Sebastian Gorka, former advisor to President Donald Trump, refused to answer questions from The Intercept's Lee Fang in Washington, D.C. this week because he thinks the news outlet is "bad for democracy." (Photo: Sceenshot/@lhFang)
Nov 09, 2017
Former White House advisor Sebastian Gorka doesn't want to talk to reporters from The Intercept about domestic U.S. policy because he views the outlet as "bad for democracy" and he doesn't like their "attitude." Also, he said, they're "a joke."
That was the result when journalist Lee Fang attempted to ask Gorka--back in the news this week after Fox News stirred controversy for hiring the right-wing firebrand as a contributor--if he would answer a few questions in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
Watch:
\u201cDr. Sebastian Gorka, PhD explains his deep and abiding respect for the Intercept and @ZaidJilani\u201d— Lee Fang (@Lee Fang) 1510204643
While The Intercept--founded in late 2014 by journalists Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, and Jeremy Scahill--continues to provide breaking and in-depth coverage of both domestic and global issues with a team of award-winning investigative journalists and outspoken editorial writers, the charges were especially curious coming from a man like Gorka--known for "shady ties to racist groups" and making outlandish Islamaphobic and xenophobic proclamations.
As Addy Baird wrote for ThinkProgress on Wednesday, the new gig at Fox for Gorka--"reportedly a sworn member of a Nazi-allied party in Hungary"--is hardly surprising, but troubling nonetheless. Baird reports:
Gorka left the White House in August, not long after his closest ally, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. Gorka has repeatedly said he resigned, but a White House official told a pool reporter that Gorka "did not resign" but "no longer works at the White House."
During his time working for Trump, Gorka defended the White House's silence on a bombing at a mosque because, according to Gorka, it might have been faked by liberals. Gorka also drew criticism for saying people should stop criticizing white supremacists so much.
When Gorka left the White House, he complained the administration wasn't Islamophobic enough.
As free press advocate Tim Karr declared in response to the video posted of Gorka, "I can't imagine a more ringing endorsement of [The Intercept's] good and essential work."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just days away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Former White House advisor Sebastian Gorka doesn't want to talk to reporters from The Intercept about domestic U.S. policy because he views the outlet as "bad for democracy" and he doesn't like their "attitude." Also, he said, they're "a joke."
That was the result when journalist Lee Fang attempted to ask Gorka--back in the news this week after Fox News stirred controversy for hiring the right-wing firebrand as a contributor--if he would answer a few questions in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
Watch:
\u201cDr. Sebastian Gorka, PhD explains his deep and abiding respect for the Intercept and @ZaidJilani\u201d— Lee Fang (@Lee Fang) 1510204643
While The Intercept--founded in late 2014 by journalists Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, and Jeremy Scahill--continues to provide breaking and in-depth coverage of both domestic and global issues with a team of award-winning investigative journalists and outspoken editorial writers, the charges were especially curious coming from a man like Gorka--known for "shady ties to racist groups" and making outlandish Islamaphobic and xenophobic proclamations.
As Addy Baird wrote for ThinkProgress on Wednesday, the new gig at Fox for Gorka--"reportedly a sworn member of a Nazi-allied party in Hungary"--is hardly surprising, but troubling nonetheless. Baird reports:
Gorka left the White House in August, not long after his closest ally, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. Gorka has repeatedly said he resigned, but a White House official told a pool reporter that Gorka "did not resign" but "no longer works at the White House."
During his time working for Trump, Gorka defended the White House's silence on a bombing at a mosque because, according to Gorka, it might have been faked by liberals. Gorka also drew criticism for saying people should stop criticizing white supremacists so much.
When Gorka left the White House, he complained the administration wasn't Islamophobic enough.
As free press advocate Tim Karr declared in response to the video posted of Gorka, "I can't imagine a more ringing endorsement of [The Intercept's] good and essential work."
Former White House advisor Sebastian Gorka doesn't want to talk to reporters from The Intercept about domestic U.S. policy because he views the outlet as "bad for democracy" and he doesn't like their "attitude." Also, he said, they're "a joke."
That was the result when journalist Lee Fang attempted to ask Gorka--back in the news this week after Fox News stirred controversy for hiring the right-wing firebrand as a contributor--if he would answer a few questions in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
Watch:
\u201cDr. Sebastian Gorka, PhD explains his deep and abiding respect for the Intercept and @ZaidJilani\u201d— Lee Fang (@Lee Fang) 1510204643
While The Intercept--founded in late 2014 by journalists Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, and Jeremy Scahill--continues to provide breaking and in-depth coverage of both domestic and global issues with a team of award-winning investigative journalists and outspoken editorial writers, the charges were especially curious coming from a man like Gorka--known for "shady ties to racist groups" and making outlandish Islamaphobic and xenophobic proclamations.
As Addy Baird wrote for ThinkProgress on Wednesday, the new gig at Fox for Gorka--"reportedly a sworn member of a Nazi-allied party in Hungary"--is hardly surprising, but troubling nonetheless. Baird reports:
Gorka left the White House in August, not long after his closest ally, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. Gorka has repeatedly said he resigned, but a White House official told a pool reporter that Gorka "did not resign" but "no longer works at the White House."
During his time working for Trump, Gorka defended the White House's silence on a bombing at a mosque because, according to Gorka, it might have been faked by liberals. Gorka also drew criticism for saying people should stop criticizing white supremacists so much.
When Gorka left the White House, he complained the administration wasn't Islamophobic enough.
As free press advocate Tim Karr declared in response to the video posted of Gorka, "I can't imagine a more ringing endorsement of [The Intercept's] good and essential work."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.