|
Galloway rejects senate perjury claims
By Staff and agencies
10/25/05 "The
Guardian" -- -- A furious George Galloway today
challenged US senators to charge him with perjury over claims that
he solicited money from Saddam Hussein's oil-for-food programme and
lied about it under oath.
The US Senate inquiry into the Bethnal Green and Bow MP's alleged
involvement in the saga claims to have discovered $150,000 (£85,000)
in Iraqi oil money in his estranged wife's bank account.
Its chairman, the Republican senator Norm Coleman, says this means
Mr Galloway lied under oath when giving evidence to the senate
permanent sub-committee on investigations on May 17, when he offered
a passionate defence against similar claims.
Today Mr Galloway repeated denials that he had ever received any oil
cash, and told Mr Coleman to "put up or shut up" by either bringing
a prosecution or dropping the allegations. The Respect MP accused Mr
Coleman of orchestrating a "sneak revenge attack" motivated by a
desire to avenge his "humiliation" at the hearing in May.
"I am demanding prosecution, I am begging for prosecution," Mr
Galloway told Sky News. "I am saying if I have lied under oath in
front of the senate, that's a criminal offence. Charge me and I will
head for the airport right now and face them down in court as I
faced them down in the senate room.
"Because I publicly humiliated this lickspittle senator Norman
Coleman - one of [George] Bush's righthand men - in the US senate in
May, this sneak revenge attack has been launched over the past 24
hours."
The committee's new report accuses Mr Galloway of personally
soliciting and being granted eight oil allocations totalling 23m
barrels from the Hussein government between 1999 and 2003.
It claims his estranged wife, Dr Amineh Abu-Zayyad, received
approximately $150,000 in connection with one allocation of oil. It
also alleges that at least $446,000 was funnelled to Mr Galloway's
Mariam Appeal through several allocations.
Senator Coleman said: "I directed the sub-committee to continue its
investigation into Mr Galloway because his testimony at the May 17,
2005 hearing so clearly conflicted with the evidence. The additional
evidence ... clearly demonstrates that the testimony Mr Galloway
provided to the sub-committee was false and misleading."
In its initial report the committee accused the former Labour MP of
receiving 20m barrels of oil from Saddam Hussein's regime.
Dr Abu-Zayyad is quoted in the report specifically denying she
received any money. Asked whether she or her husband had benefited
from Iraqi oil sales, she replied to the committee in writing
yesterday: "I have never solicited or received from Iraq or anyone
else any proceeds of any oil deals, either for myself or for my
former husband."
The committee attributes its findings to personal interviews with
high-level members of the Hussein regime, anonymous oil traders with
personal knowledge of Mr Galloway's involvement and extensive bank
records.
It claims that a Jordanian businessman and friend of Mr Galloway's,
Fawaz Zureikat, channelled the money from the UN oil-for-food
programme to the MP's former wife and to the Mariam Appeal.
It also cites testimony from the former Iraqi deputy prime minister
Tariq Aziz who has been in jail since the US invasion of Iraq and
who allegedly told investigators Mr Galloway had requested oil
allocations in the name of Mr Zureikat.
The report also quotes the former Iraqi oil minister Amer Rashid as
confirming Mr Galloway was granted oil allocations.
The committee then printed alleged documents that it claimed proved
the money transfers were made. A senate aide said the information
had been turned over to the US Department of Justice, which
potentially had the power to press charges of perjury. The
information will also be given to the British authorities.
The Respect MP recently won £150,000 in libel damages after suing
the Telegraph over documents published in 2003, in which he was said
to have asked for an increased allocation from the oil-for-food
programme. The newspaper is currently appealing that ruling.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
Translate
this page
(In accordance with Title 17
U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to
those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational purposes.
Information Clearing House has no affiliation whatsoever with the
originator of this article nor is Information Clearing House
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.) |
