Michael F. Doyle

Madam Speaker, I seek to correct an injustice to Mr. Daniel Kandalaft, a Lebanese citizen with three American children. At a hearing examining Hezbollah's financial network before the Committee on Foreign Affairs on June 8, 2017, a private citizen provided a prepared statement--now printed in the Hearing Record--that identifies certain individuals as arrested in France for financing terrorism under Operation Cedar, a January 2016 coordinated, multinational law enforcement action undertaken by authorities in France and other European countries. U.S. law enforcement, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), assisted French authorities.

The statement entered into the Hearing Record incorrectly includes Mr. Kandalaft as having been arrested in France. A detailed examination of the complete and official French Operation Cedar case file reveals that Mr. Kandalaft was not investigated, charged, or even asked to serve as a witness. Indeed, there is no mention of Daniel Kandalaft in the law enforcement investigative reports or court filings for Operation Cedar in France. The DEA, having no authority in France, could not (and had no reason to) arrest Daniel Kandalaft and confirmed that it ``does not have authority to perform arrests or detainments'' in France.

It is incumbent upon this great institution, the U.S. House of Representatives, to correct the false statement in a Congressional hearing from so many years ago which has unfairly and unjustly tarnished Mr. Kandalaft's good name and reputation.

I include in the Record the sworn affidavit of William Julie--a licensed attorney at law in France (avocat a la cour) who has reviewed the entire Operation Cedar case file (registered in France under prosecution number 15037000675), and who obtained authorization from French authorities to release information contained in the case file-- as part of my statement and insertion in the Congressional Record. Names other than Mr. Kandalaft and the affiant (Mr. Julie)--including any agent of the DEA or Hezbollah--are redacted from the below Affidavit for privacy reasons (and marked as ``[REDACTED]''), as are the exhibits to the Affidavit and any internal references to same (which are simply deleted).

Affidavit of William Julie

I, William Julie, subscribe and swear as follows:

1. I am a dual national and hold passports issued by both

France and the United Kingdom.

2. I am bilingual and speak fluent French and English.

3. I am a resident of Paris, France.

4. I am a duly licensed attorney at law in France (avocat a

la cour), and I have held this position since being admitted

to the Paris Bar in 2000. I established my own law offices in

2002.

5. I earned my undergraduate degree in international law

(BA), my masters (MA) in public law, and my doctoral

certification (Doctorat d'Etudes Approfondies) in European

criminal justice policy from the University of Paris-Sorbonne

(Paris I), where my studies focused on criminal law and

criminology.

6. Among other things, I am a member of the International

Bar Association (IBA), the Criminal Lawyers Association

(ADAP), the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA), the

Defence Extradition Lawyers Forum (DELF), the FrancoBritish

Lawyers Society (FBLS), and serve as Chair of the Criminal

Commission of the Corporate Firm Lawyers Association (ACE).

7. This affidavit sets forth my views on whether Daniel

KANDALAFT was arrested in France as part of Operation Cedar.

8. I have personal knowledge of the facts stated in this

affidavit, and if called as a witness, I could and would

testify competently thereto.

9. On September 5, 2016, I was retained by [REDACTED], who

was arrested during Operation Cedar, as his defense attorney.

10. I represented [REDACTED] as his defense counsel from my

appointment during the investigation stage in September 2016

through trial and ultimately the rendering of judgement by

the Paris correctional court on November 28, 2018. In this

role, I was provided and remain in possession of a complete

copy of the case file, as required by French law, which is

registered under the prosecution number 15037000675. In

preparing this affidavit, I reviewed the case file in its

entirety and obtained authorization from the French

prosecutor to release the information from the case file that

is included here in the Exhibits.

11. Operation Cedar was a coordinated, multinational law

enforcement action in January 2016 undertaken by authorities

in France and other European countries targeting criminal

operations in Europe related to the organization known as

Hezbollah (also known as--or ``aka''--Hizballah). United

States law enforcement, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement

Agency (DEA), assisted French authorities in executing

Operation Cedar.

12. On January 24, 2016, following telephone interceptions

revealing the planned arrival in France of Operation Cedar

targets [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], French police confirmed

the targets were on the passenger list for flight ME 205 from

Beirut to Paris, which was scheduled to land that day at

Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris. After the arrival of

the flight, [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were arrested

(``interpelle''), placed in custody (``en garde a vue'') and

questioned by French authorities. The French police officers

were assisted by DEA agent [REDACTED]. The minutes of their

arrest do not mention Daniel KANDALAFT.

13. On January 24, 2016, French police officers instituted

a surveillance operation against [REDACTED]. He was in Paris,

located at the Hotel Prince de Galles, arrested, placed in

custody, and subsequently questioned. At the time of his

arrest, he was sitting with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED].

French police asked for the identification documents

(``controle d'identite'') of these two individuals but did

not arrest or question them (beyond a simple

identification control, such as confirming their

profession), and both were permitted to stay at the hotel.

The minutes of [REDACTED]'s arrest do not mention Daniel

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7132) to preserve safe access to communications services for survivors of domestic violence and other crimes, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 7132.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7132, the Safe Connections Act. A cell phone may be one of the most important items a survivor of domestic violence, human trafficking, or other related crimes has when living in an abusive relationship. This device will not only allow a survivor to stay connected to family and friends, but it also provides them with access to outside help and support networks.

There is no question that a cell phone is an important lifeline for survivors of these devastating and horrible crimes. However, in some instances, survivors use a cell phone with a shared mobile service plan. This can subject these survivors to ongoing digital abuse like bullying, stalking, or intimidation.

H.R. 7132 addresses these unfortunate circumstances by requiring mobile service providers to separate the phone line of victims from an account shared with their abuser within 2 business days without financial penalties or other potential obstacles.

The legislation also requires mobile service providers to publicly provide information about the availability of line separation requests on their websites, in their stores, and in other public-facing consumer communications.

H.R. 7132 also directs the FCC to establish emergency communications support for these survivors and to explore how to keep calls and texts to hotlines for domestic violence, human trafficking, and other related crimes from appearing on a customer call and text log.

For these reasons, I am pleased that we are bringing this critical legislation forward on a bipartisan basis. I commend Representatives Kuster, Eshoo, and Walberg for their work in advancing this legislation out of the committee.

I know that the Senate passed a companion bill a few months ago, led by Senator Schatz and Fischer.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this lifesaving legislation in a bipartisan manner, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, having no further speakers, I also urge Members on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 7132.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7624) to make available additional frequencies in the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for non-Federal use, shared Federal and non-Federal use, or a combination thereof, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 7624.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7624, the Spectrum Innovation Act.

Our Nation's airwaves are a critical component in building next- generation wireless networks. These networks can make a meaningful difference in Americans' lives. They can expand the reach of telehealth services, extend educational experiences beyond the classroom, and provide critical communications for public safety activities. But in order to achieve these important goals, we must continue to expand the ability of commercial users to access our airwaves, including by using innovative spectrum management technologies.

H.R. 7624 extends the Federal Communications Commission's auction authority by 18 months from its expiration date later this fall. This extension will allow the FCC to hold its planned spectrum auction in July without disruption, as well as any future actions.

It is essential that we extend this authority. After all, Congress has never allowed this spectrum authority to lapse.

To maintain our Nation's global leadership in wireless innovation, we must come together to ensure the smooth management of spectrum, and that includes the auctions that have for years efficiently made these airways available.

I am also pleased that this legislation will use auction proceeds in a budget-neutral manner to fund two significant programs: the FCC's rip and replace program and the transition to Next Generation 911 networks. Funding these two longstanding priorities will provide consumers with access to safe and secure networks that are able to meet the public safety demands of the 21st century.

The Federal investments in Next Gen 911 will save lives. In an instant, each of us can text a photo to a family member across the country or upload a video to social media for all to see. That same kind of instant communication should be accessible to 911 centers.

Next Generation 911 allows people to call or send text images or videos to 911 to help first responders and emergency personnel to better assess the nature of the emergency and reach people in need. It will help enhance emergency response by shaving precious minutes off response times and equipping first responders with lifesaving information before they reach the scene.

In my time on the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Next Generation 911 Act has passed out of the committee and the full House of Representatives on multiple occasions, both as a standalone bill and as part of larger infrastructure packages. This bill marks the most significant progress we have made in this effort thus far, and I remain committed to working with my colleagues to see that it is signed into law.

The Energy and Commerce Committee has traditionally worked in a bipartisan fashion on key telecommunication matters. I commend Chairman Pallone, Ranking Member McMorris Rodgers, and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Bob Latta, my good friend, as well as Representatives Eshoo, Matsui, Davids, Welch, Hudson, Guthrie, Joyce, and Johnson for continuing in this tradition on this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation in a bipartisan manner, and I hope the Senate will soon follow suit.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, but I would just like to reiterate how important H.R. 7624 is to future technologies and to NextGen 911. This is, as was said, a bill that passed out of our committee unanimously, 52-0.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to give it their support when it comes up for a vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.