Violent protests break out in Georgia
Protests erupted in Georgia after the leader of the pro-Putin Dream Party halted EU accession talks over allegations of foreign interference in the country. (Credit: AP)
as 119th Congress In preparation for the January 3 inauguration, a Republican congressman is imploring the incoming Trump administration to advance American interests and target malign foreign actors.
In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson, nominee for Secretary of State, called on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and nominee for National Security Advisor, Representative Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) to “prioritize “. Use U.S. law enforcement mechanisms to detect and dismantle Georgian sanctions evasion schemes, fraudulent call centers, and other illicit Georgian Dream enterprises.
Former Georgian PM says national elections were 'rigged' and 'written in Moscow'
The message is yet to come US Sanctions were imposed on the former prime minister of Georgia and Russia, the billionaire and de facto ruler of the country, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
These operations, according to the congressman's letter, enable Ivanishvili's regime to profit from atrocities like Russian aggression in Ukraine, “instigated by Chinese, North Korean, and Iranian complicity.”
On December 27, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Ivanishvili for “undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia to the benefit of the Russian Federation.”
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) speaks during a news conference on the Ukrainian victory resolution on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, April 25, 2023. (Reuters/Julia Nickinson)
Congressman Wilson, who chairs the Helsinki Committee, calls the sanctions against Ivanishvili “an important step forward” and urges the incoming administration to expand sanctions to include Ivanishvili’s immediate family members and associates:
“This is an essential opportunity to advance our shared goals of defending democracy and countering malignant influence around the world. The aggressors’ axes will be deprived of a significant force multiplier if Georgia returns to the rule of the Georgian people,” the letter read.
Georgian Prime Minister praises the country's protest campaign despite US condemnation
Wilson's letter is a continuation of a string of public outcry among Georgia observers in the United States And Europe Following Georgian Dream's controversial victory in October's parliamentary elections, the government's subsequent decision to halt its accession to the European Union led to massive daily demonstrations across the country.
Domestic and international election observers, including a mission from the International Republican Institute (IRI), concluded that the election was “fundamentally flawed.”
Georgian Dream Party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili speaks after the announcement of the results of opinion polls in the parliamentary elections, at the Georgian Dream Party headquarters in Tbilisi, Georgia, October 26, 2024. (Reuters/Irakli Gidinidze)
“Given what the IRI mission observed and what has happened since the election, only new elections can restore the confidence of the Georgian people in the legitimacy of their government,” said Dan Twining, President of the International Republican Institute.
Despite domestic and international calls for new elections, the single-party parliament fielded the nomination of the only presidential candidate, former footballer and hard-line critic of the West, Mikheil Kavelashvili, on December 29 at an inauguration ceremony, appearing to be missing dignitaries and foreign guests.
Georgian Dream officials have repeatedly downplayed the possibility of US sanctions. Minutes after the Treasury's announcement, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze claimed that “in fact, nothing has changed.”
Kobakhidze, as well as other party leaders, also expressed optimism about the “positive changes” after that. President Trump He will take office on January 20. However, this scenario is unlikely, according to Laura Linderman, a senior fellow at the US Foreign Policy Council.
“Given that Trump’s national security team will likely pursue a tougher stance against countries allied with China and Iran, Georgian Dream’s apparent calculation that they will receive better treatment under a Trump administration is misguided,” Linderman told Fox News Digital.
US President-elect Donald Trump looks on during Turning Point USA's AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 22, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Linderman also says Republicans in Congress are largely united in their support for Georgia's democratic future and “Trump is unlikely to spend his political capital challenging the bipartisan consensus on Georgia's Euro-Atlantic path.”
In recent years, Ivanishvelis' Georgian Dream government has increasingly isolated itself from the West and sided with authoritarian regimes. Georgia – until recently – a strategic partner of the United States, had formalized this partnership with China, favored Chinese companies over American investments, and relied Russian style The “foreign agent” law, and the suspension of accession talks to the European Union. This year alone, Prime Minister Kobakhidze made a number of visits to Iran. In Tehran, he attended the funeral of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the inauguration of the new President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was sworn in amid chants of “Death to America and Israel.”
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Regimes that rely on support from Moscow and Beijing will find that “playing time is over,” James Carafano, senior adviser to the Heritage Foundation and a senior foreign policy expert, tells Fox News Digital, adding that they cannot expect a “favorable or indifferent hand” from the administration. Trump.
“If there are American interests at stake, and there are some interests in Georgia, it is likely that governments that want to rely on Moscow will not only be ignored by Trump, they will likely be hit hard,” Carafano says. .
