U.S. Deputy\/Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar said that disinformation regarding his alleged dismissal from the U.S. Department of State was published by a self-proclaimed journalist. This occurred after Escobar had discussions with regional governments, including Kosovo's, about his transition to a new role following the end of his mandate.<\/p>\n
On May 4 and 5, Vudi Xhymshiti, whom Escobar referred to as a \"so-called journalist,\" wrote on \u201cThe Frontliner\u201d that American diplomat Gabriel Escobar was dismissed due to his family's financial ties<\/a> with Serbian institutions.<\/p>\n However, Escobar denied all these allegations, calling them lies.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything in that report is a lie. First of all, I\u2019m not being fired, and everyone at the State Department has verified that. Second, my wife doesn\u2019t receive any money from any foreign government.\"<\/p>\n Escobar added that the disinformation about his dismissal was made public immediately after his communication with the Kosovo government, implying that the information might have leaked from there.<\/p>\n \"In fact, the report came out after I had through diplomatic channels reached out to all the governments in the region to start talking about the transition. And this one \u2013 this report came out shortly after I communicated to the Government of Kosovo. So it is this kind of disinformation that is unfortunate that is being propagated in the Western Balkans, and also \u2013 I might add \u2013 one of the reasons why the media context in Kosovo has been so criticized by independent journalists and independent organizations.\" said<\/a> Escobar on May 8.<\/p>\n However, the Kosovo government denied that the news about Escobar's end of mandate had come from them.<\/p>\n \"We have no contact with the journalist in question, and we do not share his views regarding his claims about Envoy Escobar,\" said<\/a> officials from the Kosovo government.<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of State also refuted<\/a> Xhymshiti's claims in responses provided to two Albanian-language media outlets, Voice of America<\/a> and Gazet\u00ebn Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n \"Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar has not been dismissed from his position. All career diplomats change assignments every four years as part of a regular practice,\" stated the spokesperson for the State Department.<\/p>\n Initially, Sbunker investigated the claims made by Vudi Xhymshiti against Gabriel Escobar in two articles published<\/a> in March. Xhymshiti alleged that there were reported financial connections between Deputy Assistant Secretary Escobar's wife and the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n However, these claims were denied by the U.S. Department of State in a written response<\/a> to Sbunker.<\/p>\n Describing them as baseless and offensive rumors, the DOS has encouraged journalists to \u201cfact-check before spreading them.\u201d Misinformation has been characterized as a threat to the U.S. and its partners.<\/p>\n