Annan Docs Handed Over to Congress
FOX NEWS
Thursday, May 05, 2005
NEW YORK — Documents involving actions taken by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (search) in the Oil-for-Food investigation were handed over to Congress on Wednesday night, FOX News has learned.
The documents were given to federal lawmakers by Robert Parton (search), a former senior investigator on the Independent Inquiry Committee (search) probing the $64 billion program.
Parton and Miranda Duncan (search), who both resigned from the panel last month in protest, have accused the IIC of downplaying Annan's role in the Oil-for-Food corruption scandal in an interim report released by the panel last March.
The documents were handed over after Parton was issued a subpoena by the House International Relations Committee on Friday night.
"I have directed investigators for the Committee to begin an immediate and careful examination of documents received from Mr. Parton," Rep. Henry Hyde (search), the committee's chairman, said in a statement. "I wish to extend to Mr. Parton my thanks for fully complying with the committee's subpoena. It is my hope and expectation that neither the United Nations nor the independent inquiry will attempt to sanction Mr. Parton for complying with a lawful subpoena."
Because the review of the subpoenaed materials is currently underway, the Illinois Republican declined to characterize their contents.
Hyde's committee has conducted seven oversight hearings since April of 2004 and issued several subpoenas to various U.N. contractors associated with the Oil-for-Food program. Hyde added that he plans to unveil wide-ranging U.N. reform legislation later this spring.
After the subpoena was issued Friday night, Parton's attorney wrote to the United Nations and to IIC head Paul Volcker (search) asking if they would instruct Parton to defy a Congressional subpoena.
When both the United Nations and the Volcker committee refused to answer, Parton took action and, on Wednesday night, handed over the boxes of documents to a congressional committee.
Those boxes contain records of Parton's investigation of Annan's actions and are believed to be damaging to the secretary-general.
Sen. Norm Coleman (search), R-Minn., chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, earlier was preparing subpoenas to force Parton and Duncan to testify. It was expected that those subpoenas could be issued as early as Thursday.
Congress has been trying to talk to Parton ever since his resignation two weeks ago. Last week, Volcker tried to block such efforts by insisting that Parton and Duncan, both Americans, had diplomatic immunity.
In a letter sent to Volcker on Tuesday, Rep. Chris Shays (search), R-Conn., chairman of a House Government Reform subcommittee, warned, "Any resort to reflexive secrecy or legalism undermines the independence and transparency the IIC was meant to bring to the examination" of the U.N. program.
Shays continued to say that if Parton and Duncan were not permitted to speak to Congress, the panel risked tarnishing its appearance of independence from the United Nations.
"I encourage you to find a way to make the former investigators available to Congress," Shays wrote.
Click here to read the letter.
IIC spokesman Mike Holtzman on Wednesday said, in response to calls for Parton and Duncan to testify: "We need to keep our eye on the ball and can't be sidetracked by allowing our investigators to be hauled in front of this or any other legislature. The immunities we enjoy are the same as the U.S. Congress. They're there for a reason: to allow us to do our job unimpeded. They are not cloaks and veils."
Last week, a spokesman for Volcker denied he was invoking diplomatic immunity (search) to protect the panel or the United Nations, saying the calls to the committees were made out of "courtesy."
But, the spokesman added, "To subpoena investigators would harm the integrity of the investigation."
Parton's lawyer, Lanny Davis, spoke on his client's behalf.
"Mr. Parton respects the congressional committees and their work," Davis said. "He hopes that Mr. Volcker, the U.N. and the Congress can work this out."
Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, was appointed last year by Annan to head up the investigative panel into the Oil-for-Food program. So far, Volcker's panel has released two interim reports that say the program suffered from mismanagement and raise questions about the role of Annan's son, Kojo Annan (search). A final report is expected to be released this summer.
After the release of the second report, Parton and Duncan resigned as investigators, objecting to the committee's handling of Annan's dealings with Swiss company Cotecna (search), which was contracted under the program and that once employed Kojo Annan.
"Contrary to recent published reports, I resigned my position as senior investigative counsel for the IIC not because my work was complete but on principle," Parton told The Associated Press in a statement.
Congressional sources told FOX News last week that they believe Volcker is terrified of the damage the investigators' testimony could do to his credibility. U.N. experts said the showdown between Volcker and Congress would be critical.
"It's also being pointed out that if Mr. Volcker is asserting that his team has U.N. diplomatic immunity, then he is admitting that his committee is not in fact independent but a part of the very organization it is supposed to be objectively investigating," said Nile Gardiner of the Heritage Foundation.
Gardiner said it is vital for Parton and Duncan to be heard.
"It's absolutely essential that these two individuals be allowed to testify before Congress to give the full picture. After all, this is a $30 million investigation being funded by the Iraqi people. They demand absolute accountability from this inquiry," Gardiner said. |
