Shortly after the Nov. 8 elections, I wrote a column suggesting that Armenian-Americans make every effort to contact President-elect Trump or his aides before the January 20 Presidential inauguration, after which it would be much more difficult to have access to the President.

I am happy to report that one such successful connection was made last month by the joint efforts of Armenia’s Ambassador to Washington, Grigor Hovhannissian, and President of Prime Health Care, Mike Sarian of Glendale, California, who has extensive contacts with high-ranking Republicans.

As a result, Vice President-elect Mike Pence called Pres. Serzh Sargsyan on December 1 to thank him for his earlier congratulatory letter to Pres.-elect Trump. According to the Armenian President’s website, Pence and Sargsyan stressed the importance of expanding political and economic relations between Armenia and the United States. “Pres. Sargsyan and Vice President-elect Mike Pence discussed also issues of mutual interest, including regional problems and challenges.”

The Armenian President’s website drew special attention to the fact that the Pence-Sargsyan “phone call was initiated by the American side.” In contrast, Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev and Turkey’s President Erdogan were the ones calling Pres.-elect Trump on Nov. 9 and 17 respectively, making Vice Pres.-elect Pence’s call to Sargsyan politically more valuable! Trump may have asked Pence to make the call to Sargsyan due to his familiarity with Armenian issues during his 10-year tenure in the House of Representatives. As a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Cong. Pence voted for a Congressional Resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide in 2005, but voted against similar resolutions in 2007 and 2010, expressing concern for the possible fallout on US-Turkey relations.

Erdogan’s and Aliyev’s other disadvantage was that their phone calls to Trump were most probably arranged through hired multi-million dollar public relations and lobbying firms in Washington, whereas Armenia did not have to spend a penny for the Pence-Sargsyan phone conversation. This successful access to the newly-elected Trump Administration confirms the importance of getting involved in American political life, so that when the need arises, such arrangements can be made with relative ease.

Furthermore, the phone calls between Trump and leaders of several countries, including those of Taiwan, Turkey and Pakistan, came under intense scrutiny by the U.S. media. China’s leaders were upset that Trump spoke with the President of Taiwan. No U.S. President or President-elect has done so since 1979, due to the U.S. “One China” policy which recognizes Taiwan as part of the People Republic of China.

The controversy regarding Turkey involves Ivanka Trump’s participation in her father’s phone conversation with Pres. Erdogan which some view as a conflict of interest. Ivanka was closely involved with the Trump Towers project in Istanbul and Turkish business partner Mehmet Ali Yalcindag. She attended the 2012 opening celebration of Trump Towers in Istanbul. During the phone call, Trump told Pres. Erdogan that he and Ivanka admire him and Yalcindag. Trump’s lavish words were intended to relieve the irritation caused by his earlier announced plans to ban all Muslim immigrants. In response, Erdogan had demanded that Trump’s name be removed from the Istanbul Towers.

Another controversial phone call was the one Pres.-elect Trump made to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Trump was quoted as heaping lavish praise on Pakistan, its people and culture which drew a harsh response from India, an important U.S. ally and Pakistan’s archenemy. In contrast, back in 2012, Trump had tweeted: “Get it straight: Pakistan is not our friend. We’ve given them billions and billions of dollars, and what did we get? Betrayal and disrespect — and much worse. #TimeToGetTough.”

Finally, readers may recall that in my last week’s column I had commended the Armenian government for blocking Pakistan’s request for Observer status in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), due to Pakistan’s pro-Azerbaijan, pro-Turkey, anti-Armenia, and anti-Artsakh (Karabagh) policies. The Turkish media disseminated my column, although mistakenly attributing to the Armenian government my four suggestions to counter Pakistan at the UN, US Congress, Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), and support India in the Kashmir conflict with Pakistan.

Armenian-Americans should continue their efforts to cultivate good relations with the Trump Administration and Members of Congress in order to counter all anti-Armenian attempts by Azerbaijan, Turkey and their high-priced lobbying firms in Washington!

From: Justin Krebs, MoveOn.org Political Action [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 1:28 PM

Subject: Add your name: Hand recount or audit in key states

When we hold an election in this country, every vote should be counted fairly and transparently. That’s an essential principle of our democracy.

Dear MoveOn member,

When we hold an election in this country, every vote should be counted fairly and transparently. That’s an essential principle of our democracy.

Here’s what we know about the elections held two weeks ago: Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump in the popular vote by more than 2 million votes1—but the results in a few key states mean that the outcomes of the electoral vote are likely to come down to as few as 100,000 votes. That’s why Americans deserve to be fully confident that all votes in this election are counted fairly before the Electoral College meets in mid-December.

There is an opportunity right now to give us greater confidence in our elections, both this year and in the future—by asking for an audit or hand recount in close states including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Will you sign our petition asking for an audit or recount in key states?

Ask for an audit or hand recount in key states so the American public has confidence in the election results.

Sign the petition

Leading computer scientists and election security experts have urgently called on election officials to transparently verify the results that have been reported by auditing the paper ballots—the actual votes cast—in key states and precincts where only computer results have been tallied.2

To be clear: the electoral results are not likely to change. However, experts are saying we shouldn’t place all of our trust on a computer alone when the actual votes are in front of us.3

If you believe that our democracy shouldn’t rely on computer tallies alone, then sign our petition and ask for an audit or hand recount in key states.

Researchers have repeatedly exposed critical vulnerabilities in electronic voting machines, and in a year like this when the result was close and unexpected and where election hacking repeatedly made the news, we owe it to our democracy to make sure everyone can be as confident as possible in the outcome.4

This is worth repeating: Americans deserve to be confident that all votes in this election are counted fairly. Fortunately, we don’t have to trust a computer to know the true results of this election. In most counties in key states, there’s also a verifiable paper trail of votes cast. We can all be confident in the results of the election by just double checking the votes as they were cast.5

That’s why we are calling on the 2016 presidential candidates and election officials to ask for an audit or hand recount in key states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

—Justin K., Anna, Alex, Vicki, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “Clinton’s popular vote lead surpasses 2 million,” USA Today, November 23, 2016

2. “Want to Know if the Election was Hacked? Look at the Ballots,” Medium, November 23, 2016

3. Ibid.

4. “How to Hack an Election in 7 Minutes,” Politico Magazine, August 5, 2016

5. “Want to Know if the Election was Hacked? Look at the Ballots,” Medium, November 23, 2016

You’re receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you. It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online petitions. You can start your own petition here.

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An unprecedented U.S. presidential campaign came to an end with the unexpected victory of Donald Trump!

Since the November 8 elections, there has been endless speculation by self-styled Armenian analysts about the President-elect’s business ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey, wrongly concluding that he would side with Armenia’s enemies! Since Trump has made no comments on Armenian issues, no one can really know what his position is likely to be….

Beyond Trump’s sweeping campaign promises to “drain the swamp in Washington,” and “make America great again,” no one can predict what he might do on domestic or foreign policy fronts. In addition, there is no guarantee that he will stick to the positions he assumed during the campaign. In recent months, and particularly since the election, Trump has moderated his views on a number of major issues, such as banning all Muslims from entering the United States, building a wall along the Mexican border, deporting 11 million illegal aliens, and repealing Obamacare. As Pres. Obama explained during his Nov. 14 press conference, Trump is a pragmatist, not an ideologue with fixed opinions.

Consequently, rather than speculating about what Trump may do as President, let’s follow Hillary Clinton’s wise advice to keep “an open mind” and give Donald Trump “a chance to lead!”

Since the President-elect has not yet taken a concrete position on Armenian issues, now is the time for Armenian-Americans to ask friendly Republican members of Congress to convey the community’s vital concerns to Trump and his team. It would be much more difficult to make such contacts once the President is inaugurated in January and has given his marching orders to the new Cabinet. Meanwhile, Turkish and Azeri officials are busy establishing their own contacts with Trump’s transition team and Congress through their high powered lobbyists in Washington! Furthermore, while many heads of state, including those of Armenia and Azerbaijan, have sent congratulatory messages to the President-elect, Turkish President Erdogan personally telephoned Trump, urging closer ties between their countries!

Already there are warning signs that two of Trump’s closest aides, who may be appointed to top positions in the new administration, are rabid Turkophiles:

1) Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has repeatedly declared his admiration for Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, viewing him as a hero;

2) Retired Lt. General Michael Flynn wrote an article in The Hill last week, calling on the U.S. government “to adjust our foreign policy to recognize Turkey as a priority. We need to see the world from Turkey’s perspective.”

While Armenian-American ties with the President-elect are practically non-existent, the community has fortunately cultivated excellent relations with many reelected members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, who can adopt bills and pass resolutions on issues of importance to Armenia and Armenians.

Over 90% of the Congressional candidates endorsed by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) were elected on November 8. In the House of Representatives, 117 out of the 122 candidates endorsed by ANCA won their election bids, including Congresswomen Jackie Speier and Anna Eshoo, Armenian-American Democrats from California. Regrettably, Cong. Robert Dold (Republican-Illinois), Co-Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, was not reelected; and candidate Danny Tarkanian (Republican-Nevada) lost his bid for the House.

In the U.S. Senate, 7 of the 11 candidates endorsed by ANCA won their election bids on Nov. 8. Armenian Caucus member Cong. Chris Van Hollen (Democrat-Maryland) was elected to the Senate after defeating Turkish Caucus member Cong. Donna Edwards in the Maryland Primary. Unfortunately, Sen. Mark Kirk (Republican-Illinois), a staunch supporter of Armenian issues, was not reelected.

Significantly, while 11 members of the Congressional Armenian Caucus did not return to the House due to failure to win, retirement, resignation or seeking other office, the Turkish Caucus suffered a greater loss, with 19 of its members not returning to the House, including Co-Chair Ed Whitfield (Republican-Kentucky) who resigned earlier this year due to an ethics probe.

The substantial electoral success, enjoyed by Congressional friends of the Armenian community, bodes well for the pursuit of Armenian issues in the new Congress. Given that the Republican Party will be controlling both Houses of Congress and the White House, it is incumbent upon Republican Armenians to win over more members of the majority party, while Democrat Armenians can build on their long-established ties with the minority party. After all, the Armenian Cause, as a nonpartisan issue, should be supported by both parties!