WSJ fires scribe over ethics conflict
Solomon offered 10% stake in firm run by Iranian-born magnate
Washington, June 22: The Wall Street Journal has fired its highly regarded chief foreign affairs correspondent after evidence emerged of his involvement in prospective commercial deals, including one involving arms sales to foreign governments with an international businessman who was one of his key sources.
Jay Solomon, was offered a 10 per cent stake in a fledgling company, Denx LLC, by Farhad Azima, an Iranian-born aviation magnate who has ferried weapons for the CIA. It was not clear whether Solomon ever received money or formally accepted a stake in the company.
“We are dismayed by the actions and poor judgement of Jay Solomon,” WSJ spokesman Steve Severinghaus said. “While our own investigation continues, we have concluded that Mr Solomon violated his ethical obligations as a reporter, as well as our standards.”
Azima was the subject of an AP investigative article published on Tuesday.
Emails were obtained and text messages between Azima and Solomon, as well as an operating agreement for Denx dated March 2015, which listed an apparent stake for Solomon.
The AP had asked WSJ about the documents appearing to link Solomon and Azima. The relationship was uncovered in interviews and in internal documents that Azima’s lawyer said were stolen by hackers.
“I clearly made mistakes in my reporting and entered into a world I didn’t understand.” Solomon said. “I never entered into any business with Farhad Azima, nor did I ever intend to. But I understand why the emails and the conversations I had with Mr. Azima may look like I was involved in some seriously troubling activities. I apologise to my bosses and colleagues at the Journal, who were nothing but great to me.”
Q Denx LLC is run by Farhad Azima, an Iranian-born aviation magnate who has ferried weapons for the CIA
Q Jay Solomon denied having entered into any business with Azima