October 06, 2021

Toomey Calls on Omarova to Turn Over Her Moscow State Thesis on Marxism

Reference to Thesis Was Recently Deleted from Nominee’s Resume

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is asking Ms. Saule Omarova, President Biden’s nominee to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), to turn over a copy of her thesis, “Karl Marx’s Economic Analysis and the Theory of Revolution in The Capital,” to allow the Committee to fully assess her nomination.


Ms. Omarova’s thesis, which she authored while studying at Moscow State University on the V.I. Lenin Personal Academic Scholarship, recently disappeared from her resume.


“While it appears that you have deleted any reference to your thesis in the version of your curriculum vitae (CV) that is currently available on the Cornell Law School website, the paper appeared on your CV as recently as April 2017,” Ranking Member Toomey wrote.


After President Biden announced his intent to nominate Ms. Omarova, Committee staff reached out to both the nominee and the OCC requesting a copy of the thesis. Neither Ms. Omarova nor the OCC agreed to share a copy with the Committee in a timely fashion. Nominees within the Committee’s jurisdiction are required to submit all published writings, articles, and papers.


Senator Toomey asked Ms. Omarova to provide a copy of the original Russian-language thesis—along with an English version (if one exists)—no later than October 13, 2021.


Read the full letter to Ms. Omarova here or below.

 

October 5, 2021

Ms. Saule Omarova
Professor
Cornell Law School
304 Myron Taylor Hall
Ithica, NY 14853

Dear Ms. Omarova:

For the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to fully assess the fitness of individuals to serve in Senate-confirmed executive and independent agency positions, the Committee requires nominees to submit all “books, articles, reports, and other published materials [one has] written.”

Therefore, I write today seeking a copy of your thesis, “Karl Marx’s Economic Analysis and the Theory of Revolution in The Capital,” which you wrote as a student at Moscow State University on the V.I. Lenin Personal Academic Scholarship. While it appears that you have deleted any reference to your thesis in the version of your curriculum vitae (CV) that is currently available on the Cornell Law School website, the paper appeared on your CV as recently as April 2017. 

Given that your thesis was written while you were a student at Moscow State University in the late 1980s, I assume that it was written in Russian and will require translation. To ensure there is adequate time for translation and review by lawmakers, my Committee staff reached out to both you and staff at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) requesting a copy last month. Unfortunately, we have not received any assurances that the Committee would receive a copy of the paper in a timely fashion.

Accordingly, I formally request that you provide a copy of the original Russian-language thesis to the Committee, along with an English version if one exists, no later than the close of business on October 13, 2021.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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