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Alleged Iranian 'Front' Represented by Mukasey Law Firm
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ShareSeptember 25, 2007 3:12 PM
For more than 25 years, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement authorities say they have suspected the New York-based Alavi Foundation is a "front" for Iranian espionage and anti-American activities.
For more than 25 years, court records show the foundation has been publicly defended and represented by the New York law firm where attorney-general nominee Michael Mukasey is a partner: Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP.
The foundation says the firm continues to represent it.
Mukasey personally handled at least one matter in court for the foundation.
That case, a real estate dispute, began in 1981 when reports first surfaced that the foundation, originally set up by the Shah, had been taken over by the new Ayatollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mukasey took it to trial in 1984.
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The firm insists the foundation has no link to Iran's government.
"I think we've had a relationship that goes back 20 or so odd years with this foundation. This foundation has made all appropriate filings...since we've represented the foundation," said John Winter, a partner at Patterson Belknap. "The foundation is transparent...in accordance with the law. It is not an alter ego or a front for the Iranian government nor is it controlled by the government of Iran."
The case handled by Mukasey was settled in 1984, two years after the foundation was described in the New York Times as being controlled by the government of Iran.
More recently, the Alavi Foundation was described four years ago by New York Police Department intelligence chief David Cohen, a former CIA official, as "totally controlled by the government of Iran."
"The Alavi Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization ostensibly run by an independent board of directors but totally controlled by the government of Iran," Cohen said in the affidavit, filed in connection with a request by the police department to expand surveillance powers. "The foundation funds a variety of anti-American causes, including the four Islamic education centers it owns in New York, Maryland, Texas and California...Mosques funded by Alavi have organizations which support Hezbollah and Hamas."
A 2003 Washington Post story said the foundation was also suspected of obtaining "data about U.S. technology" in violation of the U.S. embargo imposed on Iran following the hostage crisis of 1979-81.
U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com that the Alavi Foundation continues to be under investigation and is closely monitored as a "front" for Iran. No criminal charges have ever been brought against the foundation.
"And as I said, five different courts have looked at the allegations," Winter said. "In several of the cases, the plaintiffs have relied on affidavits [from former intelligence or law enforcement officers]...and those allegations have never been substantiated."
The foundation controls a 36-story Fifth Avenue office building in New York.
According to its 2006 IRS filing, the foundation has more than $85 million in assets, including $6.8 million in cash. It says it distributed more than $4 million for educational and religious programs across the United States.
A person who answered the phone at the foundation said its president, Farshid Jahedi, had "no comment," and referred all calls to Patterson Belknap.
Mukasey left Patterson Belknap in 1988 to become a federal judge and rejoined the firm last year.
A White House spokesperson said, "Judge Mukasey hasn't performed any legal work for the foundation in more than 20 years. Any inference that he would be associated with anything improper is irresponsible."
The firm concurred.
"Judge Mukasey has not been involved in the representation of the foundation since that time," Winter said.
Asked if Mukasey would recuse himself as attorney general from decisions involving the investigation of the Alavi Foundation, the spokesperson said, "As Judge Mukasey's long record of personal and professional integrity would suggest, he will take the most ethically appropriate action after discussions with government counsel."
This post has been updated.
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September 25, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (36)
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NO! One of Bush's minnions is corrupt? NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I can't believe it!!!
Posted by: uvbeenhad | Sep 25, 2007 3:28:23 PM
Ok. Now it's up to the readers to find out the rest of the story on thier own. There must be more to this, or ABC News would not be reporting it. What are we not being told? There must be arrests and charges coming soon. A company operating here in the U.S. for 25 years, and they are funding anti-American groups. There must be some crime that is being committed. This company needs to be shut down for good, and we deserve the full truth.
Posted by: MItch | Sep 25, 2007 3:37:35 PM
Funny how a little news poking around turns up an interesting tidbit of news. If the MAINSCREAM news had not failed the USA so thoroughly, just think of the tidbits of news we could have enjoyed for the last 7 years of the bushbaby cheeny cabal of criminally corrupt garbage. Oh, secreted service...have I erred????
Posted by: daddy | Sep 25, 2007 3:42:25 PM
This is hilarious - the DickNBush gang just can't do ANYTHING right!!!!!!! Next, we'll probably find out that Mukasey also represents Osama.
If DickNBush want him as AG, Mukasey must be the only person in the world with lower ethics, less honesty, a lower IQ and less respect for the law than Gonzo. (Nifong, apparently, wasn't available due to other commitments - like jail.) Mukasey's links to No-Family-Values Giuliani show that he also has no principles and extremely bad judgment. All this would make him the perfect choice to assist the WORST PRESIDENT EVER in the further destruction of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the rule of law.
Posted by: ALEX H. | Sep 25, 2007 3:51:47 PM
What the H*** is really going on here? We support the Saudis who have many terrorists, we trained Iranian military, we supported Saddam at one time, but we are at war with these people? Now Bush wants to promote to our country's Attorney General a person who fronts an anti-American Iranian foundation? Does the whole concept of "war" sound fishy to anyone?
Posted by: Avatar | Sep 25, 2007 4:00:51 PM
This is SO rich. How can an administration be so incompetent? How can an anti-American entity operate from a 36-story office building in You Nork without garnering some attention? Why am I asking rhetorical questions? ........Barkeep! Another double JD.
Posted by: Scratch | Sep 25, 2007 4:19:16 PM
It's all about money!!
Communism, racism, terrorism are all tools of the powerful. Twenty-five years of data and no charges! Here's your reward for doing our bidding, a fat US government pension! Opps! We got exposed.... again?
Posted by: Fitz | Sep 25, 2007 4:21:02 PM
Big deal. Last we checked Israel has hundreds of law firms lobbying on its behalf. Lets not forget Israel has become USAs biggest liability and is constantly trying to get our country to fight the wars it can't. Just look at Iraq. Now they are lobbying to go to war with Iran.
Posted by: Ray Ray | Sep 25, 2007 4:39:41 PM
daddy, news is knowledge, and if you get your knowledge from MSM outlets like this one, you're in big trouble and headed down the road of life with blinders on...
Posted by: Jazz | Sep 25, 2007 4:40:38 PM
Let me get this straight. An organization is "suspected" of "anti-American activities" (whatever that means) by current law enforcement, but has never been charged with anything or searched. The organization has a large firm as legal counsel, and Mukaskey worked on a case for them once. And this makes him "corrupt," as one of our astute readers said?
Ross and his team are idiots. Next thing they will discover is that a former president of our country represented known criminals! Yep, that's right, Abraham Lincoln, in his early years as a country lawyer, represented criminal defendants, some of whom had been convicted of crimes previously and some of whom were convicted when he represented them. Let's tear down his memorial and carve his face off Mt. Rushmore.
Posted by: Febber | Sep 25, 2007 4:45:20 PM
That's NIXON's son in laws firm,ED COX. The firm knows what they're doing or should publicly state how ignorant they really are.
Posted by: Fred | Sep 25, 2007 4:49:20 PM
It's pretty clear that Bush and company do their homework before putting up a nominee for AG. Just goes to show how incompetent this Administration really is. Can we really trust Bush and his minions to make any good decisions? I really don't think they've made any in the last 6+ years unless you're an Oil Executive or Defense Contractor. How stupid can this Administration get? Dosen't anyone screen potential canidates before putting them up for nomination or don't they care? What a joke. History will remember this President well but he probably doesn't care how history will remember him. This is a new low....
Posted by: Concerned4usall | Sep 25, 2007 4:58:22 PM
most of the people that are associated with the republican regime are traitors and should be tried as traitors. And the dems are domestic porkers. Did we ever get rid of the electoral????
Posted by: london | Sep 25, 2007 5:08:21 PM
More evidence that Bush/Cheney are and always have been working against the best interest of the American people.
Posted by: Kevin | Sep 25, 2007 5:09:58 PM
Regardless of your politics, it's undisputed that Bush has nominated an incredible collection of real "winners."
Posted by: Rick | Sep 25, 2007 5:40:04 PM
Frankly, nothing this administration does surprises me anymore. Keep in mind, it is DickNBush...
Posted by: newzjunky | Sep 25, 2007 5:41:42 PM
Money, money, money, money, money, money.
Posted by: sue from texas | Sep 25, 2007 5:46:13 PM
Welll welll… as if this isn’t a surprise.. the dirt diggers have gotten a tid bit of information to blow of proportion and help the Bush basher’s degrade another person with HATE talk and disparage his reputation…..... so basically what the libs are saying, any lawyer who has represented somebody they don’t like, or represented somebody they THINK may have done something wrong, or represented a actual criminal, is just as guilty of that crime......... so based on the LIB view… a lot of lawyers cant work for the Government…. Including Bill Boy Clinton and Billary…I’m sure there will be more dirt to follow… this is one thing the MEDIA is really good at… tearing down people…I think the Media is right up there with Lawyers on the SCUM meter
Posted by: FidoNY | Sep 25, 2007 5:48:53 PM
Truly the world masters at playing both ends against the middle. Yes we are!
Posted by: skeptic | Sep 25, 2007 6:11:58 PM
Isn't it funny how the right wing posters on this and every other blog seem to always defend their own? Wasn't it just yesterday that they were screaming that Ahmedinejad was here and speaking to students? This is too freaking funny. Bush's AG appointee defends the same people who help kill our soldiers. Nice one. I bet if this guy was a Democrat they wouldn't be defending him. I also bet you wont hear about this on Sean Hannity's show.
Posted by: rewire1 | Sep 25, 2007 7:10:28 PM
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