Celebrated broadcaster Barbara Walters acted as a 'adoptive mother' and 'career adviser' to a glamorous former aide of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In a string of leaked emails between Sheherazad Jafaari and Ms Walters, 82, promised to help the 22-year-old secure a job on Piers Morgan's CNN show and win a place at Columbia University.
Mrs Walters met Ms Jaafari when ABC News arranged the first and only televised interview for an American network with the Syrian leader.
Ms Jafaari, whose father is Syria's U.S. ambassador, was one of Assad's closest advisers and one one of three women revealed in an earlier leak to have sent lovestruck emails to the dictator.
In one email, Ms Walters said she had written to Piers Morgan to 'say how terrific you are' in hopes of helping her get a job at Piers Morgan Tonight.
When Ms Jaafari applied to Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs Ms Walters offered to reach out on behalf of the 'dear girl'.
In the wake of the emails, Ms Walters released a statement expressing her 'regret' for the questionable decision.
'In the aftermath (of the Assad interview), Ms Jaafari returned to the US and contacted me looking for a job. I told her that was a serious conflict of interest and that we would not hire her,' Ms Walters said in the statement.
'I did offer to mention her to contacts at another media organisation and in academia, though she didn't get a job or into school. In retrospect, I realise that this created a conflict and I regret that.' However the university has now confirmed that Ms Jaafari has been accepted into its graduate program.
Daily Mail, London |
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