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Home Front: WoT

Max Blumenthal, Grayzone founder just got back from a trip to Iran. He got his devices seized and all the right people are squawking about it. He was detained and interrogated.

2026-07-21

[CPJ] The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by reports that journalist Max Blumenthal

… the avidly anti-Zionist, second generation journalist in the propagandizing style. His father, Sid Blumenthal, was the Clintons’ dog — first Bill’s senior White House advisor, then Hillary’s confidante; Max looks further to the extremes for his inspiration, and is a favored American for interviews at Sputnik, Russia Today, and Iran PressTV. In the current war he takes the side of Iran, partially because they are trying to wipe out Israel, about which he has long been unhealthily obsessed…

was interrogated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents for about two hours at Washington Dulles International Airport on July 11 after returning from a reporting assignment in Iran.

Supporting the enemy in war, or something like that. What did he expect? But only briefly, and then he was released instead of given a drumhead court martial.

Blumenthal, founder and editor-in-chief of the independent news site The Grayzone, told CPJ that agents seized two phones and questioned him about his trip to Iran, where he reported on the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said he entered the country on a press visa issued by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, as other reporters did.

“I did nothing but report there. It was very clear that what I was doing was journalistic,” Blumenthal told CPJ.
"for varying values of Journolism"
“CBP must respect the right of all journalists to carry out their work free from intimidation or interference, regardless of their editorial perspective,” said Jose Zamora, CPJ’s regional director for the Americas. “CPJ has documented a growing pattern under the Trump administration of using immigration authorities and policies to harass journalists and create a chilling effect on free expression, making it all the more important that authorities refrain from actions that could be perceived as retaliation or intimidation.”

Blumenthal, 48, interviewed members of Iran’s negotiating team, senior political officials, academics, and ordinary citizens for a series of video and print reports for The Grayzone. Blumenthal is the author of four books and a widely recognized journalist.

Say, rather, propagandizing in the reporting style. The sad thing is that he is a reasonably brilliant reporter, if only he would separate the two.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the journalist said his phones had not been returned. CPJ has requested an explanation from CBP regarding the interrogation and the seizure of his devices.

Posted by:Clyde Thaviling6482

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Posted by: Procopius2k 2026-07-21 15:11

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Posted by: Clyde Thaviling6482 2026-07-21 14:27

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