But Rendell is far from the only former government official who has publicly acknowledged accepting speaking fees from supporters of the MEK, which has been lobbying to get the group off the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The Huffington Post put together a list of 33 speakers at various MEK related meetings and conferences, though not all of them had accepted payments.
Rendell’s”extensive research”claim appears to contradict what he told the audience at his very first MEK-related speaking engagement — a July 16 conference at the Willard Hotel in Washington attended by this reporter. There, on a bipartisan panel of former administration officials, all receiving at least $20,000 for their appearances, Rendell said he had received the speaking invitation only five days before. Typically, top-tier speakers like Rendell are booked months in advance.
Eyewitness News has learned some of Richardson’s fees were paid by an Iranian dissident group listed on the U.S. State Department’s list of known terrorist groups.In addition to paying the former governor, the Mojahedin-e Khalq, also named MEK aka MKO/PMOI, has been spending millions to have Richardson and other diplomats, politicians and even former U.S. military generals use their influence to help them get de-listed.
How much money is the MEK dropping on Dershowitz? I’d be shocked if he’d sell himself any cheaper than $50K a pop. If anyone has actual figures on this please get in touch. Where does the money come from? Possibly from the Iran assassinations the MEK aka MKO/PMOI performs on Mossad’s behalf, which undoubtedly pay well. Then there’s the possibility that the $400-million Bush allocated for destabilizing Iran in 2007 has found its way either to the MEK or Mossad (or both) …
However, according to an Obama administration official who works on the issue, it’s actually the MEK aka MKO/PMOI that is trashing Camp Liberty — literally. According to this official, the U.N. has reported that MEK members at Camp Liberty have been sabotaging the camp, littering garbage and manipulating the utilities to make things look worse than they really are. While there are some legitimate problems at the camp, the official admitted,..
the MEK/MKO/PMOI is not well liked by the majority of Iranians because of the numerous acts of violence it has committed within the country. This means that it’s not really a viable regime-change option—which is the reason Washington insiders have been lining up on behalf of the group.More disturbing is the fact that the MEK is basically a cult. In a 2009 report on the group, the Rand Corporation characterizes the MEK’s practices as “cultic” and their recruitment tactics as “deceptive,”
The Treasury Department’s counterterrorism arm is investigating speaking fees paid to a long-time Democratic Party leader who is among the most vocal advocates of an Iranian opposition group[MKO/MEK/PMOI] designated as a terrorist group by the State Department…David Cole, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, noted that “any group that’s on the list is also, by definition, on the Treasury Department’s list for specially designated global terrorists.”
Because the MEK is a resource being used by Israel in its clandestine war against Iran, it is perhaps inevitable that many friends of Israel in the United States are campaigning vigorously to have the group removed from the terrorism list. Indeed, neocons at their various think-tanks and publications as well as AIPAC all support delisting the group
Right on cue, enter former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani claiming that Camp Liberty (TTL)isn’t good enough for his newly found terrorist friends. It was good enough for our soldiers who fought and died there, but apparently Rudy thinks it’s a “concentration camp” that is beneath the gold standard status of a well equipped terrorist training facility we should provide for the MEK.
The UN has said publicly, however, that under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, conditions at Camp Liberty[TTL] would meet basic humanitarian standards including: adequate accommodation; dining and food preparation facilities; hygiene infrastructure (water and sanitation); medical care;..