Remember when the Feds raided a major newspaper, was Newsweek it?
"I know there were concerns several years ago about possible interference in Newsweek by members of the Olivet church," Pragad wrote. "I can tell you that since we became an independent company in late 2018, the newsroom has been absolutely free from any influence by Olivet leaders and I'm no longer a member of or associated with the Olivet church."
Pragad's memo referred to a crisis that rocked Newsweek during the Manhattan District Attorney's investigation of Olivet. In January 2018 the DA searched the premises of Newsweek as part of a money-laundering investigation. Newsweek journalists reported on the investigation until Davis fired Newsweek's editor and other journalists involved in reporting a story about business dealings between IBT Media and Olivet.