Congress calls for Trump administration to enact more sanctions against Ivanishvili’s ‘enablers’, media reports

A letter from Congress has reportedly requested Senator Marco Rubio, the presumptive nominee for U.S. Secretary of State, to impose sanctions on several individuals close to Georgian Dream and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, while no officials from the ruling party have been invited to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

RFE/RL reported on Thursday, citing a ‘well-informed source’, that the letter was meant to inform Rubio about the ‘authoritarian rule of the Georgian Dream’, as well as requesting sanctions on 25 individuals.

The sender was not specified.

‘Ivanishvili's enablers network’

According to RFE/RL, the letter sent to Rubio on Thursday mentions several high-profile figures in Georgian political and business circles, referring to them as ‘Ivanishvili’s enablers network’ and describing them as an ‘elite circle, corrupt financial operatives, propagandists, and those who operate the repressive state apparatus’.

Among those mentioned in the letter are the wife, brother, cousin, and niece of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and the honorary head of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Other Georgian Dream officials included in the list are Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, and Irakli Kobakhidze, who is referred to in the letter as the ‘de facto prime minister’. The list also includes the former director of the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) and the chairman of the GPB’s supervisory board, Vasil Maghlaperidze, who is referred to as the ‘party ideologue’.

In the category of ‘corrupt financial enablers’, the list includes Irakli Rukhadze, a US citizen and owner of the pro-government media outlet TV Imedi, as well as Viktor Japaridze, a member of parliament and owner of another pro-government TV channel Pos TV.

The others listed in this category are business figures, including Soso Phakadze, the founder of Wissol Group, one of Georgia’s largest oil companies, which also owns supermarkets and subsidiaries of American restaurant chains like Wendy’s, Subway, and Dunkin’, Khvicha Makatsaria, the owner of the telecommunication company Cellfie (formerly Beeline), and Irakli Gilauri, the owner of Geo Capital, as well as businessman Vano Chkhartishvili, who is close to Georgian Dream.

In addition, the list includes judges Mikheil Chinchaladze and Levan Murusidze, who are often referred to by critics as part of the ‘judicial clan’ affiliated with the ruling party.

Some individuals mentioned in the letter, such as Interior Minister Gomelauri and both judges, were already sanctioned by the US in recent months. It is unclear why they were nonetheless included on the list, and it is not known whether new types of sanctions are being considered.

No Georgian Dream officials invited to Trump’s inauguration

The Georgian government’s press office confirmed to OC Media on Friday that no officials from the ruling party have been invited to Trump’s inauguration, which is set for 20 January.

Meanwhile, self-declared interim president Salome Zourabichvili is preparing to attend, having been invited by Congressperson Joe Wilson, an outspoken critic of Georgian Dream.

Zourabichvili confirmed at a press conference on Thursday that she would attend the event.

At the same time, Georgian Dream officials have said publicly that they are looking forward to the beginning of the Trump administration. They have often referenced the president-elect's claims that he will fight the ‘deep state’ and end Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, in which, according to Georgian Dream’s conspiracy theory, external forces from the ‘Global War Party’ have been attempting to drag Georgia into from the very beginning.

However, with Trump’s inauguration approaching, Georgian Dream has been trying to downplay its stated expectations. In December, one of the party's leaders, Mamuka Mdinaradze, said, ‘We should neither be hopeless nor place excessive hopes on the period after 20 January’.

Deteriorating relations

US-Georgian relations have noticeably deteriorated amid the adoption of Russian-style laws, manipulated elections, the suspension of EU membership aspirations, and violence against anti-government demonstrators by Georgian authorities.

This week, Fox News reported that the ‘Georgian Nightmare Non-Recognition Act’, which prohibits recognition of the Georgian Dream government, was to be introduced in Congress on 8 January. Another proposed legislation, the Mobilising and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence (MEGOBARI, or ‘friend’ in Georgian) Act was reintroduced in the Congress last week. It mandates further sanctions against Georgian officials as well as funding for Georgian media and civil society.

At the end of November, Washington suspended its strategic partnership with Georgia, and in December, sanctions were imposed on Ivanishvili and other senior officials of the party, as well as on Interior Minister Gomelauri.

In addition to the above-mentioned sanctions on Ivanishvili and Gomelauri, Washington has already sanctioned other key figures, such as Zviad Kharazishvili, the head of the Interior Ministry’s Special Tasks Department, who played a key role in the brutal crackdown on participants of the ongoing protests.

Georgian Dream’s rhetoric has become increasingly harsh towards those countries and politicians that criticise its governance and have imposed sanctions due to democratic backsliding.In a lengthy statement published on 8 January, the ruling party attacked the states, institutions, and politicians that impose those sanctions, and referred to foreign critics as members of the ‘deep state network’.

‘Georgian Nightmare Non-Recognition Act’ introduced in US Congress as Zourabichvili prepares for Trump’s inauguration

The news of the act’s introduction coincides with the confirmation of Zourabichvili’s attendance at Trump’s inauguration.

OC MediaMikheil Gvadzabia