The first paragraph really says it all: “From his $63,000 residence at 2315 Massachusetts Ave NY, formerly the Iranian Embassy, Peter Bergson, self-styled “nuisance diplomat,” boasts his Hebrew Committee of National Liberation with its numerous affiliates has collected one million dollars ‘from a generous American people.” He became vague, however, when a Post reporter insisted he tell what use had been made of the million dollars.”

It might have only been one article, but Bergson was SO mad he called a press conference for the afternoon of Oct. 3rd to denounce the reporters and the Post, and to deny all the claims.  That led to a follow-up piece about reaction to the story, including further investigation over whether Bergson’s organizations were claiming support which didn’t exist (an investigation into letters protesting the article found that the vast majority of the signatories had not been the ones to write and send the letters–which had suspiciously arrived from one of Bergson’s addresses.)  In response to the articles, DC began to look into whether the “embassy” was zoned for business.

Bergson threatened litigation, publishing a multi-page booklet addressed to Eugene Meyer claiming that the article was a conspiracy by the British to discredit the Hebrew Committee. He threatened to make the claims public if Meyer did not issue a detraction (of course, the fact that the booklet was already published and distributed made the threat moot).  The authors eventually wrote a piece dampening some of the claims, but not all.  The articles DID give Bergson what he loved most: publicity, and the opportunity to play the maligned victim.