A federal official used Ármenian language as a criminal cue. The remedy is BY ARA KHACHIG MANOOGIAN GLOBAL PEACE INTERNATIONAL Dr. Mehmet Oz has used the weight of federal office to push a narrative that associates Armenian language and Armenian identity markers with criminal suspi- cion “That 1e not evidence_hased entorcement It 16 profiling by insinuation, and it predictably harms innocent people and businesses The real question is no longer whether Dr. Oz crossed the line. He did The real question now is whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will do what his position requires and remove him 1) Dr. Or’s Conduct Was Not «Fraud Preven-tion.” It Was Profiling by Insinuation. Medicare fraud is a real issue. It must be inves- tigated and prosecuted But what Dr. Oz did was not a lawful investigative act. It was a public communication strategy built on 1mnlication not nront He filmed in front of a milti-tenant commercial building and treated visible language and cultural cues as a suspicious signal, using the setting to sell a narrative of criminal association. That is not how fraud is proven. Fraud is proven through evidence, due process, and lawful enforcement. Using ethnicity and language as a proxy for sus- picion is the opposite of constitutional governance. It is collective implication, and it is racism wrapped in official authority. 2) Governor Newsom Put It in Writing: Base- less and Racially Charged Allegations Governor Gavin Newsom’s office did what re- sponsible leadership looks like. It acted. In a formal civil rights filing dated January 29, 2026, Governor Newsom’s office stated that Dr. Oz “spewed baseless and racially charged allegations”targeting the Armenian community in Los Angeles, including insinuations that “Russian Armenian” let- tering and language on signage suggested affiliation with “the Mafia.”¹ That is not a public safety warning. That is ethnic stigmatization under federal authority. 3) The Building Was Used as a Prop and Inno- cent Businesses Got Swept Into the Fallout Dr. Oz did not name specific providers or cite adjudicated findings. Instead, he used a building as a visual stand-in for suspicion, leaning on the public’s assumptions rather than evidence. Only afterward did it become clear that the same building also contains a neighborhood bakery, along with other businesses. The bakery was not the subject of Medicare billing, yet it was inevitably swept into the fallout simply because it shares the same address and exterior signage.This is what happens when government officials speak recklessly: people who have done nothing wrong become collateral damage. 4) The Harm Is Not Hypothetical. It Is Already Documented. Governor Newsom’s filing documented that the impact was immediate and measurable, citing “real world harm,” including that the bakery connected to the incident reported a 30% drop in sales after the video’s release.² This is the predictable consequence of insinuation based government speech: reputations are damaged • livelihoods are harmed • fear spreads • and entire communities become targets of suspicion No one should suffer economic punishment because a federal official chose to amplify stereotypes instead of presenting evidence. 5) Why This Is Especially Destabilizing: It Comes From a Turkish Dual Citizen in Federal Power This enisode is not merely offensive It is uniquelv destabilizing because of who delivered it Dr. Oz is not an anonymous commentator. He is a Turkish dual citizen who is now speaking from in- sidey tederal anthority and he is msino Armenian identity markers as a cue for suspicion and criminal insinuation. For many Armenian Americans, that is not iust “had messaging It reads like somethino much darker: an attack echoing the same nationalist hostilit that forced Armenian families to flee their homeland in the first place. A large portion of the Armenian community in Los Angeles includes families who came to the United States be- cause Armenia has lived for generations under existential pressure tied to Turkey’s historic and ongoing hostility. For them, America is supposed to be the refuge of constitutional equality, where the law protects individuals from collective blame. So when a federal official of Turkish nationality uses Armenian language and cultural markers to imply “mafia” activity, it sends a chilling message: even in the place they thought they were safe, the same forces that drove them out can still reach them, stigmatize them, and destabilize their lives through state power. That is why this matters beyond politics. It is about whether the United States will enforce its own civil-rights standards, or allow ethnicity to become a target again, this time under an American flag. 6) Dr. Oz’s Credibility Problem: A Documented Lie About Political In- volvement in Turkey This is not speculation. It is documented. During his 2022 Senate campaign, Dr. Oz publicly claimed that he had **“never been politically involved in Turkey in any capacity.”**14 But that claim collapsed when reporting showed that he voted in Turkey’s 2018 presidential election, with the image of him casting a ballot posted publicly by a Turkish consulate account. 15 Those two facts cannot both be true. That is not a “miscommunication.” That is not a “media distortion.” That is a verifiable contradiction, and it establishes something essential for any federal official: **Dr. Oz is a documented liar about his political involvement in Turkey. **15 This matters because credibility is not a side issue. It is the foundation of lawful administration. A senior official overseeing Medicare and Medicaid cannot be trusted to administer policy neutrally if he misrepresents foreign political involvement and then uses ethnicity-linked insinuations while wielding federal authority. 7) Standards of Conduct and What Dr. Oz Violated (By Law) This isn’t about personal offense. It’s about binding civil-rights law and executive-branch ethics standards. A. Title VI: National-origin discrimination is illegal in federally funded programs Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.3 HHS implements Title VI through regulation at 45 C.F.R. Part 80, prohibiting any person from being excluded from participation in, denied benefits of, or “otherwise subjected to discrimination” under covered programs.* B. Section 1557: Nondiscrimination applies in federally funded health programs and HHS-administered activities Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. § 18116) prohibits discrimination (including national-origin discrimination) in covered health programs and activities, including those receiving federal financial assistance or administered by executive agencies.5 HHS has reinforced this nondiscrimination framework through Section 1557 rulemaking and implementation guidance.® C. Executive-branch ethics standards: impartiality and the appearance rule Federal executive-branch employees are bound by the Standards of Ethical Conduct in 5 C.F.R. Part 2635. Those standards include the principle that federal employees must act impartially and avoid actions that create an appearance of violating the law or ethical standards. They also include the fundamental premise that “public service is a public trust.”8 When an official charged with administering massive public healthcare programs publicly uses ethnic-language cues as a proxy for criminal suspicion, it undermines impartiality and creates the appearance of bias. That is precisely what these standards are designed to prevent. 8) Even If It’s Not a Vendetta, It Functions Like One. Dr. Oz does not need to openly admit personal resentment for the public to understand what is happening. Armenian Americans challenged him years ago and publicly opposed him over genocide recognition and Turkey-linked concerns. But even if Dr. Oz insists this is not personal, his conduct functions exactly like targeted hostility, because it uses the power and prestige of federal office to cast suspicion on a community through identity markers rather than evidence. Motive is not the only standard that matters. Impact is. 9) Remedies and Complaint Pathways (What the Public Can Do Now) This is not helpless outrage. There are direct, lawful remedies available. 1) File a Civil Rights Complaint with HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) HHS OCR allows members of the public to file civil-rights complaints through the OCR complaint process and portal.’ 2) Report Medicare fraud lawfully (without ethnic scapegoating) Medicare fraud allegations belong in evidence-based reporting channels, including: • Medicare’s official reporting resources 10 • the HHS Office of Inspector General fraud reporting hotline” 3) Ethics oversight and Inspector General review Executive-branch misconduct allegations are commonly handled through oversight structures including Inspectors General. 12 4) DOJ civil-rights reporting Civil-rights concerns can also be reported through DOJ’s civil-rights reporting mechanisms. 13 10) What Can Be Done Right Now This does not require weeks of theater. It requires executive accountability. RFK Jr. can remove Dr. Oz immediately Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the Secretary of Health and Human Services. He has the authority and obligation to ensure civil-rights compliance is taken seriously within federal health administration. At minimum, he can initiate immediate review, discipline, and corrective ac-tion. And he can remove Dr. Oz from any role where he is using ethnicity-linked insinuations under federal authority. RFK Jr. can recommend termination to the President RFK Jr. can formally advise President Trump that Dr. Oz is unfit to serve in a position involving public health oversight and civil-rights compliance, and recommend termination. President Trump can terminate him President Trump has the authority to dismiss senior executive appointees. If this administration claims to stand for equal treatment and constitutional neutrality, it cannot keep a federal official who publicly stigmatizes Americans by ethnicity and language. If they claim to be friends of Armenians, this is the moment to prove it Friendship is not a photo-op. It is action. If RFK Jr. and President Trump truly claim respect for Armenian Americans, they must show it when Armenians become the target, not only when Armenians are politically convenient. Anything short of decisive action is a signal that the community is protected only when it is useful. Conclusion Medicare fraud should be pursued aggressively and lawfully.