Azernews.Az

By Mushfiq Alasgarli

The trial of Robert Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is scheduled for May 2024. In fact, preliminary investigations about him were started in July 2022. An official charge was announced in October 2023. The reason for extending the investigation for 2 years is the discovery of new details. When the process just started, the prosecutor's office suspected Robert Menendez of entering into a corrupt relationship with 3 businessmen from New Jersey. The indictment stated that the senator and his wife received cash, gold bars, luxury cars, and other valuables as bribes. In return, they put pressure on the employees of the US Ministry of Agriculture and mediated illegal decisions.

In January 2024, new facts emerged. The Menendez family is now accused of "lobbying" for foreign groups in exchange for precious stones.

In fact, the facts about his cooperation with "foreign groups" are not new. Robert Menendez, who is known for his pro-Armenian and Turkophobic stance, came to the media's agenda in 2022 with the accusation of accepting bribes from the Armenian lobby. But that information was blocked because it did not seem to be in line with the general political course of the United States. Robert took advantage of this option and got out of the situation. Now the situation has changed. Facts were found that Menendez entered into cooperation with groups that do not meet the interest of the United States. It is due to this factor that he was taken to court.

The investigation process is closely monitored by international media organizations. Because Menendez's role spans foreign policy, information about his investigation goes beyond US borders. It is clear that the decisions made by those responsible for foreign policy issues in Congress affect the world. Every time they make statements, they have a global resonance. These statements deal a devastating blow to the image of some countries. Or they exalt the countries they want. Now it turns out that US parliamentarians have done the job of criticizing or praising a country in return for a bribe. Here poses questions: From whom did they receive bribes, for whom did they "lobby"?

Media organizations are investigating, asking questions, trying to find clues about "other names on the list". They want to know which countries and peoples' fates have been darkened by taking bribes in the name of "lobbying" by the persons responsible for foreign policy issues in the US Congress; What kind of useless country did they show the world as an example? Internet search engines show that media organizations known in global public opinion have circulated 226 articles on this topic. Most of them are also full of questions. And the US investigative agencies skillfully hide the facts that are of interest to the media.

In fact, there are media organizations that have the opportunity to obtain and publicize the details kept closed on this topic. For example, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (or Azadlig Radio in Azerbaijani) is closer to the source of information. Because the founder and source of funding is connected to the US Congress. He is in close contact with Congress. That is, it is one step away from those who gather in the Senate and Congress, make decisions, and "lobby". If he is interested, he can write about this topic every day. Finds hidden information and makes it public. Thus, it can prevent Congress from making new wrong decisions. But he did not write. It is a miserable fact: if you pay attention to the website of RFE/RL or simply "Radio Liberty", it becomes clear that it has not published even a single article about the indictment of Robert Menendez.

Which should have written more on this subject than anyone else. In the section "Our mission" on the website of RFE/RL, it is stated that "Radio employees provide uncensored news and open debates that the public cannot get from other media." It is added that "Radio Liberty", despite any possible influences and obstacles, tries to apply the highest standards of objective journalism, conveys the facts as they are." However, why was "objectivity" or "the principle of presenting the facts as they are" not preserved in the approach to the subject of Menendez? It is impossible to know whether it was afraid that the work of the US Congress would be overshadowed, or it was afraid that his image would be damaged? If the same fact happened in the Parliament of Azerbaijan, probably "Radio Liberty" would have published dozens of articles.

In fact, there are articles on the pages of Radio that mention Menendez. But these articles are not related to Menendez's "bribery" and "lobbying" activities. It is devoted to statements condemning Turkiye and Azerbaijan and praising Armenia. Menendez called for recognition of the "Armenian genocide", and RFE/RL broadcast it. When it came to the issue of the senator's bribe, the radio's voice was exhausted and became inaudible. In other words, contrary to what they wrote in the "our mission" section, RFE/RL behaved non-objectively and unprofessionally. It exaggerated the facts when it suited his personal interests, and tried to hide the facts that did not suit his interests.

If the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took bribes under the name of lobbying, made false statements against individual countries, including biased campaigns against Turkiye and Azerbaijan, and if RFE/RL was a mouthpiece for Menendez, it appears that it supported this work. In the information space, RFE/RL has repeated Menendez's machinations that he has done in the Congress.

It is not the only subject about Menendez that RFE/RL should have investigated in the Congress and the Senate, but it has skipped out it. Today, there is a reason why the world's mass media are closely following the US Congress. Congress does not approve a $61 billion financial package to support Ukraine. When Ukraine was pushed to war with Russia, the US President approved the lend-lease program to speed up the supply of weapons and other aid. Uninterrupted and unlimited aid to Ukraine was promised. They can give any reason, but the fact is that today aid has been cut off and Ukraine is in a desperate situation. Statistical agencies note that as a result of this war, the number of civilian and military casualties of Ukraine has exceeded 500,000 people. Recently, the number of losses has intensified. Because Ukraine believed in the promises of the United States, was deceived and left helpless.

RFE/RL can interrogate members of Congress and criticize Ukraine for deceiving them. At the very least, it can quote from speeches by President Joe Biden. Biden calls the de facto leader of Republicans in Congress, Donald Trump, who blocked the aid package for Ukraine, "crazy". Trump also calls Biden "sick". The conflict between "Sick" and "crazy" ends the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine. RFE/RL ignores all these topics. Which is an organ of Congress. It should write more than anyone else. Why doesn't it write? There is no idea about it. The fact is that RFE/RL does not fulfill its "mission". It does not behave objectively, contrary to its ritual. It lies and hides the facts. It turns out that the nations of the world are in the hands of a "Sick", a "Crazy" men and a "Liar" who is a tool in their hands.

RFE/RL does not cover the problems in the US and Congress. But what does it write about? If you look at the website of the Azerbaijani editorial office of the radio, it can be seen that 21 news have been posted on the main page for one day. All of them are dedicated to Azerbaijan. Most of them are articles devoted to court proceedings and prison life. The headlines presented by the radio on this topic have been specially prepared. It stirs up emotions, instills the readers with a negative tone against the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan.

If you look carefully, it can be seen that no matter how much cruelty and inhumane treatment there is in US prisons, RFE/RL added the word "Azerbaijan" in front of everyone and presented it as an incident that happened in Azerbaijan. One gets the impression that the employees of the radio do not know where the "Guantanamo" prison is located. For 21 years, the world media has been writing about the "Guantanamo" prison, about the humiliation that the United States inflicted on people in this prison (https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/abdnin-guantanamo-hapishanesi-kurulusunun-21-yilinda-yine - what caused the reactions/2785622). Barack Obama is also criticized for lying about "Guantanamo". When the president was elected, he promised to close this death camp, but in the end he broke his promise. RFE/RL quietly glosses over this fact. It does not discuss the issue of "Guantanamo", but the prisons in Azerbaijan.

All this is not without reason. USAID's pro-Armenian leader Samantha Power and pro-Armenian representative of the Congress, Robert Menendez, show the same position towards Azerbaijan and Turkiye, and RFE/RL also speaks on the same line. The slogans of "Professionalism", "Objectivity", "Impartiality" are meant to hide.

The directors of the radio were so addicted to working with the order that they forgot to avoid the bias in the editorial. On November 11, 2020, the Yerevan editorial office of RFE/RL was pelted with stones. Disgruntled people entered the editorial office and damaged the equipment, humiliated the employees with insulting expressions. Congress did not consider the exaggeration of the fact acceptable. It did not order to be protected. The editors were also silent. What measure was taken of those who attacked the editorial office? There is no information about this on the website of RFE/RL. Did they mean this when they said "objectivity" and "bias" in the radio ceremony?

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