On May 28, Gia Gachechiladze, also known as Utsnobi, announced in his program that the bill on “foreign agents” was being discussed in the US state of Georgia on the instructions of the federal government, which was vetoed by the governor of the state. According to Gachechiladze, the reason for this was the statement made by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about the country of Georgia, stressing that Russian law cannot be adopted. The governor of the state of Georgia thought that this statement was made by the secretary of state about his state, and that’s why he used the right of veto. Identical information was disseminated by several Facebook accounts (1, 2, 3)
The claim that the governor of the US state of Georgia thought that Anthony Blinken was not talking about the country of Georgia, but about the state of Georgia, which is why he vetoed the bill, is false. In fact, one of the initiators of the bill asked the governor to veto it. At the same time, this process ended before Blinken issued a statement on the so-called “Foreign Agents Law.”
Arizona, California, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have introduced bills similar to FARA [Foreign Agents Registration Act] this year to limit foreign-influenced political activity. Legislation is currently underway, but Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has already vetoed it on May 8. Kemp explained the decision by the fact that federal law already regulates this issue, and the bill in question (Senate Bill 368) imposes additional requirements that were not intended by the bill’s sponsor (the senator, congressional representative, or delegate from the US territory who initiated the bill). In the official document, the governor notes that he uses the veto right based on the sponsor’s request.
It should also be noted that Anthony Blinken made the first official statement on the so-called “Agents Law” on May 23, at which time he called on the Parliament of Georgia and the ruling party to withdraw the law and, in the opposite case, announced sanctions. As already mentioned, the governor of the state of Georgia vetoed the bill on May 8, so it is impossible that his decision was influenced by the statement of the secretary of state.
About the Source:
One of the Facebook accounts spreading disinformation is Giorgi Ibereli. He is an active supporter of the pro-Kremlin “Alliance of Patriots” and “Conservative Movement/Alt Info” parties. He is also one of the administrators of the Facebook group “Supporters of the Alliance of Patriots!!!” Giorgi Iberieli has disseminated disinformation on Facebook many times in the past (1, 2, 3).
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