for your letter of December 13, 
     2011, to President Obama and your subsequent call to 
     Secretary Clinton concerning reports that the Government of 
     Sudan has attempted to retain a lobbyist to represent its 
     interests in the United States. While we cannot comment on 
     specific cases, the United States government has a firm 
     policy of denying authorization to U.S. persons who seek to 
     lobby or provide public relations services on behalf of the 
     Government of Sudan for the lifting of sanctions or for any 
     other purpose. There are no current Office of Foreign Assets 
     Control (OFAC) licenses allowing U.S. persons to lobby or 
     provide public relations services on behalf of the Government 
     of Sudan.
       We also recognize the importance of due process and 
     opportunity for redress under the Sudan sanctions regime. Our 
     system allows even the worst actors to receive legal advice 
     on how to comply with our laws and to challenge sanction 
     enforcement actions in court. However, such legal services do 
     not include lobbying activities. There are investigation and 
     enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with 
     U.S. sanctions, which include the possibility of civil and 
     criminal penalties for violations of sanctions regulations.
       We hope this information is helpful in addressing your 
     concerns. Please feel free to contact us further on this or 
     any matter of concern to you.
           Sincerely,
                                                   David S. Adams,
     Assistant Secretary, Legislative Affairs.
                                  ____



                                     House of Representatives,

                                                December 13, 2011.
     Hon. Barack H. Obama,
     The President,
     The White House, Washington DC.
       Dear Mr. President: I was appalled to learn yesterday that 
     the genocidal government of Khartoum has hired a firm to 
     represent it in Washington for the express purpose of trying 
     ``to lift American sanctions against it,'' according to a 
     piece which ran in Africa Intelligence, on December 10. This 
     is an outrage.
       The publication reported that the Law Office of Bart S. 
     Fisher would be paid $20,000 a month plus expenses to 
     represent this government which literally has blood on its

[[Page E38]]

     hands. I have enclosed the article for your reference along 
     with Mr. Fisher's documentation from the Foreign Agent 
     Registration Unit which I accessed on the Department of 
     Justice (DOJ) Web site.
       I write today seeking immediate clarification on what 
     appears to be an indefensible situation. According to this 
     news report and information available on DOJ's Web site, Mr. 
     Fisher is providing legal counsel to the government of Sudan 
     and intends to make ``representations (including petitions) . 
     . . to U.S. government agencies regarding sanctions against 
     the Republic of the Sudan.'' Was he granted a license from 
     the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the Treasury 
     Department to do so? If not, is his representation in 
     violation of the law? If so, why would the administration 
     allow this to move forward?
       Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, is an 
     internationally indicted war criminal. He is accused by the 
     International Criminal Court of five counts of crimes against 
     humanity (murder, rape, torture, extermination, and forceful 
     transfer of civilian population) and two counts of war crimes 
     (for directing attacks against the civilian population and 
     pillaging). In June 2004 I led the first congressional 
     delegation with Senator Sam Brownback to Darfur, soon after 
     the world began hearing about the atrocities being committed 
     against the people of that region. I witnessed the unfolding 
     nightmare with my own eyes. I saw the scorched villages and 
     teeming camps of displaced people. I heard the stories of 
     murder and rape.
       But Bashir's assault on his own people is not simply a 
     thing of the past. My office has received regular reliable 
     reports from individuals on the ground in the Blue Nile and 
     Southern Kordofan states of aerial bombardments, 
     extrajudicial killings, illegal detention, disappearances, 
     and indiscriminate attacks against civilians.
       Furthermore, evidence gathered through satellite imagery by 
     the Satellite Sentinel Project have found at least eight mass 
     graves in and around Kadugli, the capital of Southern 
     Kordofan.
       Thousands have fled the violence. More than 20,000 are 
     living in Yida refugee camp just over the border in South 
     Sudan. But it turns out they aren't safe there either. Yida 
     was hit by air strikes in November. A November 16 APP story 
     reported that, ``. . . an Antonov aircraft flew in from the 
     north and dropped five bombs in and around Yida.'' This 
     cross-border assault by the government of Sudan has put 
     humanitarian assistance to this vulnerable population in 
     jeopardy. Bear in mind that it appears that this aerial 
     assault on innocent civilians happened just days after the 
     Mr. Fisher signed a contract with the government of Sudan.
       Mr. Fisher's client has a notorious history of brutalizing 
     its own people. No amount of ``representation'' can erase the 
     images seared into the minds of many of charred bodies, 
     brutalized women and mass graves.
       I look forward to a prompt and detailed response from the 
     administration about this important matter.
       Best wishes.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________