Chao ‘Crony’ Using Diplomatic Cover to Avoid Criminal Probe

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AFL-CIO News Blog

by James Parks,

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) is demanding that Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and the Bush administration waive diplomatic immunity for Mark Knouse, the former executive director of the NAFTA Commission for Labor Cooperation (CLC). Knouse was asked to resign after charges that he improperly used CLC funds (from the taxpayers of the United States, Canada and Mexico) to promote his lobbying business while he worked for the trinational commission.

From 2004 until his resignation in 2006, Knouse headed the secretariat for the CLC, a panel created under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to examine labor issues and promote labor standards in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

A Pennsylvania business lobbyist, Knouse resigned after he was accused of using commission funds to finance his outside lobbying activities, including meals with clients and trips to meetings.

Chao appointed Knouse to the post, despite his lack of background in labor or international issues. Knouse’s wife is an assistant in Chao’s executive office. Because the CLC is an international body, Knouse received diplomatic immunity for his actions while in office.


Read more: http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/04/18/chao-crony-using-diplomatic-cover-to-avoid-criminal-probe/

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