MOSCOW, March 21 (Itar-Tass) – Lawmaker Dmitry Gudkov said he has taken a polygraph test to prove that he wrote the text of his report in the United States on his own and that he did not ask anyone to edit it.
"I took a polygraph test live on FM News radio where I was asked questions regarding the accusations of high treason against me. The test confirmed that I had written the report myself, it was not the U.S. envoy who wrote it; I did not coordinate it with the Department of State or anybody; I did not receive any money; I paid for the trip to the USA with my own money," Gudkov told Itar-Tass.
Gudkov demanded an apology from his colleagues who had brought such accusations against him.
On Wednesday, the commission for ethics under the State Duma lower house of the Russian parliament recommended to deny the right to speak to Gudkov for a month, and asked him to apologize and surrender his mandate for "repeated violations of ethical norms and discreditation of the Russian parliament."
Gudkov's case was reviewed after parliament factions asked to "assess Gudkov's actions in connection with his U.S. trip and his speech on March 5, 2013 at the Freedom House forum, in which U.S. senators took part, including the author of the anti-Russian Magnitsky law James McGovern."
Russian lawmakers maintained that Gudkov's speech "was composed and read in English, although under the effective international practice, the official statements by parliamentarians at international events are made in their native language."
Although Gudkov apologized for his English language skills at the beginning of his speech, the report had been prepared professionally by natives speakers, well-versed in the specifics of political speeches, which was confirmed by a linguistic expert examination, Russian lawmakers claimed.
They quoted from the report which they believe was very anti-Russian, "aimed at discrediting our country." For example, the State Duma was called "an obedient parliament" that adopts anti-constitutional laws. The report backed the Magnitsky Act and asked for U.S. support in resolving Russia’s domestic problems.
"We believe lawmaker D.Gudkov's statements call for illegal actions which violate the sovereignty of the Russian state. All the actions by lawmaker Gudkov show his contempt for the requirements set for members of the Russian parliament; they are planned actions against Russian statehood and in effect, are treachery of national interests, whereas a State Duma deputy must protect the interests of his country and voters," Gudkov's opponents said.
On March 13, Dmitry Gudkov and his father Gennady were expelled from A Just Russia Party. Chairman of A Just Russia faction Nikolai Levichev said then "our opponents used /Gudkov's/ free trip abroad to make slanderous remarks." Levichev also doubted that Gudkov had written the text of his report on his own.