Sebastian Gorka, a former staffer for President Donald Trump with alleged ties to a Nazi-connected group, has found himself at home once again at Fox News.
Fox News personality Sean Hannity broke the news on his radio show while interviewing Gorka.
“I can officially announce today he is a Fox News national security strategist,” Hannity shared.
A network spokesperson reportedly confirmed the appointment in an email to Talking Points Memo.
“You’re a true patriot hero and an amazing, amazing political analyst and strategic analyst. Thank you for being with us and we’re so happy for your success,” Hannity said to Gorka.
Forward reported earlier this year that Vitzi Rend, a Hungary-based group with World War II-era Nazi ties, claims Gorka as a sworn member. According to the report, leaders of Vitzi Rend said that Gorka “took a lifelong oath of loyalty to their group.”
Gorka denied the allegations.
However, he invoked anger among Jewish groups when he wore a Vitezi Rend honorary medal to Trump’s inauguration in January.
“When he appeared on U.S. television … with the medal of the Vitez Order … it made me really proud,” Andras Horvath, a Vitezi Rend spokesman, told NBC News in April.
Gorka claimed he wore the medal in memory of his father, who reportedly received the medal to honor his fight against communism.
Gorka was previously a contributor for Fox News but left when he was tapped to work in the White House. He served as a national security aide to Trump until August. Gorka claimed he resigned. But the White House said this was not true, only that he “no longer works at the White House,” according to the Associated Press.
Gorka’s credentials have been called into question. Politico reported in February:
“Several experts interviewed by POLITICO puzzled over the gap between the numerous military academic credentials listed by Gorka a political science Ph.D. who unfailingly uses the title ‘Dr.’ and their unfamiliarity with his work and views.
“‘When I first encountered his name during the transition, I did a triple-take. I’ve been in counterterrorism since 1998, and I thought I knew everyone. But I’d never heard his name and couldn’t recall anything he’d written or said,’ said Daniel Benjamin, who served as counterterrorism coordinator under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.”
A retired political science professor similarly told CNN that to call Gorka an “expert” would be a stretch.
“I would not call him an expert on terrorism,” said Stephen Sloan, the professor. He did describe Gorka as “knowledgeable” but added that “his level of expertise does not match the level where he stands in the White House.”
Gorka previously called for sympathy for white supremacists, who are not “the problem,” he said in an interview on Breitbart News Daily.
“It’s this constant, ‘Oh, it’s the white man. It’s the white supremacists. That’s the problem.’ No, it isn’t, Maggie Haberman,” he said.
Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent for The New York Times. She is also a political analyst for CNN.
“Go to Sinjar. Go to the Middle East, and tell me what the real problem is today. Go to Manchester,” Gorka said during the interview.
Gorka also defended the president’s silence following the bombing of a mosque, saying it is better to wait until investigations are complete before making a statement.
“There’s a great rule: All initial reports are false,” he said on MSNBC in August. “You have to check them and find out who the perpetrators are. We’ve had a series of crimes committed, alleged hate crimes by right wing individuals in the last six months that turned out to be prop propagated by the left. Let’s allow the local authorities to provide their assessment and then the White House will make its comments.”
Notably, Trump does not often wait to make his comments regarding tragedies, as evidenced by his polar opposite responses to the two tragedies that occurred in Las Vegas and New York.
Gorka’s exit from the Trump team came not long after that of Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist. Gorka had previously worked for Bannon as a national security affairs editor for Breitbart News.
