Thread by @OARichardEngel

Next up: we’re examining how @AmbJohnBolton and @RudyGiuliani were paid to speak for the MEK, a fringe Iranian opposition group with an extremist past.

The MEK, short for Mojahedin-e Khalq, means “Holy Warriors of the People.” It fought against the Shah & killed 6 Americans in the 1970s. And in 1979 it participated in the storming of the US Embassy in Tehran, where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days. #OnAssignment

All that earned the MEK a spot on the @StateDept’s list of terrorist organizations in 1997. It was removed only in 2012.

Now the MEK spends thousands paying US policymakers to speak at its events. @joanne_stocker, an expert on the group, estimates that @AmbJohnBolton has made upwards of $180K over the years, promoting the MEK as part of his support for regime change in #Iran.

That @AmbJohnBolton is now in a position to direct US policy toward #Iran should “cause people an awful lot of concern,” says @Benjamin05055, a former counterterrorism expert at the State Dept.

.@AmbJohnBolton has never disclosed how much he was paid by the MEK. His office didn’t respond to our request for comment.

.@RudyGiuliani told us his relationship with the MEK began in September 2008, but he said he doesn't remember how much money they paid him over the years. He called the group's past designation as a foreign terrorist organisation "a mistake."