Posted on 01/26/2021 8:43:22 AM PST by SeekAndFind
An opinion writer who frequently contributed op-eds to the New York Times has admitted to being paid well by the Iranian mission to the United Nations but insists that this did not make him an agent of the Iranian government or influence his writing. Kaveh Afrasiabi is currently under arrest, accused of violating the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). For its part, the New York Times, which still claims to publish "all the news that's fit to print," is dummying up, keeping its readers in the dark on the subject, and offering no comment.
Ira Stoll of The Algemeiner has the story:
"I received checks from the Mission's UN account and it never occurred to me that I was doing anything illegal," the New York Times opinion writer, Kaveh Afrasiabi, wrote in a statement to the Algemeiner.
"My conscience is clear, and if the US government had an iota of sense of appreciation, they would thank me for all my tireless activities for the cause of detente, non-proliferation, human rights, inter-religious dialogue and understanding," Afrasiabi said in the statement to the Algemeiner.
He called the government's claim that he was a secret Iranian agent "absurd" and "wild."
"Whatever I did was perfectly legal and fully transparent," Afrasiabi said, saying that he had believed the Foreign Agents Registration Act "only applied to those engaging in lobbying efforts on behalf of a foreign government, which I never did."
A New York Times spokesperson did not respond to a query about whether the newspaper, which according to a search on its website Monday morning had not yet covered the federal criminal complaint against Afrasiabi, plans to tell its readers about the situation. The spokesperson also did not respond to a question about whether the newspaper plans to publish an editor's note
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Any insulting claim that more than a quarter-million dollars plus health insurance coverage does not influence one’s opinions or make one a “agent” is absurd. What was the money paid for? Does Iran merely hand out money and health care coverage to random people expecting nothing in return? [BY THE WAY, the same question can be asked about Ukraine’s Burisma, Russia and China regarding Hunter Biden ].
The fact that NYT is not even letting its readers know that a frequent opinion writer on Iran was also receiving big bucks from the mullahs and is now under arrest is another huge scandal.
Hunter said the same “I received a half billion from China for my energy expertise, and didn’t think that was odd or illegal when I gave 10% to a sitting Vice President.
Just curious...did he even report this to the IRS as income? And adding to this...did the FBI even figure this out?
He’s an Iranian and knew exactly what taking money from the regime meant.
Wouldn’t that make him/her a foreign agent?
How much did The Slimes writers get from Zuckerberg, Bloomberg , the Biden campaign etc to push vicious anti Trump stories in the run up to the elections?
The modern day DC foreign bribery industry (includes media)
twitter ^ | 4/22/2019 | BRIAN CATES
FR Posted on 4/23/2019, 2:28:38 AM by bitt
...snip...foreign governments/factions don’t just pay bribes to our politicians for favorable policy; they give money to media outlets like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post - and not only the print media. TV networks also take the $$$$$.
When ad revenues dropped and subscriptions dropped back in the mid 2000’s, the MSM discovered a lucrative new revenue stream.
Many top Fake News outlets are now very, very dependent on the cash they get paid to publish stories from paying clients.”.....
....snip....
“Let me tell you now the dirty secret that has *smart* Fake News reporters all over the DNC Media are freaking out right now.
They took MONEY from foreign governments/factions to publish their propaganda disguised as ‘news coverage’ to sway public opinion & affect US foreign policy.
Many in the DNC Media Complex didn’t just become paid political hacks for one certain US political party; they became FOREIGN AGENTS working for foreign clients and using their influence to publish stories and LOBBYING on behalf of their foreign clients.
Bob Mueller and his Merry Crew just spent 2 years proving what A Very Bad Thing it is to become a foreign agent without publicly disclosing this and filing as a foreign agent under FARA.
QUESTION: “But doesn’t the 1st AMENDMENT give them cover for this? Doesn’t free speech & the freedom of the press allow them to take foreign money ......”
ANSWER: .....no, it doesn’t. There’s no press exception clause in the FARA act.
====================REFERENCE=============
FARA requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities or other activities specified under the statute to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities.
Walter Duranty redux, nothing unusual for the Slime.
The Slimes.
Every time I see an article, I get a shock if I see a normal American name as the author.
The Slimes seem to go out of their way to find foreign agents and minorities who subvert normal American values.
If Iran paid this guy $265k I can imagine what they’re giving the NYT itself. Same with the Chicoms - I have no doubt that they and Iran are financially backing the NYT.
My thought. Just one media? Just one traitorous scribe? Please. .
My first thought is remembering all that phony outrage over that obvious spy journalist that got chopped up by the Saudis, though his name escapes me.
"I received checks from the Mission's UN account and it never occurred to me that I was doing anything illegal," the New York Times opinion writer, Kaveh Afrasiabi, wrote in a statement to the Algemeiner.
Maybe he should be writing fictional stories about how to work in the open as an Islamic agent and get paid for what he wrote.
“I received checks from the Mission’s UN account and it never occurred to me that I was doing anything illegal,” the New York Times opinion writer, Kaveh Afrasiabi, wrote in a statement to the Algemeiner.
“My conscience is clear, and if the US government had an iota of sense of appreciation, they would thank me for all my tireless activities for the cause of detente, non-proliferation, human rights, inter-religious dialogue and understanding,” Afrasiabi said in the statement to the Algemeiner.
He called the government’s claim that he was a secret Iranian agent “absurd” and “wild.”
“Wouldn’t that make him/her a foreign agent?”
Apparently not if he wrote his stuff for the New York Slimes.
My question is who did he tick off?
FARA “ain’t” fair to these left supposedly wing oped writers!
p
If you're 'doing' the elephants, you can't cover the circus...
The Times needs to fess up...
“If you sleep with the elephants, you can’t cover the circus” has developed into a newspaper adage. In 1977, it was discovered that New York (NY) Times writer Laura Foreman had been sleeping with Henry J. “Buddy” Cianfrani (1923-2003), a Pennsylvania state senator. Times executive editor Abraham Michael “A.M.” Rosenthal (1922-2006) called Foreman into his office, where she submitted her resignation.
A. M. Rosenthal’s now-famous (alleged) statement has been worded slightly differently. “I don’t care if my reporters are screwing elephants, as long as they’re not covering the circus” was reported in The Village Voice in 1977.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.