Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell, candidate for state attorney general, responded to an advertisement released by his leading opponent, Katherine Robertson, in which Robertson accuses Mitchell of being a registered agent of an Islamic country.
The ad makes several accusations against Mitchell, including that he served as a registered foreign agent of the “Muslim regime of Uzbekistan” in 2007 and personally lobbied then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s office on behalf of the regime.
In response, Mitchell’s campaign claims he was not working on behalf of the then-dictator, President Islam Karimov. Instead, he claims he was working “to protect pro-democracy reformer Sanjar Umarov, who had been jailed and silenced by President Islam Karimov’s brutal communist regime.”
Umarov was convicted in March 2006 after being found guilty of money laundering, tax avoidance, and hiding foreign currency. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. At the time, Umarov’s supporters said the charges and conviction were clearly politically motivated, since he was the leader of an opposition movement called “Serkuesh Uzbekistonim” (Sunshine Uzbekistan), the leading opposition party.
“Jay Mitchell stepped in to help—pro bono,” a release from Mitchell’s campaign reads. “He went to Washington to brief members of Congress. He facilitated the passage of a Congressional resolution demanding humane treatment for Umarov, an effort that was carried by Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) in the Senate and co-sponsored by 27 members of the House of Representatives, including five members of the Alabama delegation. That resolution passed both houses of Congress unanimously.”
“If you want to know why I am so passionate about protecting Alabama from Anti-American agendas, look no further than the Umarov case,” Mitchell added. “I took on a barbaric Muslim tyrant to protect an innocent political prisoner and won. I did it by bringing all of Congress together to stand unanimously for basic human rights, and I did it for free. It was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career.”
Mitchell’s campaign also provided documents showing that his capacity to act on behalf of a foreign principal was terminated in April 2007.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t be, but I continue to be surprised by Katherine Robertson’s willingness to lie outright,” Mitchell concluded. “This latest smear attempt is indefensible—conduct unbecoming of someone seeking the office of Attorney General.”
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