Report Alleges Corruption at the Voice of America

A House Foreign Affairs Committee investigation spanning three years has uncovered corruption within the Voice of America.

Reports from The Washington Times indicate that the federal agency overseeing nearly $1 billion in government broadcasting funds attempted to conceal improper activities by a manager at Voice of America.

The US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) was involved in corrupt practices related to the vetting of Setareh Derakhshesh Sieg, a director at VOA’s Persian news network, as stated in the committee’s report.

Allegations state that USAGM disregarded complaints from internal VOA whistleblowers about Sieg’s fraudulent claims of holding a doctorate from France’s Sorbonne and misuse of VOA funds.

Confirmation from the French government revealed that Sieg did not possess the claimed doctorate.

The findings in the report suggest that Sieg misused taxpayer funds at VOA for personal travel and misrepresented her educational background to secure a high-level position. Additionally, she is accused of practicing favoritism within VOA, resulting in unfair advantages for certain employees.

Furthermore, Sieg is accused of approving excessive overtime pay for favored employees against VOA policy and enabling an unqualified contract producer to spend substantial amounts of taxpayer funds on non-beneficial travel expenses.

Reports also indicate Sieg’s sympathetic stance towards Iran’s Islamist regime and permission for pro-Tehran VOA reports to be broadcast.

While Sieg was terminated by the previous administration under Donald Trump, she was reinstated shortly after President Joe Biden took office.

Yolanda Lopez, the acting VOA director, resigned during the course of the House investigation, citing pressure to reinstate Sieg to protect USAGM.

Rep. Michael McCaul, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, called for Sieg’s immediate removal from her VOA post.

McCaul expressed concerns about USAGM’s ability to vet its staff effectively and urged for improvements to the vetting processes at the agency.

The article was written by Peter Malbin, a Newsmax writer with 30 years of experience in news coverage.