Don’t look now but the controversy over the sale of Current TV to Al Jazeera just became a whole lot more significant, thanks to what appears to be a scorned architect of the deal named John Terenzio, who has filed a lawsuit against Current TV. These latest developments also make House Homeland Security Committee chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) look pretty bad.
Cliff Kincaid of America’s Survival sent a letter to McCaul back on January 9th (which was co-signed by Walid), in which Kincaid laid out the case for why McCaul should convene hearings into the sale.
McCaul’s office has expressed no interest in pursuing such an investigation. In fact, when Kincaid finally got a staffer from McCaul’s office to talk to him, the staffer told him, “We’re not listening to you. You’re not going to drive our agenda.”
Thanks to the lawsuit filed by Terenzio, we may be getting closer to why McCaul isn’t doing his job relative to investigating this sale.
As is almost always the case, if you want to get to the truth about something, follow the money. In the case of the Current TV / Al Jazeera deal, there has been a lot of lobbying.
On his March 10th radio show, Ben Barrack interviewed Kincaid about this new Current TV / Al Jazeera bombshell:
In essence, Terenzio alleges that he helped to put the sale together and came up with a strategy that would help the sale go through. One of his ideas – according to the lawsuit – is that Terenzio is the one who came up with the name ‘Al Jazeera America’. He says he was stiffed and is owed at minimum, $5 Million.
Via USA Survival:
The suit says Terenzio made his presentation to Richard Blum, husband of Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, and an investor in Current TV. The suit says that Blum and others involved in Current TV were “concerned about the prospect of losing their shirts” and wanted to find a buyer for their little-watched channel.
The suit says that it was believed that Al Gore would find a sale to Al Jazeera “politically unappealing” but that Blum promised to present it to him.
“Plaintiffs are informed and believe that Gore was adamant in his rejection of the proposal to sell his liberal environmentally friendly network to the oil rich Qataris who owned Al Jazeera,” it says.
Al Gore apparently changed his mind. Perhaps the $500 million price tag, with $100 million going to him personally, was a factor.
If McCaul was successfully lobbied to look the other way on this deal, it should be considered a major offense and absolutely contrary to the position he holds as chairman of a Homeland Security Committee. Al Jazeera is the media arm of the enemy that hit the United States on 9/11/01 and it is beyond disgraceful for McCaul not to convene hearings.
Fortunately, for now, another Congressman has taken interest. His name is Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA). While Murphy is not on the Homeland Security Committee, he is on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and has taken interest in investigating the sale.
Here is the contact page for the committee McCaul chairs. Please contact them and demand hearings into the sale of Current TV to Al Jazeera. While you’re at it, contact Rep. Murphy’s office and encourage him not to give up the fight.
When it comes to this deal, it’s a matter of duty – patriotic or dereliction.
Rep. McCaul has an important decision to make in this regard.