White House: No personnel announcement on Sebastian Gorka

Media reports said the counterterrorism adviser, under fire for allegations that he has ties to far-right Hungarian groups, was leaving his National Security Council post.

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WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Trump administration has no announcement regarding the job of Sebastian Gorka, a counterterrorism adviser under fire from some Jewish groups and lawmakers for his ties to far-right Hungarian groups.

“There’s no personnel announcement at the time,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters Monday at the daily briefing. “I have no belief he is currently leaving the White House.”

News media reported over the weekend that Gorka was planning to move out of his National Security Council portfolio to another role in the administration. Some media said his failure to obtain a security clearance was the reason for the move.

 

Democratic Jewish lawmakers and some Jewish groups have called on the White House to look into allegations that Gorka has ties with the Hungarian far right, and some have called for his removal.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who had called for Gorka’s firing, said in a statement Monday that if Gorka was indeed on his way out, it was the “correct response.”

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