On May 17, 2005 Galloway denied under oath that he solicited and was granted lucrative allocations of Iraqi crude oil under the Program and denied that anyone did so on his behalf. He also denied that he or anyone else solicited oil allocations as a means of raising funds for the Mariam Appeal - Galloway's political campaign opposing the U.N. sanctions imposed upon Iraq.
Because Galloway's testimony and sweeping denials conflicted with the Subcommittee's evidence and May 12, 2005 Report, the Subcommittee continued its inquiry into the matter to test the veracity of Galloway's claims.
Since the May hearing, the Subcommittee has obtained additional evidence establishing that the Hussein regime granted oil allocations to Galloway and
the Mariam Appeal. Their Report presents evidence establishing that:
1. Galloway personally solicited and was granted oil allocations from the Government of Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein. The Hussein regime granted Galloway and the Mariam Appeal eight allocations totaling 23 million barrels from 1999 through 2003;
2. Galloway's wife, Dr. Amineh Abu-Zayyad, received approximately $150,000 in connection with one of those oil allocations;
3. Galloway's political campaign, the Mariam Appeal, received at least $446,000 in connection with the oil allocations granted to Galloway and the Mariam Appeal under the Oil-for-Food Program;
4. The Hussein regime received improper 'surcharge' payments amounting to $1,642,000 in connection with the oil allocations granted to Galloway and the Mariam Appeal; and
5. Galloway knowingly made false or misleading statements under oath before the Subcommittee at its hearing on May 17, 2005;
|