Former Journalist Says 'One Journalist' Hostage Means Little Next to the Iran Deal

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By Michael McKinney | November 2, 2015

Monday’s Morning Joe featured a discussion with Richard Stengel, the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Joe Scarborough felt it important to grill Stengel on hostages in Iran, specifically Jason Rezaian. Stengel tried to justify the lack of action by the administration, “Joe, look at the values and the priorities. Basically the Secretary and the President were negotiating around a nuclear agreement that could protect the world and the Middle East for generations to come.” Scarborough replied “my first priority is bring the Americans home and then we'll talk. That is my top priority.”

Earlier in the broadcast, Stengel had opened that the reason he was making the visit was for his lecture at Columbia University on “Crimes against Journalism.” When Scarborough started listing bad-actor governments, like Russia, Syria, and Iran, and brought up the American hostages, Stengel tried to explain that “it's a sovereign state. We're negotiating with them about other things, obviously about the Iran Nuclear Deal. We always bring them up.” 

However, the Morning Joe crew was not going to be satisfied by that defense. Mika Brzezinski began with “its one thing to bring it up,” and Scarborough finished the thought with “but bringing them up is not enough. How do we get them home? How do we make deals with countries that depends in large part in trust that actually seize our journalists and don't let them come home? It’s shocking to me that we’re still talking about this.”

Stengel tried to re-assert that Iran is not the only nation that arrests journalists and that “we have more leverage with Iran than we did before. The deal was about the Iran Nuclear Deal. But all these things now come up. Now we have a bilateral relationship with them that we can bring that up.”

Willie Geist would ask, “To your knowledge Rick, how much did Jason's name, the Washington Post reporter, come up in the Iran deal and negotiations?” Scarborough not satisfied with Stengel’s excuses, stated, “I would think most Americans, I would say most Americans would say return our hostages or we don't have a negotiation. And Jason and the other Americans are in fact hostages, are they not?”

Stengel shot back: "I would put that to the American people, protecting thousands and hundreds of millions of people from a nuclear threat or bringing one journalist home."

See the relevant transcript below. 

2015-11-2-MSNBC Morning Joe

RICK STENGEL: The fact that today is the international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists which the U.S. supported in the U.N. That's what I'm here to talk about and I'm going to talk about Columbia tonight. It's been the worst three years for dangers and crimes against journalists in human history, in anybody’s memory.

MIKA BRZEZNISKI: It’s the Columbia University Graduate School --

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Which one is the most dangerous?

STENGEL: In the Middle East, in Iraq and Syria obviously –

SCARBOROUGH: What about Russia?

STENGEL: But crimes, you know, punishment against journalists in Russia and the NGO laws in Russia and China, Turkey and places like that, there are countries that have realized they can crackdown on journalism, there were 60 journalists who were killed in 2014, more than 200 imprisoned. The U.N. and U.S. have realized this is an awful state of affairs. The State Department is doing safety training for journalists.

SCARBOROUGH: So what do we do about our Washington Post reporter still in Iran?

STENGEL: Well the Secretary brings it up at every single meeting. One of the things I have to say, and Richard could agree with me on this I think. In all the meetings that I'm in the Secretary and other leaders meetings I am in, with foreign officials, we always bring up journalists who are imprison, we always bring up journalists who are harassed. One of the great things about American diplomacy and I know that --

SCARBOROUGH: But why can't we bring the three home from Iran? We've been negotiating with Iranians for years now. We had a massive deal. Why can’t we get the – and didn't they just arrest a fourth? Didn't they just arrest somebody else?

STENGEL: Again, it's a sovereign state. We're negotiating with them about other things, obviously about the Iran Nuclear Deal. We always bring them up.

BRZEZINSKI: It’s one thing to bring it up.

SCARBOROUGH: But bringing them up is not enough. How do we get them home? How do we make deals with countries that depends in large part in trust that actually seize our journalists and don't let them come home? It’s shocking to me that we’re still talking about this.

STENGEL: But again, it's not unique to Iran, it's lots of other places. We have more leverage with Iran than we did before. The deal was about the Iran Nuclear Deal. But all these things now come up. Now we have a bilateral relationship with them that we can bring that up.

WILLIE GEIST: To your knowledge Rick, how much did Jason's name, the Washington Post reporter, come up in the Iran deal and negotiations? Cause you had massive leverage over removing all these sanctions. How big a piece of the puzzle was that?

STENGEL: I know the secretary brought it up all the time and it's something that he cares passionately about. But obviously, the focus of the --

BRZEZINSKI: When did it fall off the table?

STENGEL: It never fell off the table.

GEIST: They said no at some point, Iran. You can't have your reporter back.

STENGEL: Well again, it was nuclear negotiations. It was not as though -- the idea was that one wasn't supposed to be dependent on each other.

SCARBOROUGH: Why wouldn't it be? Why won’t you go in, and some candidates are saying this on the trail. You want billions of dollars, you want a deal, you want to be through our deal, accepted in to the community of nations, that's great. You're going to have to give up a journalist that you arrested.

STENGEL: But Joe, look at the values and the priorities. Basically the Secretary and the President were negotiating around a nuclear agreement that could protect the world and the Middle East for generations to come.

SCARBOROUGH: Well, my first priority is bring the Americans home and then we'll talk. That is my top priority.

STENGEL: Well, then you're a different kind of negotiator.

SCARBOROUGH: Wait, putting Americans -- we're friends, Rick. But putting Americans first doesn't make me a different negotiator. I would say the majority of Americans would say, okay listen, how can we trust you on the most important security question of the Middle East during this time if we can't even trust you in doing the right thing in bringing Jason home?

STENGEL: I would put that to the American people, protecting thousands and hundreds of millions of people from a nuclear threat or bringing one journalist home. I'm not saying you shouldn't be arguing for that one journalist but there was a focus on a nuclear agreement that protects people for generations. I would say that is the highest priority, at the same time, he always brought it up.

SCARBOROUGH: I would think most Americans, I would say most Americans would say return our hostages or we don't have a negotiation. And Jason and the other Americans are in fact hostages, are they not?

STENGEL: Well you see the thing that we're talking about today with this protection against crimes against journalists and 90% of crimes against journalists go unprosecuted. So we’re looking at this in a holistic way. Jason is one part of that piece. But it’s an issue that we’re dealing with all around the world and it's a threat to journalists everywhere. You know, we have it easy here. You get criticized by Chris Christie if you do something wrong in a debate. That is nothing compared to what journalists face all around the world where they're imprisoned, where they’re killed with impunity. This is a very serious issue where Jason is one example of it.