Lawmakers Find Corruption Where?

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(PartiallyPolitics.com) – The House Foreign Affairs Committee has revealed that following a three-year investigation there is corruption at the Voice of America. 

The Washington Times reported that the Voice of America which received in the funding of around $1 billion for government broadcasting had attempted to cover up the improper activities of one of the managers at the agency. 

The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) had been engaging in corrupt practices during the vetting of the VOA’s Persian news network director Setareh Derakhshesh Sieg. The report noted that the agency had not investigated internal complaints from whistleblowers who had claimed that Sief had lied about having a doctor from Sorbonne in France. She was also accused of having misused VOA funds. 

The report noted that it has been confirmed by the French Government that Sief does not have the credentials she claims. 

Sieg had employed taxpayer funds during a personal trip and she had falsified her educational background in an attempt to reach a higher employment level. During her time at VOA, she showed favoritism which led to some employees being benefited over others. According to the reports she had some employees collect excessive overtime pay and had violated a VOA policy. 

She has also been accused of having an unqualified contract producer using thousands of taxpayer funds for travel that was not related to the agency’s mission. Sieg has also been said to be sympathetic to the Islamic government of Iran and has allowed pro-Tehran reports to be aired.

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