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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGorka's angry (recorded) call to terrorism propaganda expert Smith
http://europe.newsweek.com/sebastian-gorka-white-house-terrorism-adviser-angry-call-559805?rm=eu....."An embattled White House terrorism advisor whose academic credentials have come under widespread fire telephoned one of his main critics at home Tuesday night and threatened legal action against him, Newsweek has learned.
Sebastian Gorka, whose views on Islam have been widely labeled extremist, called noted terrorism expert Michael E. Smith II in South Carolina and expressed dismay that Smith had been criticizing him on Twitter, according to a recording of the call provided to Newsweek.
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Gorka apparently used his personal cell phone, with a northern Virgina area code, rather than making the call from his White House office or government-issued cell phone, where it would be officially logged, Smith says. The terrorism expert says he suspected Gorka was trying to conceal the call.
Smith says he did not begin recording the call until after Gorka allegedly threatened to sue Smith. In an email to Newsweek, Smith said that, Gorka asserted my tweets about him merited examination by the White House legal counsel. In effect, he was threatening to entangle me in a legal battle for voicing my concerns on Twitter that he does not possess expertise sufficient to assist the president of the United States with formulating and guiding national security policies.
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Smith has kept up a steady stream of jabs at Gorka since he learned that the Hungarian born, British-educated terrorism specialist had been hired by President Donald Trumps top adviser Steve Bannon. Both Bannon and Gorka came from the far-right Breitbart News, where Bannon was editor-in-chief and Gorka was national security editor. On his Twitter page, Gorka describes himself as deputy assistant to the 45th president of America and an Irregular Warfare Strategist.
His views on the global jihadist movement, as he calls it, align with a small cadre of right-wing observers who depict Islamist militants and extremists as being driven principally by passages from the Koran, rather than by government repression, or sectarian, tribal, political or economic factors.
On Tuesday, Smith tweeted that Gorka doesn't know the enemies' ideologies well enough to combat them. In an earlier tweet directed at Trump, Smith wrote: You are endangering the lives of Americans by hiring fake terrorism experts.
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JHan
(10,173 posts)flygal
(3,231 posts)unbelievable, he called to complain and would only resolve the issue in person. wtf.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Tommy_Carcetti
(43,182 posts)...who likes to brag about his large gun collection in his basement?
His voice doesn't necessarily match it, but his appearance certainly does. I think it's the goatee and the permanent scowl on his face.
I know. That's shallow. But that's just the type of visceral impression I get from him--a guy who goes overboard in trying to prove what a tough guy he is.
On edit:
And perhaps this is the image that gave me that impression:
Wounded Bear
(58,666 posts)Tommy_Carcetti
(43,182 posts)snort
(2,334 posts)muriel_volestrangler
(101,321 posts)He was let off, on the grounds that he hadn't been caught breaking the law again for a few months. His excuse was "I carry my gun so much, I forgot I had it with me":
Sebastian Gorka, a former Breitbart national security editor who now is a deputy assistant to the president, did not appear at the brief court proceeding Friday morning in Arlington County Circuit Court.
Gorkas attorney, Christopher Oprison, and a prosecutor appeared before Circuit Court Judge William Newman, who dismissed the case under an arrangement that left Gorka with no conviction after he stayed out of trouble with the law for six months.
...
Transportation Security Administration screeners found the gun in Gorkas carry-on bag when he was preparing to board a flight at National bound for Florida in January 2016. Oprison said Gorka simply forgot it was there.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/sebastian-gorka-charge-dismissed-234603
So in reality, he is a criminal. An armed one. But thanks to his position in the White House, his record looks clean.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,182 posts)czarjak
(11,278 posts)"Besides, I've got a gun."
OKNancy
(41,832 posts)Milo
Assange
Miller
Gorka
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)salin
(48,955 posts)Not just the blind leading the blind - but the unhinged leading the unhinged. So reassuring. Not.
herding cats
(19,565 posts)Also, their obsession with suing and/or threatening to sue anyone who criticizes them is becoming quite the pattern.