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	<title>FrontPage Magazine &#187; Sam Nunberg</title>
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		<title>Predatory Lawsuit Rebounds Back on Iranian Front Group</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/samnunberg/predatory-lawsuit-rebounds-back-on-iranian-front-group/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=predatory-lawsuit-rebounds-back-on-iranian-front-group</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:38:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sam Nunberg]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[defamation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Legal Project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[middle east forum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Iranian American Council]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[A tremendous victory for truth-tellers over Tehran's agents in the West. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Trita1.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-186218" alt="Trita1" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Trita1.jpg" width="230" height="239" /></a>Editor&#8217;s note: In a great victory for the effort to expose Iranian influence in the U.S., the Legal Project, an initiative of the Middle East Forum, has just announced that a critic stands to be awarded a substantial sum for the cost of legal defense incurred during the course of an abusive lawsuit initiated by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). In hopes of burying <em>writer Hassan Daioleslam in litigation expenses for revealing </em>NIAC&#8217;s work as a lobbying agent for the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Council embarked on a protracted and frivolous legal battle against Mr. <em><em>Daioleslam</em></em>. Justice, however, was ultimately done.  Below is the Legal Project&#8217;s announcement on the court&#8217;s decision.<strong> </strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Reprinted from <a href="http://www.legal-project.org/4024/predatory-lawsuit-rebounds-back-on-iranian-front">The Legal Project</a>. </strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.iranian-americans.com/docs/Part3/MinutesOfNIAC022208.pdf">Seeking</a> to &#8220;hit him hard,&#8221; the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and acting president Trita Parsi brought a frivolous defamation <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/135863010/Original-Complaint">lawsuit</a> against a critic.  Now they face a $183,480.09 fine to his legal defense.</p>
<p>On April 8<sup>th</sup> D.C. District Court <a href="http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/bates">Judge John D. Bates</a> ordered this huge penalty because of the abuses which NIAC and Parsi&#8217;s perpetrated for over two years during discovery (pre-trial phase where parties exchange evidence) in their nuisance suit brought against Hassan Daioleslam, an Iranian immigrant and editor of the <a href="http://iraniansforum.com/">Iranian American Forum</a>.</p>
<p>Mr. Daioleslam&#8217;s 2007 <a href="http://english.iranianlobby.com/pageBakhsh.php?bakhsh=ARTICLES">writings</a> had exposed NIAC and Parsi&#8217;s illicit public relation campaign on behalf of Tehran. In April, 2008 Parsi and NIAC filed <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0705-189">Trita Parsi and National Iranian American Council v. Seid Hassan Daioleslam</a> against Mr. Daioleslam. In their defamation suit, Parsi and NIAC alleged that Mr. Daioleslam&#8217;s investigative <a href="http://english.iranianlobby.com/">research and writings</a> portrayed them in a false light.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.legal-project.org/">The Legal Project</a>, an activity of the <a href="http://www.meforum.org/">Middle East Forum</a> which works to protect the right in the West to freely discuss Islamist terrorism and other related issues, coordinated Mr. Daioleslam&#8217;s pro bono representation by <a href="http://www.sidley.com/">Sidley Austin LLP</a>.  Leading Mr. Daioleslam&#8217;s defense, Senior Litigation Partner <a href="http://www.sidley.com/timothy-kapshandy/">Timothy Kapshandy</a> requested an array of documents and schedules from NIAC and Parsi to establish that Mr. Daioleslam&#8217;s work was merited.  This phase of the litigation lasted over two years and was delayed by Parsi and other NIAC staff&#8217;s deliberate abuses.</p>
<p>These abuses <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0705-190">include</a>:</p>
<p>• <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0705-190">Withholding</a> 4,159 calendar appointments from production, including 999 entries that had been deleted and 715 entries that had been double-deleted from their server.  The deleted entries included meetings with Iranian U.N. officials.</p>
<p>• <a href="http://open.salon.com/blog/hy2696945/2012/09/24/niac_loses_defamation_suit_distorts_ruling">Altering</a> internal records by NIAC employee Patrick Disney changing at least 82 references in his calendar from the word &#8220;lobbying&#8221; to &#8220;legislative direct.&#8221;</p>
<p>• Withholding <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0705-190">5500 emails</a> to and from Babak Talebi, &#8220;NIAC&#8217;s cofounder and erstwhile director of community outreach.&#8221;  NIAC claimed that these emails did not contain any of the agreed upon search terms, which Judge Bates <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0705-190">found</a> &#8220;was not true.&#8221;</p>
<p>• Failing to include relevant computers and a shared server from production.  This was only discovered due to a forensic sweep conducted by Mr. Daioleslam&#8217;s defense.</p>
<p>• Parsi <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0705-190">misrepresenting</a> when he used a NIAC desktop from early 2009 to 2010 and failing to <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0705-190">explain</a> &#8220;what computer he was using during that time.&#8221;</p>
<p>• Parsi claiming that his laptop was stolen in a hotel in Norway in March 2010 without ever being backed up.  Not backing up the computer was negligent and sanctionable under the court&#8217;s discovery obligations.  Yet Parsi also claimed that the hotel immediately replaced his computer which Mr. Kapshandy <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0705-190">argued</a> &#8220;win[s] the world championship of hotel service.&#8221;</p>
<p>• Withholding emails from Mr. Daioleslam&#8217;s defense which NIAC and Parsi showed their own experts:  As Judge Bates <a href="http://open.salon.com/blog/hy2696945/2012/09/24/niac_loses_defamation_suit_distorts_ruling">chastised</a> NIAC:</p>
<p>&#8220;Most disturbingly, plaintiffs apparently gathered emails for their experts that they failed to produce to defendant, which clearly shows that plaintiffs&#8217; statement at the motions hearing that &#8220;[t]here may be technical explanations&#8221; for the failure to produce these documents is untrue.&#8221;</p>
<p>NIAC and Parsi&#8217;s defeat follows a heartening trend of these predatory lawsuits financially costing the abuser.  In 2006, the Council of Islamic Relations not only had its defamation suit against Andrew Whitehead <a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/3511/cair-backs-down-from-anti-cair">dismissed with prejudice</a>, but also <a href="http://www.anti-cair-net.org/WhiteheadStatement">reached</a> a &#8220;mutually agreeable settlement&#8221; in Mr. Whitehead&#8217;s favor.  In 2007, Riad Elsolh Hamad&#8217;s frivolous defamation suit <a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/12062/riad-elsolh-hamad">against</a> Daniel Pipes was dismissed and Hamad was ordered to pay Mr. Pipes&#8217; legal costs.</p>
<p>These cases should all stand as warnings to Islamists seeking to abuse the legal system as a sword and shield to silence their critics.  The costs can be high for them.</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank">Click here</a>.</strong></p>
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		<title>A Response to NIAC’s Deceitful Fundraising Letter</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/samnunberg/a-response-to-niacs-deceitful-fundraising-letter/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=a-response-to-niacs-deceitful-fundraising-letter</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jan 2013 04:35:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sam Nunberg]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lobbyist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[middle east forum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NIAC]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The Mullahs' lobbyist group lashes out after defeat. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2013/samnunberg/a-response-to-niacs-deceitful-fundraising-letter/trita-parsi-5/" rel="attachment wp-att-172575"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-172575" title="Trita Parsi" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Trita-Parsi4-450x318.png" alt="" width="270" height="191" /></a>Tehran’s informal lobby in Washington just suffered a massive defeat in court. Rather than acknowledge this fact, its president, one Trita Parsi, sent out an extraordinary <a href="http://iranian.com/posts/view/post/2709">fundraising letter</a> in which he takes perilous liberties with the truth.</p>
<p>In the letter, dated Dec. 31, 2012, Parsi raised the specter of a well-funded conspiracy “by a small but powerful group of prominent pro-war neoconservatives,” headed by Middle East Forum (MEF) President Daniel Pipes, “to destroy NIAC [National Iranian American Council] and silence the Iranian-American voice for peace.” He went on: “These elements do not want Iranian Americans to have an independent voice in the United States and they certainly don&#8217;t want an effective Iranian-American voice that stands in the way of their dreams of war.”<em> </em>Parsi claimed that the MEF-led conspiracy “spent several million dollars to silence the voice of Iranian Americans, starting with NIAC,” and that the funds came “from people like Sheldon Adelson.”</p>
<p>Mr. Parsi’s letter consists of fabrications, distortions and lies:</p>
<p>• The Middle East Forum does not, and has never sought “to destroy NIAC and silence the Iranian-American voice for peace.” Quite the contrary, its Legal Project came to the defense of Seid Hassan Daioleslam, editor of the <a href="http://iraniansforum.com/">Iranian American Forum</a> and a brave Iranian-American opponent of the regime in Tehran only after NIAC sued him. The Legal Project preserves rights of free expression, specifically the right in the West freely to discuss Islam, Islamism, terrorism, and related topics. It does not deal with foreign policy.</p>
<p>• Daioleslam documented over a two-year period that NIAC is a front group lobbying on behalf of the Iranian regime. NIAC &amp; Parsi responded with a law suit. <a href="http://iranian.com/posts/view/post/2741">Approached</a> by Daioleslam in August 2008 The Legal Project coordinated his pro bono defense by <a href="http://www.sidley.com/">Sidley Austin LLP</a>, led by <a href="http://www.sidley.com/timothy-kapshandy/">Timothy Kapshandy</a>, a senior litigation partner and <em>Best Lawyers</em>’ 2012 Chicago Products Liability Lawyer of the Year.</p>
<p>• Prior to Daioleslam’s approaching MEF for help in this matter, neither MEF nor Pipes had any sort of relationship with him.</p>
<p>• As for Parsi’s claim “that these neoconservatives instructed Iranian writers what to write against NIAC, how to write it, and where to publish it,” the editor of the <em>Middle East Quarterly</em> responded in August 2008 to an article submission by Daioleslam with advice on how best to present his arguments. The <em>Middle East Quarterly</em> did not publish his article.</p>
<p>• Parsi claims that Pipes has launched a massive effort “to destroy NIAC and silence the Iranian-American voice for peace” and he does not want “Iranian Americans to have an independent voice in the United States.” We challenge Parsi to prove that Pipes aims to silence Iranian-Americans and reserve the right to sue for damages unless he retracts it.</p>
<p>• Most importantly, The Legal Project did not spend “several million dollars” on this case, as alleged by Parsi. We challenge Parsi to document this claim and reserve the right to sue for damages unless he retracts it.</p>
<p>• The Middle East Forum has never received any financial support from Sheldon Adelson. We challenge Parsi to document this claim and reserve the right to sue for damages unless he retracts it.</p>
<p>• Parsi conveniently omits from his fundraising letter that he lost the case he initiated against Daioleslam and will have to pay a significant amount of Daioleslam’s legal expenses. (For details on the verdict, see news accounts <a href="http://freebeacon.com/niac-loses-defamation-suit/">here</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_16kFf873Q">here</a>.)</p>
<p>The above inaccuracies are consistent with NIAC &amp; Parsi’s record through 4½ years of litigation in the Daioleslam case, including 2 years of discovery and over 30 court motions. Not only did they <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0705-189">lose</a> their suit on the merits in D.C. Federal District Court, but they continually made false statements and attempted to hide evidence (for which they are being monetarily sanctioned). In particular, the discovery phase of the trial revealed NIAC &amp; Parsi’s shoddy modus operandi. Documents produced by NIAC established that:</p>
<p>• The NIAC board in 2008 intended to use the Daioleslam case to deter future scrutiny of NIAC’s activities (as revealed by board minutes).</p>
<p>• Parsi, who pretends to advocate for sanctions against Iran allegedly based on human rights concerns, in fact works with Iranian oil consultants.</p>
<p>In his <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0705-190">decision</a> on Sept. 13, 2012, U.S. District Judge Bates described NIAC’s &amp; Parsi’s legal malfeasance as “the sort of behavior that warrants deterrence measures” and expressed the hope that “an award of expenses [to Daioleslam] will act as a deterrent” that will stop “plaintiffs from future discovery abuses.” <em>Parsi et al v. Hassan</em>, Civil Action No. 08-705, Doc No. 190, 23, (D.D.C. 2012).</p>
<p>The Legal Project, the Middle East Forum, and Daniel Pipes heartily endorse the judge’s hope.</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank">Click here</a>.</strong></p>
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