legal expenses. Based on a 2015 Business Insider report, Judge John D. Bates rejected NIAC's lawsuit against Daioleslam, arguing that the NIAC's president work was "not inconsistent with the idea that he was first and foremost an advocate for the regime." The judge came to the conclusion that it is reasonable to rationally assert that NIAC is lobbying on behalf of the Iranian government. A March 2015 column by Eli Lake in Bloomberg View asserted that the emails showed cooperation between Parsi and the then Iran ambassador to the United Nations and current Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. NIAC's webpage confirms “that Parsi developed a relationship with Zarif after interviewing him on “numerous occasions for his book.” It states that Parsi made introductions for members of the U.S. Congress to meet with Zarif at the request of the lawmakers. According to The Washington Time's article, "Law enforcement experts who reviewed some of the documents, which were made available to The Times by the defendant in the suit, say e-mails between Mr. Parsi and Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations at the time, Javad Zarif - and an internal review of the Lobbying Disclosure Act - offer evidence that the group has operated as an undeclared lobby and may be guilty of violating tax laws, the Foreign Agents Registration Act and lobbying disclosure laws." Funding According to NIAC, "over 10,000 individual donors make up the core of NIAC’s support and provide the overwhelming majority of our funding every year." NIAC also receives funding from American philanthropic foundations such as the Ploughshares Fund and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. NIAC states that it does not receive funding from the U.S. or Iranian governments. Demonstration against NIAC In July 2019, some members of the Iranian community in the United States organized a demonstration in front of NIAC office in Washington DC. They believed NIAC is "the representative of the corrupt and brutal Islamic Republic regime" and not the voice of the Iranian-Americans. In response, a NIAC staff member appeared on BBC Persian and expressed support for free speech and described the protesters as supporters of the Donald Trump administration's policies toward Iran. Iranians who were protesting for Regime Change believe that NIAC has not joined the Women, Life , Freedom Movement and is still looking for a way to reform by trying to reestablish the JCPOA deal. Republican Senators' call to investigate NIAC In January