Annan Misquoted, His Lawyer Says
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
UNITED NATIONS – A new voice yesterday joined the growing chorus of those who dispute the oft-cited declaration by Secretary-General Kofi Annan that he has been “exonerated” in the oil-for-food investigation: Mr. Annan himself. Through his lawyer, Gregory Craig, Mr. Annan said that he has been misquoted.
In an April 19 letter addressed to the three heads of the committee chaired by Paul Volcker, Mr. Craig wrote that Mr. Annan asked him to make clear that the committee understands that his client has been the victim of “inaccurate and inadequate reporting.”
Referring to a brief press conference immediately after the March 29 release of the Volcker team’s latest report, Mr. Craig stated, “It is simply not true, as many in the media have reported, that the secretary-general characterized the second interim report as having ‘cleared him of any wrongdoing,’ or as having ‘exonerated’ him with respect to any and all criticism.”
Mr. Craig’s letter, seen by The New York Sun yesterday, argued that Mr. Annan claimed exoneration only regarding any involvement in the hiring process of the Swiss inspection company Cotecna for the Iraq program. Cotecna once employed Mr. Annan’s son, Kojo.
At the March press conference, Mr. Annan did say, however, “After so many distressing and untrue allegations have been made against me, this exoneration by the independent enquiry obviously comes as a great relief.”
The release of Mr. Craig’s letter comes a day after Mr. Volcker himself told Fox News that Mr. Annan has not been exonerated. Two top investigators, who have resigned from the committee recently, have criticized the investigation process. But Mr. Volcker said that no leads were left unexplored by his committee.
Mr. Volcker added that his investigation, which until now was expected to be completed this summer, might be extended and may require additional funding. The team’s budget, which until now has been estimated at $30 million, is financed by remnants of an oil-for-food account that was allocated for the United Nations’ management of the program.
