DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- An official in President Donald Trump's Cabinet and at least one of his advisers gave paid speeches for organizations linked to an Iranian exile group that killed Americans before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Elaine Chao, confirmed last week as Trump's transportation secretary, received $50,000 in 2015 for a five-minute speech to the political wing of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, previously called a "cult-like" terrorist group by the State Department. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani also was paid an unknown sum to talk to the group, which saw its members set themselves on fire over the arrest of their leader.
More than two dozen former U.S. officials, both Republican and Democratic, have spoken before the group, including former House Speaker and Trump adviser Newt Gingrich. Some have publicly acknowledged being paid, but others have not.
While nothing would have prohibited the paid speeches, they raise questions about what influence the Iranian exiles may have in the new administration.
A group of former U.S. officials, including Giuliani, wrote a letter to Trump last month encouraging him to "establish a dialogue" with the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq's political arm. Trump has banned Iranians from entering the U.S., and his administration has called to put Iran "on notice" and has imposed new sanctions -- all measures welcomed by the exile group.
The Iranian exiles have a controversial history and have gone against American interests in the past by supporting Iran's Islamic Revolution and the U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran. After fleeing Iran, the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq joined forces with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. It later exposed details of the clandestine nuclear program run by Iran, which views the group as its sworn enemy.
"The Mujahedeen have backed the winning horse. They are going to have some at least entree into the administration," said Ervand Abrahamian, a professor at the City University of New York who wrote a book on the group. "I think it weakens the U.S. because the more they have access to the administration, the more people in Iran are going to be scared of anything the U.S. does."
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq long has cultivated a roster of former U.S. and European officials to attend its events opposing Iran's clerically run government. It pays for the appearance of many.
Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, spoke before a Mujahedeen-e-Khalq conference in 2015 in Paris. She also had a seat next to Maryam Rajavi, the "president-elect" of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the group's political arm.
Chao received a $50,000 honorarium from the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq-associated Alliance for Public Awareness, according to a report she filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Chao received another $17,500 honorarium for a March 2016 speech she gave to the Iranian-American Cultural Association of Missouri.
The Department of Transportation said in a statement that Chao has a "strong record of speaking out in support of democracy and women's rights in the Middle East," but "has not spoken to [Mujahedeen-e-Khalq] events."
It added that her speeches were delivered alongside bipartisan members of Congress, governors, prime ministers, ambassadors, generals, former FBI directors and "many other influential voices."
Giuliani has acknowledged being paid for his appearances at Mujahedeen-e-Khalq events. However, he hasn't filed a government disclosure form since his failed 2008 Republican presidential bid, so it's unclear how much the group has paid him in total. Giuliani did not respond to a request for comment sent through his aides.
Gingrich has also spoken to the group before, including at a gala in 2016, although it is not clear whether or how much he was paid. Gingrich could not be reached for comment.
The U.S. Treasury briefly investigated the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq's practice of paying American politicians in 2012, the same year the State Department delisted the group as a foreign terrorist organization. A Treasury spokesman did not respond to requests for comment about the status of that probe.
The exile group welcomes the Trump government as "some people within this administration" plan to change American policies toward Iran, said Mohammad Mohaddessin, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of its political arm.
"The core of the policy that we are advocating is to be tough with the Iranian regime, to not ignore its crimes against the Iranian people," he said.
The White House had no comment.
The exile group formed in 1965. Members embraced both Marxism and the idea of an Islamic government after the violent overthrow of the American-backed shah who ruled Iran at the time. Their name, Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, means "the People's Holy Warriors."
Members carried out a string of targeted assassinations hitting Iranian officials, as well as Americans. In 1975, gunmen in Iran attacked a car carrying two American airmen, killing them. Hours later, American consular officials received a call claiming the attack for the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq in revenge for Iran executing prisoners.
However, today the exile group blames a Marxist splinter faction of the group for killing the Americans.
The group fled Iran and later found refuge in Iraq. Heavily armed by Saddam, Mujahedeen-e-Khalq forces launched cross-border raids into Iran during its with war with Iraq, further alienating the group from average Iranians. The exile group says it renounced violence in 2001.
The State Department has described the group as having "cult-like characteristics." When French police arrested Rajavi in 2003 as part of a terrorism investigation, Mujahedeen-e-Khalq members responded by lighting themselves on fire. At least two people died.
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq's success in getting the support of former U.S. officials could be seen in a letter dated Jan. 9 sent to Trump just before his inauguration.
"We repeat the call for the U.S. government to establish a dialogue with Iran's exile resistance," read the letter signed by Giuliani and others.
However, exile groups haven't always been proven to be reliable American allies in the Middle East. Exiled politician Ahmad Chalabi heavily lobbied the administration of President George W. Bush to invade Iraq by pushing allegations of weapons of mass destruction and links to al-Qaida.
Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.
But while the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq continues to pay former U.S. officials for their time, the family of the American lieutenant colonel killed in Iran in 1975 has filed a $35 million federal lawsuit in Colorado against the group and Iran.
The reason for the lawsuit, Jack Turner's family says, is simple: "Unlike the U.S. hostages, our father never had the chance to come home."
A Section on 02/06/2017