There’s fallout from the July 27 Houston Chronicle exposé of a trip to Azerbaijan by 10 member of the House that violated House rules. The trip was ostensibly sponsored by nonprofit groups but was actually funded by oil companies BP, Conoco Phillips and SOCAR, the national oil company of Azerbaijan. According to the New York Post today:
Rep. Gregory Meeks pushed to let an Iran-backed natural-gas project dodge US sanctions — after attending an illicit junket paid for by energy companies.
Also from the Post:
“Congressman Meeks went on a 2013 Congressional trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, subsidized in part by corporate interests which lobby Congress — a violation of House rules. Shortly after he returned, Meeks sponsored a resolution wanted by those same corporations,” said Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, a watchdog group.
Rep. Yvette Clarke, another New York member of Congress, was on the trip. She’s on the Ethics Committee.
Related:
Azerbaijan Trip by House Members Broke Rules
Ethics Committee Nails Rangel on NLPC-Exposed Caribbean Junket
Watchdog Files FEC Complaint Against Rep. Meeks for Stanford Fundraiser
Rangel Junket Figure Karl Rodney Sentenced Today