Rudy Giuliani, Joe Lieberman Team Up For Albania MEK Conference

Former US mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani. Annual gathering of Free Iran-Alternative 100 ASHRAF at the Villepinte exhibition North of Paris, France, June 30, 2018. Saturday, June 30, 2018, the Iranian Resistances gra... Former US mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani. Annual gathering of Free Iran-Alternative 100 ASHRAF at the Villepinte exhibition North of Paris, France, June 30, 2018. Saturday, June 30, 2018, the Iranian Resistances grand gathering was held in Paris, France. Delegations from various countries including prominent politicians, members of parliaments, mayors, elected representatives, and international experts on Iran attended the event. The speakers declared their support for the Iranian peoples uprising and the democratic alternative, the National Council of Resistance of Iran. They called on the international community to adopt a firm policy against the mullahs regime and stand by the arisen people of Iran. Siavosh Hosseini (Photo by Siavosh Hosseini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has joined buckraking forces with former Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), speaking at an event in Albania for a bizarre, cultish Iranian group that fashions itself as a government-in-exile for the Islamic Republic.

Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) — once designated as a foreign terrorist group — hosted the conference at a compound that MEK operates in Albania.

In addition to Giuliani and Lieberman, former Colombian Senator and longtime FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt appeared at the event, along with former Marine Corps Commandant James Conway.

Billed as “The 120 Year Struggle Of The Iranian People For Freedom,” the conference appears to focus in part on extolling the virtues of MEK leader Maryam Rajavi. Rajavi styles herself as the “leader of the Iranian resistance,” but has faced criticism for alleged brainwashing by the group.

In a video posted to Twitter, Giuliani says that “an alternative exists to the theocracy in Iran. It’s our responsibility to support it.”

In March, the Trump Administration reportedly shifted its position to no longer rule out MEK as a potential replacement for Iran’s current government.

Giuliani seems to have gone straight to the conference from a Thursday evening call-in appearance on Sean Hannity.

Giuliani also spoke at an anti-Iran rally in Warsaw in February, saying that he was representing MEK, and not Trump. He did some work for Trump on the sidelines of the event, however, meeting with a Ukrainian prosecutor who was claiming to have dirt on presidential candidate Joe Biden.

At Friday’s conference, Lieberman echoed Giuliani’s statements.

“When I’m here I feel that I’m representing the spirit of my great friend, the late Senator John McCain, who was warned by the establishment to stay away from this organization, but he spent time learning about it,” Lieberman said. “He came to Ashraf 3, believing in this organization and its cause.”

This isn’t Giuliani’s first time in Albania. In May 2018, he traveled to the southern European country for another MEK event. The relationship has gone on for years.

Latest Muckraker
116
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Good to see Joe Lieberman continuing as the scumbag we always knew he was.

  2. I assumed no-chin was deceased.

    Oh well.

  3. I was hoping the same about the other one.

  4. “President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has joined buckraking forces with former Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), speaking at an event in Albania for a bizarre, cultish Iranian group that fashions itself as a government-in-exile for the Islamic Republic.”

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

110 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ajm Avatar for ghost Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for old_curmudgeon Avatar for ncsteve Avatar for UnfadingGreen Avatar for cervantes Avatar for bluinmaine Avatar for arrendis Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for lastroth Avatar for ottnott Avatar for benjoya Avatar for moreyampersand Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for henk Avatar for dommyluc Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for tiowally Avatar for pablointhegazebo Avatar for kenga Avatar for swampsofjersey Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for haddockbranzini

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: