Who is Hassan Namazee?
Tehran's man who shook big hands in Washington
For many years, the media has forgotten his name. He was Iran’s man who flowed cash into American politics in almost a bipartisan fashion. Although his time is beyond influence, it’s still helpful to learn how politicians have been influenced by foreign agents that escaped scrutiny… just as it is happening today.
During the 2004 United States presidential election, Nemazee was a supporter of John Kerry and a major contributor to his campaign. He was the New York Finance Chair for the Kerry campaign, and later the national finance chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. With Nemazee as the national finance chair, Chuck Schumer's DSCC in 2006 raised $115 million, outpacing the NRSC by substantial sums, and helping the Democratic Party take control of the Senate. During his presidency, Bill Clinton nominated Nemazee to fill the position of U.S. Ambassador to Argentina. Due to Congressional concerns about Nemazee's convoluted and controversial business dealings, the nomination was subsequently withdrawn. More recently, Nemazee served as Finance Chairman to Hillary Clinton's 2007-08 presidential campaign and also donated $50,000 (the maximum amount) to Barack Obama's Presidential Inaugural Committee. In addition, Nemazee was a bundler for the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Hassan Dai, an Iranian activist who defeated NIAC in a defamation lawsuit in 2012, writes on his website:
I wonder if many Iranian-Americans are aware that IAPAC is also operated by Hassan Namazee (see http://www.iranianamericanpac.org/leadership/p_nemazee.shtml
He also wrote here:
While IAPAC focused on donating funds to politicians in the name of Iranian Americans, PAAIA focused on improving the image of Iranian Americans. Thanks to Hassan Namazee and the feeble reaction of PAAIA, however, the image of Iranian Americans have been shattered and their political stock destroyed.
The Post&Email wrote in an interesting piece:
The Iran lobby of today appears to have its origins in the work of two individuals. One of those individuals is Baquer Namazi, who heads a central and critical Iranian non-governmental organization (NGO). Namazi’s son, Siamak, co-founded the National Iranian-American Council (NIAC) with Trita Parsi, who was a consultant to Republican Congressman Bob Ney of Ohio.
The other individual is Hassan Namazee, who was a major political fundraiser, especially (but not exclusively) for Democrats. He is now serving a prison sentence after admitting guilt to committing bank fraud.
The New York Sun reported in February 2008 that a supporter of Mr. Obama, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and a finance chairman for Senator Clinton's presidential campaign, Hassan Nemazee, met with Mr. Assad in Damascus as part of a delegation sponsored by the RAND Corporation.
In the video below that was posted in 2012 on Youtube, the lawyer of an Iranian American citizen Aryo Pirouznia accused Hassan Nemazee of lobbying for the Iranian regime and trying to bribe him off.
In this video, you also see how Mr. Timmerman says that the Iranian American Council, a predecessor organization of NIAC, led by Houshang Amirahmadi is related officially to the regime. Hassan Namazee was warned by Mr. Timmerman not to join the IAC board and fundraise for that very organization.
Houshang Amirahmadi was the very person who lectured and navigated Trita Parsi through Washington when he came over from Sweden to the United States. Trita Parsi later grew at odds with Amirahmadi and went to create NIAC. Amirahmadi said in 2019 that NIAC “cannot even drink water without the permission of the Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif.”
Read more about Hassan Namazee:
Washington Times: Kerry’s Iranian connection
Observer: Hassan Nemazee Arrested on Fraud Charge; New York Donors Stunned
Politico: Dems return Nemazee contributions
Financial Times: Clinton fundraiser accused in alleged fraud
USA Transnational Report: House Of Bribes: How The United States Led The Way To A Nuclear Iran
Deseret News: Fraud gets ex-Obama, Clinton fundraiser 12 years
Hassan Namazee was eventually pardoned by former US President Donald Trump and released from prison in February 2019 under the First Step Act.
But the most astonishing fact is not that Iran’s man has paid and influenced American politicians or politics. It’s that the media who were supposed to shed light on it kept and is still keeping quiet about him, his offspring, and their relationship with Tehran.
Some unofficial sources have said that Hassan Namazee is among the founders of PAAIA and IAPAC (Source1) (Source2) (Source3) (Source4) (Source5) (Source6) (Source7) (Source8) (Source9)
Back in 2008, a statement by IAPAC and PAAIA introduced Hassan Nemazee as an IAPAC Board Member and founding Trustee.
The Iranian American Political Action Committee (IAPAC) and the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) on July 8, 2008, announced an agreement to merge the two organizations, making IAPAC the affiliated political action committee of PAAIA. (Source)
