The privately funded Congressional Delegation (CODEL) organized by the US Moldova Initiative (USMI) and scheduled for July 24 - 29 never came to Chisinau.
Moldova Matters has previously reported on USMI’s organization of the planned CODEL and their official request for a meeting with then Prime Minister Munteanu that referenced 4 members of Congress - Representatives Andy Harris (R-MD), Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), Michael Cloud (R-TX) and Sheri Biggs (R-SC). In response to that original reporting, Representative Carter’s office responded that he “is not currently scheduled to attend.” Representatives for the other members of Congress did not respond to requests for comment and neither did USMI.
No CODEL arrived in Moldova on the scheduled dates and Moldova Matters can report that at least in some cases, USMI never reached out to notify those it planned to meet with of a cancellation or to try and reschedule.
What Happened?
With no comment forthcoming from either the named participants or USMI we don’t know for sure. It is possible that Moldova Matters’ reporting on USMI director Sam Alaverdov’s past financial sponsorship of a Moldovan politician linked to Ilan Shor, or the fact that USMI’s website features a partner list of Moldovan government entities, companies, NGOs and the Moldova UNHCR office that is substantially false, caused members of Congress to reconsider their participation.
Furthermore, because the members never traveled to Chisinau, House Ethics rules - which would have required financing and schedule details to become public 15 days after the CODEL’s return - will likely never be triggered, meaning the public may never learn how USMI planned to fund the trip.
Going forward, Moldova Matters will continue reporting on USMI’s activities, including its relationships with US-based institutions beyond this single delegation.