probe

Dec. 22 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s presidential office said Monday it “respects the National Assembly’s decision” after the ruling Democratic Party backed the opposition’s call for a special prosecutor to investigate matters linked to the Unification Church.

A senior presidential official said the office has consistently supported a thorough investigation regardless of party or religion and described the move as consistent with that stance.

“The presidential office has consistently advocated for a strict investigation regardless of party or religion, so a special prosecutor aligning with that stance is only natural,” the official said, adding that the party’s shift should be seen as reflecting the presidential office’s position.

Democratic Party floor leader Kim Byung-ki said during a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly that he supports a special probe that would include politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties.

He said the People Power Party appears to believe the Democratic Party is avoiding a special investigation and urged proceeding with a special prosecutor focused on the Unification Church.

Democratic Party leader Chung Cheong-rae also said there was no reason not to accept the proposal and called for a full accounting that includes any People Power Party figures involved.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Minister says probe in response to case of ex-Reform UK lawmaker Nathan Gill, jailed for taking pro-Russia bribes.

The United Kingdom is launching an independent investigation into foreign interference in British politics, just weeks after a former Reform UK lawmaker was jailed for more than 10 years for taking bribes to make pro-Russia statements.

Steve Reed, the UK’s secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, said on Tuesday that he had ordered the probe in response to the case of Nathan Gill, a former Member of the European Parliament and ex-leader of Reform UK in Wales.

“A British politician took bribes to further the interests of the Russian regime,” Reed said in the House of Commons. “This conduct is a stain on our democracy. The independent review will work to remove that stain.”

Gill was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison on November 21.

He pleaded guilty in September to accepting thousands of euros from a pro-Russian politician in Ukraine between 2018 and 2019, and making scripted statements and television appearances at his behest.

The case had spurred widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum, with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party – which has been leading most polls – last month describing Gill’s actions as “reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable”.

On Tuesday, Conservative MP Paul Holmes welcomed the independent review into foreign interference as a necessary step.

“Protecting the integrity of our democratic system from foreign interference is not a partisan issue. It goes to the heart of public trust in our elections,” Holmes told the House.

“Interference in our elections from foreign actors is something that we must all be vigilant against.”

Reed, the housing minister, said the independent probe would be led by Philip Rycroft, former UK permanent secretary for the Department for Exiting the European Union.

“The purpose of the review is to provide an in-depth assessment of the current financial rules and safeguards and make recommendations,” said Reed, adding that Rycroft has been asked to report his findings to the government by the end of March.

The minister noted that the British government put forward a strategy “for modern and secure elections” earlier this year in a push to address foreign interference and public distrust in the electoral system, among other issues.

But Reed said on Tuesday that “events have shown that we need to consider whether our firewall is enough”.

“The independent review will look at this,” he said, including by evaluating the UK’s existing political finance laws, systems to identify and mitigate foreign interference, and safeguards against illicit funding streams.

Dec. 15 (Asia Today) — Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheong-rae, whose party holds the presidency, on Monday called for a second, wide-ranging special investigation into an alleged insurrection case, raising questions about Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae after courts rejected arrest warrants for several figures tied to the probe.

Jeong made the remarks at a party Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, as the mandate of a special prosecutor was set to end. He said the special prosecutor made progress byre-arresting former President Yoon Suk-yeol and referring 24 people to trial, but argued the investigation was constrained by court decisions, including warrant denials.

Jeong said the rejection of warrants for figures such as Choo Kyung-ho was “difficult to accept,” and claimed it fueled suspicions that the judiciary was blocking steps that could lead to broader legal consequences for the People Power Party. He also said the circumstances raised questions about whether Chief Justice Cho may have been involved, citing a meeting on Dec. 3, the day martial law was declared.

Jeong said the Democratic Party would work with the government and presidential office to push for what he called a “second comprehensive special investigation,” and urged a tougher approach without leniency. He said a follow-up probe should also examine allegations involving first lady Kim Keon-hee and issues the current special prosecutor did not fully resolve.

He additionally questioned court case assignment procedures, citing media reports that the treason-related trial was assigned through unusual in-person discussions rather than random distribution. He said the party would pursue legislation to create a specialized court for sedition-related cases.

Jeong also criticized the People Power Party’s use of filibusters, including on bills he said were bipartisan or originally proposed by the party, and said the Democratic Party would seek revisions to parliamentary rules governing the tactic. He offered condolences to victims of a collapse at a construction site at the Gwangju Central Library and called fora thorough investigation.

– Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

WASHINGTON — The founder of a Republican environmental organization was charged Wednesday with tax evasion and obstruction of justice as part of the continuing federal criminal investigation into lobbying practices in the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal.

Italia Federici, president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, allegedly failed to pay more than $77,000 in federal income taxes from 2001 to 2003. She was also cited for making “false and fictitious” statements before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in 2005, which was investigating Abramoff’s representation of Native American tribes.

The Justice Department declined to discuss the matter further; a hearing on the case has been set for Friday.

Federici’s lawyers said Wednesday that she would plead guilty to both charges. Federici “regrets her failure … to pay her individual income taxes” and “regrets her past trust and confidence in Jack Abramoff,” said a statement by Jonathan N. Rosen and Noam B. Fischman.

Federal investigators have alleged that Federici acted as Abramoff’s liaison to the Interior Department in helping tribes get meetings with top officials in return for high fees charged by the lobbyist. He is now serving a nearly six-year prison term.

According to the charges filed Wednesday, Federici founded the environmental council in 1997 in Colorado with the help of Gale A. Norton, who later became secretary of the Interior under President Bush.

The charges said that much of the seed money for the group came from an inheritance that Federici received and that over the years she often paid herself back by directly withdrawing funds from the group’s bank account “through ATM and teller transactions.”

From 2001 through 2003, the charges state, she received a taxable income of $233,955, and failed to pay the $77,243 in taxes she owed.

The second charge dealt with her interview by Senate Indian Affairs Committee investigators in October 2005 and her testimony before the panel a month later. The committee was investigating the relationships among Federici, Abramoff and J. Steven Griles, then the Interior Department’s deputy secretary.

Griles was convicted in March of lying in the Abramoff investigation. He acknowledged in a plea agreement that he had falsely told the committee Abramoff had no special access to his office. He also admitted failing to fully disclose his romantic involvement with Federici and said that it was she who introduced him to Abramoff. Federici was identified only as “Person A” in court documents in that case. Griles faces five years in prison.

In her testimony to the Senate panel, Federici insisted she believed Abramoff’s tribal clients had donated $500,000 over three years to her organization because they were generous — not because they wanted to use her connections to help them beat competing tribes trying to win casino licenses.

When the committee’s then-chairman, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), said he saw a “clear connection” between the donations and Abramoff, she denied that there was any quid pro quo.

She also insisted that Griles was not pushed to deny licenses to competing tribes. “I never asked Steve to put the kibosh on anything,” she testified.

Federici also testified in support of Abramoff. “I had no reason

Some Senate committee members suggested they did not believe her.

“I come from a really small town,” Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) told her. “But I think I can spot a pretty big lie from time to time.”

—

richard.serrano@latimes.com