In most cases, when an employee defects from a company or a given position, it is expected that they are immediately taken out of the company’s payroll and it is publicly announced that they are official non-members. This is the universally accepted theory. By being non-members, it is also expected that their involvements with their former bosses and former companies be dropped forthwith. The involvements include any club associations, and membership of groups, including social media platform associations.
But such is not the case with Haroon Ullah. He is the ex right-hand person of John F Lansing, the CEO of the United States Agency for Global Media, abbreviated as USAGM. Whilst under John F Lansing in service, Haroon Ullah was charged with defrauding the United States government of an ample amount of money.
It was, then, an expectation of the general public that USAGM and John F Lansing cut up all their links to the admitted felon going forward. Unfortunately, the people have had to watch on as Haroon Ullah still remains to have John F Lansing as his twitter follower. As if that is not enough, Haroon Ullah still has his title of Chief Strategy Officer in the United States Agency for Global Media. so, how can all this still go on after Haroon Ullah stealing from the government and defaming the name of the honorable USAGM?
Haroon Ullah is the former right-hand man of John F Lansing, an embattled CEO of the US Agency for Global Media. Ullah was charged with stealing money from the US government when he was serving as the Chief Strategy Officer directly under Lansing. It is a humiliation to his government and the taxpayers that Lansing is still a Twitter Follower of Haron Ullah and that Ullah’s bio is still on the USAGM official webpage while on other pages of his title as the Chief Strategy Officer is still retained.
On Haroon Ullah’s Twitter account, it is evident that Lansing is still of Ullah’s feed despite Ullah’s admission to federal defrauding charges. He defrauded the government almost $40000 which defamed the agency. Publicly, Lansing is still shaming most employees by associating himself with his former assistant who committed the fraud while operating under his own eyes.
Even a former chief of the Voice of America who is also a longtime Voice of America foreign and domestic correspondent couldn’t help but comment on the stupidity and density of this action. He even mentioned other examples where other senior USAGM and VOA executives under Lansing had a link with a fake Iran account and then linked it with the person responsible for posting vulgar comments.
In 2017, Haroon Ullah was recruited for his senior position and began appearing in public with John Lansing, his recruiter. Even after pleading guilty to the charges of defrauding the government while at USAGM, by July 1, 2019, the USAGM CEO, John F Lansing and the Acting Chief Strategy Officer, Shawn Powers are still his twitter account followers.
Going through the documents of the United States Agency for Global Media, it is noted that Haroon Ullah was a renowned employee with a fast climb up the professional ladder. It is also worth noticing a weirdly convenient promotional history of Haroon Ullah in USAGM. Noting on how Ullah quickly got promotions up until being Lansing’s deputy is alarming. Ullah was directly recruited in a senior position in USAGM as a chief strategic planner to employees, to Congress and Media members and finally to being deputy. So, is it worth looking into that Haroon Ullah was treated with somewhat favorable positions while at USAGM and that his former boss still wants to be a great part of his life after work?
Among Ullah’s twitter followers is the USAGM Board which includes both Republicans and Democrats together with the Voice of America on the list. It does not necessarily mean that following Ullah is an implication of their support, but being the dominant public figures, in this case, doesn’t create the best picture to the public at large. As compared to the head officials and executives, the other USAGM employees like editors and reporters from the Voice of America can follow up Haroon Ullah’s story because it is an area of common interest. A report from VOA did not talk about Ullah bringing people close to him as contractors who with time established positions in the Federal government at the senior level. An important omission in the report is also how Lansing’s participation in bringing him into USAGM and also the eminent role that he was given.
So far most employees’ self-esteem has been crushed due to Ullah’s shameful acts, and therefore the agency officials should save them the little dignity by avoiding any public association with him. It was already unfair that the employees have to deal with their former Chief Strategist Officer’s theft allegations, but it gets deeper when they realize that he is stuck with them, long after he had the charges on him and left the company to shame.
Right under his nose, it is said that he had received complaints on Haroon Ullah but no action was seemingly taken. The complainants being lower-ranking employees and a former manager complained about Ullah being troublesome, intimidating, issuing threats and other rule violations. According to sources, Lansing ignored these complaints, terming them as false and Ullah ended up insulting the manager who later resigned because the rules were being violated.
It is more alarming than the initial evaluation by the senior staff of John F Lansing became insufficient and still, Haroon Ullah’s is still on the USAGM government website with the fact that top officials including John F Lansing still follow him on Twitter
An agency with an essential role has been compromised by incompetent administration because of this one man, John F Lansing. He should apologize to the US government, the USAGM employees and the taxpayers in general for bringing shaming them.