Waxman probes potential embassy cover-up

[maddezmom]

Source: The Hill

Posted: 06/23/08 11:22 AM
A House panel is seeking answers from the State Department on whether U.S. embassy officials in Albania were involved in helping an indicted weapons dealer conceal the Chinese origin of ammunition sent to Afghanistan.


“The Oversight Committee has received information that the U.S. ambassador to Albania held a late-night meeting with the Albanian Defense Minister at which the ambassador approved removing evidence of the illegal Chinese origins of ammunition being shipped from Albania to Afghanistan by a U.S. contractor,” committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said in a letter sent Monday to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In an interview with staff of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, an embassy official said the ambassador met with the Albanian defense minister to discuss the issue after The New York Times asked to visit a site at which the ammunitions were repackaged to conceal their origin.

At the time, the Albanian official decided to remove all incriminating evidence from the repackaging site, according to Maj. Larry Harrison, the embassy staffer who discussed the issue with the committee. The U.S. ambassador to Albania “agreed that this would alleviate the suspicion of wrongdoing,” Harrison told the panel.




Read more: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/waxman-probes-potential-embassy-cover-up-2008-06-23.html

[Phred42]

1. So? Will anything come of it? - no

[maddezmom]

2. House Democrat accuses US ambassador of evidence tampering

WASHINGTON - The U.S. ambassador to Albania allegedly approved removing evidence of the illegal Chinese origins of ammunition being shipped from Albania to Afghanistan by a U.S. defense contractor, a senior House Democrat said Monday.


In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said the State Department then attempted to conceal that information from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which he chairs.

Waxman's allegation comes three days after the contractor's president, a 22-year-old Miami Beach man named Efraim Diveroli, and three others were charged in federal court with providing the prohibited ammunition to be used by Afghan army and police forces. Diveroli's company, AEY Inc., was paid more than $10 million through a U.S. government contract for 35 shipments of ammunition that prosecutors say was manufactured in China.

Prosecutors contend AEY Inc. removed markings from containers to hide the fact they were manufactured in China. Diveroli certified that the ammunition was manufactured in Albania and submitted an invoice for it, they said.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_go_co/illegal_ammo_ambassador;_ylt=Aq4A_w82TI0K0iZRPw_GtaU8KbIF

[maddezmom]

3. US envoy in Chinese-made ammunition cover-up: report

US envoy in Chinese-made ammunition cover-up: report
7 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US ambassador helped conceal illegal Chinese origins of ammunition that a Pentagon contractor bought to supply Afghan security forces, Congressional investigators have learned, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

"A military attache has told the investigators the (US) ambassador to Albania endorsed a plan by the Albanian defense minister to hide several boxes of Chinese ammunition from a visiting (Times) reporter. The ammunition was being repackaged to disguise its origins and shipped from Albania to Afghanistan by a Miami Beach arms-dealing company," the report said.

According to the Times, Ambassador John Withers "met with the defense minister, Fatmir Mediu, hours before a reporter for The New York Times was to visit the American contractor's operations in Tirana, the Albanian capital."

According to the Times, the US company, working under an Army contract, bought the ammunition to supply Afghan security forces despite the fact that US law prohibits trading in Chinese arms.

The report named Major Larry D. Harrison II of the Army as the attache.

more:http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoMnirSSaduvTCzmd_1ZcHziO35Q

[maddezmom]

4. State opens probe of US ambassador in Albania

State opens probe of US ambassador in Albania
The State Department's top investigator will examine allegations that the senior U.S. diplomat in Albania aided in a cover-up of the illegal source of ammunition a U.S. military contractor shipped to Afghanistan's security forces.

WASHINGTON —
The State Department's top investigator will examine allegations that the senior U.S. diplomat in Albania aided in a cover-up of the illegal source of ammunition a U.S. military contractor shipped to Afghanistan's security forces.

Tom Casey, a department spokesman, said Tuesday that the agency's inspector general has been asked "to go and look at these charges and conduct a thorough, fair and transparent investigation of these allegations."

Henry Waxman of California, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Monday that John L. Withers II - the U.S. ambassador to Albania - approved a plan to remove evidence that ammunition being supplied by AEY Inc. was made in China between 1962 and 1974. AEY bought the bullets in Albania before transporting them to Afghanistan even though U.S. law bars the purchase of Chinese-made ammunition.

The State Department then attempted to conceal Withers' role from the committee, Waxman charged.

more:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008014707_apstatealbaniaprobe.html?syndication=rss