good reminder to all journalists to never make business deals with sources to ferry weapons for the CIA https://t.co/Xsb9I2ZWWH
— Emily Cohn (@emily_cohn) June 21, 2017
whomst among us has not been offered a stake in a business venture by a CIA gun-runner? (most of us. Almost all, in fact)
— Kelsey D. Atherton (@AthertonKD) June 21, 2017
To be honest, it sounds like this guy was writing fanfic after being contacted by an email scammer. But with really big weapons! Per the AP article:
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday fired its highly regarded chief foreign affairs correspondent after evidence emerged of his involvement in prospective commercial deals — including one involving arms sales to foreign governments — with an international businessman who was one of his key sources.
The reporter, Jay Solomon, was offered a 10 percent stake in a fledgling company, Denx LLC, by Farhad Azima, an Iranian-born aviation magnate who has ferried weapons for the CIA. It was not clear whether Solomon ever received money or formally accepted a stake in the company.
“We are dismayed by the actions and poor judgment of Jay Solomon,” Wall Street Journal spokesman Steve Severinghaus wrote in a statement to The Associated Press. “While our own investigation continues, we have concluded that Mr. Solomon violated his ethical obligations as a reporter, as well as our standards.”…
“I clearly made mistakes in my reporting and entered into a world I didn’t understand.” Solomon told the AP on Wednesday. “I never entered into any business with Farhad Azima, nor did I ever intend to. But I understand why the emails and the conversations I had with Mr. Azima may look like I was involved in some seriously troubling activities. I apologize to my bosses and colleagues at the Journal, who were nothing but great to me.”
Two other Denx partners — ex-CIA employees Gary Bernsten and Scott Modell — told the AP that Solomon was involved in discussing proposed deals with Azima at the same time he continued to cultivate the businessman as a source for his stories for the Journal. Bernsten and Modell said Solomon withdrew from the venture shortly after business efforts began and that the venture never added up to much. They provided no evidence as to when Solomon withdrew.
The emails and texts reviewed by the AP — tens of thousands of pages covering more than eight years — included more than 18 months of communications involving the apparent business effort. Some messages described a need for Solomon’s Social Security number to file the company’s taxes, but there was no evidence Solomon provided it.
Denx was shuttered last year, according to Florida business registration records…
way this normally works is you retire from journalism citing exhaustion, then take a job at a defense company, likely but not necessarily PR
— Kelsey D. Atherton (@AthertonKD) June 21, 2017
Open Thread: Apparently Writing for the WSJ Does Not Qualify One for 007 StatusPost + Comments (109)