Head of U.S. broadcast outlets dodges questions about controversial rehiring of fired VOA manager

Amanda Bennett, chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), ignored questions during a House subcommittee hearing on Tuesday about the controversial rehiring of a previously fired manager at Voice of America.

USAGM is comprised of "six entities that comprise the USAGM complement and reinforce one another in a shared mission vital to U.S. national interests: to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy."

A House Foreign Affairs Committee investigation revealed that Setarah Sieg, a Persian language manager at Voice of America, was reportedly fired near the end of the Trump administration after allegedly falsifying her resume and misusing about $1 million in taxpayer funds but she was rehired after President Biden assumed office. The investigation alleged that Sieg falsely claimed she graduated with a doctorate degree from Sorbonne University in France.

“The whistleblowers alleged wide-ranging abuses, including that Ms. Sieg frequently berated staff, used taxpayer funds for personal travel, awarded government contracts to friends, falsified her education credentials, and engaged in a pattern of favoritism,” said House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas. 

Bennett declined to comment on the Sieg's situation during the hearing on Tuesday held by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability.

"It’s really inappropriate to talk about personnel issues in an open forum like this," she said.

Bennett said her agency's internal investigation had concluded that the allegation of misusing taxpayer funds was “without merit.”

Sieg has denied the allegations made as a result of the investigation, according to her attorney.