US-backed foreign broadcaster selling pricy news gear for pennies on the dollar to ‘spite’ taxpayers
A nonprofit news organization that is funded entirely by the U.S. government began selling off a large amount of its equipment on a public auction site – with many items...
By Fox News · Fox News
A nonprofit news organization that is funded entirely by the U.S. government began selling off a large amount of its equipment on a public auction site – with many items being sold for pennies on the dollar. Radio Free Asia (RFA) receives about $60 million a year from American taxpayers to produce news in Asia. The organization said it was suspending operations due to a lapse in funding during the government shutdown. But while its website went dark, Fox News discovered that RFA had quietly begun selling off major portions of its expensive broadcast gear, including HD cameras, teleprompters, lenses and even office refrigerators. Listings on a public auction site, Rasmus Auctions, show RFA-branded broadcast gear is being offered at fire sale prices. CPB IRKED WITH NPR AFTER OUTLET TRIES TO BLOCK $58 MILLION IN DISPERSEMENTS TO NEW NONPROFIT Some high-definition cameras are for sale for less than a dollar, teleprompters for ninety cents, professional lenses for under a dollar and a refrigerator listed for just twenty cents. In total, more than a thousand pieces of equipment were offered for sale, which has sparked outrage. California Congressman Darrell Issa , who had been working to restore RFA’s funding, called the online auction a betrayal to American taxpayers. WHITE HOUSE MOVE TO CANCEL $4.9B FOREIGN AID WITH 'POCKET RESCISSION' BLASTED AS ILLEGAL "I’ve never seen such belligerence by an organization that gets a hundred percent of its money from the U.S. government," Issa said. "Lenses you’d pay thousands of dollars for are being sold for pennies. It’s clear they’re liquidating assets out of spite." When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Radio Free Asia blamed the Trump administration’s earlier budget cuts. EXCLUSIVE: HOUSE GOP REPORT ALLEGES $20B GREEN GRANTS ENRICHED BIDEN ALLIES They also pointed at the shutdown for forcing the organization to make difficult financial choices. "The Administration’s unlawful termination and disruption of RFA’s timely fun…