As the new Congress prepares to convene on January 3rd, South Carolina Republican Representative Joe Wilson is urging the incoming Trump administration to prioritize American interests and counter foreign adversaries.
In a letter obtained by Digital, Rep. Wilson calls upon incoming Secretary of State nominee Senator Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor nominee Representative Michael Waltz to utilize U.S. law enforcement tools to expose and dismantle Georgian sanctions evasion schemes, fraudulent call centers, and other illicit activities linked to the Georgian Dream party.
This follows the U.S. imposition of sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s former Prime Minister and a Russian-allied billionaire, who holds significant influence in the country.
Rep. Wilson’s letter asserts that these operations allow Ivanishvili’s regime to profit from atrocities like Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, aided by China, North Korea, and Iran.
On December 27th, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Ivanishvili for undermining Georgia’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic future to benefit Russia.
Congressman Wilson, chairman of the Helsinki Commission, hails the sanctions on Ivanishvili as a positive step and advocates for extending them to Ivanishvili’s family and associates, stating in the letter: “This presents a crucial opportunity to advance our shared goals of defending democracy and countering malign influence globally. The Axis of Aggressors would be significantly weakened if Georgia returned to rule by its people.”
Wilson’s letter is the latest in a series of public expressions of concern from U.S. observers regarding Georgia, following the Georgian Dream party’s contested victory in October’s parliamentary elections and the subsequent decision to halt the country’s EU accession process, which sparked widespread protests.
Local and international election monitors, including the International Republican Institute (IRI), deemed the elections fundamentally flawed.
“Considering the IRI’s observations and subsequent events, only new elections can restore Georgians’ faith in their government’s legitimacy,” said IRI President Dan Twining.
Despite calls for new elections, a single-party parliament appointed former soccer player and outspoken West critic Mikheil Kavelashvili as president on December 29th in a ceremony noticeably lacking foreign dignitaries.
Georgian Dream officials have downplayed the significance of the U.S. sanctions. Shortly after the Treasury’s announcement, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze asserted that “nothing has changed.”
Kobakhidze and other party leaders expressed optimism about positive developments after the Trump administration’s inauguration on January 20th. However, Laura Linderman, Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, considers this unlikely.
“Given that Trump’s national security team would likely adopt an even tougher stance against countries aligned with China and Iran, the Georgian Dream’s expectation of favorable treatment under a Trump administration is misguided,” Linderman told Digital.
Linderman also notes the broad congressional Republican support for Georgia’s democratic future, suggesting Trump would be hesitant to defy the bipartisan consensus on Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
In recent years, Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream government has distanced itself from the West and aligned with authoritarian regimes. Georgia, once a key U.S. partner, has formalized ties with China, favored Chinese companies over American investment, enacted a “foreign agent” law, and suspended EU accession talks. This year alone, PM Kobakhidze visited Iran multiple times, attending both the funeral of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian, which featured anti-American and anti-Israeli chants.
James Carafano, Heritage Foundation Senior Counselor and foreign policy expert, told Digital that regimes relying on support from Moscow and Beijing will find that “the fun is over,” and cannot expect leniency from the Trump administration.
“If U.S. interests are at stake—and they are in Georgia—governments leaning on Moscow will likely face not just indifference, but a strong rebuke from Trump,” Carafano stated.