Michael J. Garcia: Difference between revisions
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Garcia was appointed the head of the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee of the governing body of world football, [[FIFA]], in July 2012.<ref name='FIFAJul12'>{{cite web|title=Chairmen of Ethics Committee announced and new Code of Ethics approved|url=http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/bodies/news/newsid=1664989/index.html|work=FIFA website|publisher=FIFA|accessdate=June 10, 2014}}</ref> Garcia [[Garcia Report|completed a report into allegations of corruption]] in world football for FIFA,<ref name=GuardJul12>{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/jul/17/fifa-michael-j-garcia-football-corruption|title=Fifa appoints Michael J Garcia to investigate football corruption|publisher=[[The Guardian]]|date=July 17, 2012|accessdate=June 10, 2014}}</ref> and has criticized the decision not to publish the report.<ref name=GuardSep14>{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/24/michael-garcia-fifa-investigation-public-world-cup|title=Fifa prosecutor Michael Garcia calls for World Cup report to be made public|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=September 24, 2014|accessdate=September 24, 2014}}</ref> |
Garcia was appointed the head of the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee of the governing body of world football, [[FIFA]], in July 2012.<ref name='FIFAJul12'>{{cite web|title=Chairmen of Ethics Committee announced and new Code of Ethics approved|url=http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/bodies/news/newsid=1664989/index.html|work=FIFA website|publisher=FIFA|accessdate=June 10, 2014}}</ref> Garcia [[Garcia Report|completed a report into allegations of corruption]] in world football for FIFA,<ref name=GuardJul12>{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/jul/17/fifa-michael-j-garcia-football-corruption|title=Fifa appoints Michael J Garcia to investigate football corruption|publisher=[[The Guardian]]|date=July 17, 2012|accessdate=June 10, 2014}}</ref> and has criticized the decision not to publish the report.<ref name=GuardSep14>{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/24/michael-garcia-fifa-investigation-public-world-cup|title=Fifa prosecutor Michael Garcia calls for World Cup report to be made public|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=September 24, 2014|accessdate=September 24, 2014}}</ref> |
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Following the decision of the Fifa Appeals Panel to deny his appeal against Joachim Eckert's summary of the report, he resigned as independent ethics investigator for Fifa on 17 December 2014.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30522170</ref>. Two days later, Fifa agreed to release a "legally appropriate version" of his report<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30546139</ref>. |
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== Controversy == |
== Controversy == |
Revision as of 14:21, 19 December 2014
Michael J. Garcia is the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Mr. Garcia was the prosecutor in charge of the federal investigation against the disgraced former governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer.
A political[1] appointee of the Bush Administration, Mr. Garcia is previously credited with some of the most important cases against international terrorists.
Garcia attended Valley Stream Central High School in New York and is a graduate of Binghamton University. He received his Master of Arts degree from the College of William and Mary and his Juris Doctor from Albany Law School.
On April 13, 2013, Garcia was on a list released by the Russian Federation of Americans banned from entering the country over their alleged human rights violations. The "Guantanamo List" includes Americans it accuses of involvement in torture and unfair, politically motivated arrests. The list was a direct response to the so-called Magnitsky list revealed by the United States the day before.[2]
Garcia was appointed the head of the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee of the governing body of world football, FIFA, in July 2012.[3] Garcia completed a report into allegations of corruption in world football for FIFA,[4] and has criticized the decision not to publish the report.[5]
Following the decision of the Fifa Appeals Panel to deny his appeal against Joachim Eckert's summary of the report, he resigned as independent ethics investigator for Fifa on 17 December 2014.[6]. Two days later, Fifa agreed to release a "legally appropriate version" of his report[7].
Controversy
Garcia however has come under scrutiny himself. Columbia University professor Scott Horton told Private Eye regarding Garcia's character "the one thing that could be predicted with utter confidence on the basis of Garcia's professional career is that he would zealously protect whoever appointed him and paid his bills."[8] In the same publication, Garcia was criticised for a previous investigation he led for Fifa, which ended in what Private Eye term a 'secret whitewash' of Sepp Blatter's involvement in a financial scandal regarding a Swiss marketing firm in 2013.
In regard to the unpublished FIFA report, AA Jennings argues that Garcia has '[produced] an "investigation" so generous to the FIFA crooks the FBI has been provoked to step up its own enquiries'. He goes on to argue that Garcia's negative reaction to the summarised report by Hans-Joachim Eckert is a face-saving exercise- as if the FBI conduct a serious investigation it will seriously damage Garcia's own reputation. Therefore he is seeking to distance himself from his own findings.[9]
References
- ^ Michael J. Garcia, Former Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 2003-2005
- ^ "Russia strikes back with Magnitsky list response". rt.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ "Chairmen of Ethics Committee announced and new Code of Ethics approved". FIFA website. FIFA. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
- ^ "Fifa appoints Michael J Garcia to investigate football corruption". The Guardian. July 17, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
- ^ "Fifa prosecutor Michael Garcia calls for World Cup report to be made public". The Guardian. September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30522170
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30546139
- ^ Private Eye issue 1367, repeated in Private Eye 1380 (issued November 25 2014), pg.10
- ^ ibid