Thomas Friedman Returns $75,000 Speaking Fee From Bay Area Clean Air District

Thomas Friedman Returns $75,000 Speaking Fee From Bay Area Clean Air District

I called the Times several times in the last couple of days to ask Friedman a bunch of questions, like... whether he felt queasy taking so much money from a public agency that presumably could spend the money on other things.

Friedman didn't return my calls, and New York Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis seemed pretty cool to my questions.... Then late Tuesday afternoon, Mathis called to say Friedman would return the $75,000. She said there had been "a misunderstanding."

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot