McCaul Demands USAGM Leadership Be Held Accountable for Whitewashing Agency Failures

Washington, D.C. - House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul released the transcribed interview of Setareh Sieg, a senior official at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which was conducted after more than six months of stonewalling by USAGM and Ms. Sieg. In June of 2024, Chairman McCaul released his report into the culture of corruption and mismanagement at USAGM; the report detailed fabrications to Ms. Sieg's resume, such as her educational credentials, which the agency admitted were false after years of committee oversight. Despite this, USAGM CEO Amanda Bennett - a political appointee - still refuses to acknowledge her own subordinates' findings and has "condemned" Chairman McCaul's investigation rather than apologize to USAGM whistleblowers or publicly commit to reforming the agency.

The transcribed interview is minimally redacted.

• Setareh Sieg, Director, Program Review, Voice of America. Ms. Sieg formerly served as director of Voice of America's Persian News Network (VOA-Persia).

Read Ms. Sieg's entire transcribed interview here.

Background:

• It is a violation of federal law to lie during a congressional investigation. 18 U.S.C. §1001 (c)(2) states that material false statements during "any investigation or review, conducted pursuant to the authority of any committee, subcommittee, commission or office of the Congress, consistent with applicable rules of the House or Senate" represent a criminal offense.
• When Ms. Sieg appeared before the committee, she stated that she no longer presents herself as holding a Ph.D. (Page 101, Lines 6-12). However, she continues to advertise her falsified credentials online.
  • Ms. Sieg does not hold a Ph.D., or its equivalent, from the Sorbonne, despite her shifting claims to that effect. In her transcribed interview, she repeatedly stated "controversy" existed regarding whether she held a Ph.D. instead of flatly admitting she does not.
• When the Biden-Harris administration brought Ms. Sieg back to the agency, USAGM failed to conduct a thorough investigation about her false credentials and abuses of authority, despite the committee's calls to do so - indicating incompetence, indifference, or a deliberate conspiracy within USAGM to protect a politically-connected individual from whistleblower complaints.
  • The committee's investigation showed Ms. Sieg allowed her preferred employees to collect excessive overtime pay, showed a pattern of favoritism, faced persistent complaints from subordinates due to her abrasive leadership style, and mishandled at least one major programming contract.
• Voice of America leadership finally issued a formal reprimand, supported by USAGM human resources staff findings, to Ms. Sieg - acknowledging she lied about her educational credentials - yet CEO Bennett continues to ignore her own staff's conclusions and defend Ms. Sieg.(Page 80).
• Despite the formal reprimand, Ms. Sieg refuses to accept the findings of USAGM, the committee, the French Embassy, and the Foreign Credential Services of America that she does not have a French Doctorate, referring to the assessments as mere "opinions." (Pages 83-84, 98-101).

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