Congressman Buys Russian Bank: No Certification by House Ethics Committee Available to Public

Constituents in Western North Carolina are questioning the credibility and legality of their representative to Congress, US Rep. Charles H. Taylor (R, NC-11). 1,650 signatures on petitions were sent to the House Ethics and Judiciary Committees on September 29, 2003 seeking answers regarding bank fraud and money laundering cases surrounding Congressman Taylors bank.

Asheville, NC (PRWEB) April 7, 2004 --Congressman Taylor owns a bank, Blue Ridge Savings, with locations in Western North Carolina and Greer, SC that is owned (via stock) by he and his wife through their holding company, Financial Guaranty Corporation. Taylor also serves as board chairs on these organizations. In September of 2003 Blue Ridge Savings and Financial Guaranty Corporation purchased The Bank of Ivanovo of Central Russia, a.k.a Central Bank of Ivanovo, a.k.a. Commercial Bank Ivanovo, LLC. In February of 2004 Taylor announced a trade policy program linked to the SBA and US Rep. Jim DeMint, at a University of North Carolina Asheville luncheon. Yuri Ushakov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States, attended and spoke at the event.

Congressman Taylors assets - including real estate (Taylor has been citied as being the 'largest landowner in WNC) and a tree farm - have been embroiled in controversy since he became a Member of the US House of Representatives. A major financial crimes case involving Taylors former campaign leadership, Charles Chig" Cagle and Hayes Martin (also BRS ex-President), resulted in convictions, but no sentences, last year.

Various financial crimes tied to Congressman Taylor, including bank fraud and money laundering in the Cagle/Martin cases, have been citied in US Court and Department of Treasury - Office of Thrift Supervision documents going back to 1991.

Although Taylor rarely appears in the news, or in House debates, he is one of the most powerful members of Congress and the Republican Party. Estimated to be worth at least $100,000,000, Taylor is the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior Chairman (while competing with conservationists for wilderness land Taylor wishes to develop); and sits on other Appropriation subcommittees such as the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies. He has direct authority to dictate the budgets for: Department of Commerce; Department of Justice; Department of State; The Judiciary; Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; Federal Trade Commission; International Trade Commission; Office of the United States Trade Representative; Securities and Exchange Commission; Small Business Administration... and, default, the rest of the US Government.

Taylor seems to jump the line of the separations of powers by making private policy through his private Education Research Consortium of Asheville, NC (a pro-business organization) and his influence over AdvantageWest of Fletcher, NC; also a business organization accepting Federal funds through appropriations approved by Taylor. His former Chief of Staff has been accused of ethics violations regarding AdvantageWest, though the House Ethics and Judiciary committees have refused to scrutinize any of the matters his constituents have brought forward, or those cited by organizations such as Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, of Washington, DC.

Taylors voting record on civil rights and the environment is among the very worst according to the NAACP and Sierra Club. Taylor has supported the Bush Administration on matters such as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 or Kean Commission)... Taylor voted against starting that important commission called for by victim families of September 11, 2001 and other Americans.

Reports on these matters and other concerns can be found at www.InvestigateTaylor.com. For additional information, contact Grant Millin, CICT Co-Founder and InvestigateTaylor.com Co-Producer.

About InvestigateTaylor.com

InvestigateTaylor.com is an alternative media presence replacing an absence of national and regional reporting on US Rep. Charles H. Taylor. InvestigateTaylor.com receives no aid - financial or otherwise - from any political party or campaign.