Bolton’s New NSC Chief Of Staff Served As VP Of Gaffney’s Anti-Muslim Hate Group

on May 9, 2018 in Washington, DC.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 09: National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks on a morning television show from the grounds of the White House, on May 9, 2018 in Washington, DC. Yesterday President Donald Trump announced th... WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 09: National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks on a morning television show from the grounds of the White House, on May 9, 2018 in Washington, DC. Yesterday President Donald Trump announced that America was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

National Security Adviser John Bolton’s new pick to be the National Security Council chief of staff has served for the last five years as the Senior Vice President for Policy and Programs at the Frank Gaffney-founded Center for Security Policy, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group that espouses anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. 

Gaffney and the group have for years promoted anti-Muslim beliefs, including accusing government officials of being aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Center for Security Policy’s website features a congratulatory post published Tuesday, confirming Fred Fleitz’s tenure.

“Center for Security Policy alumnus Fred Fleitz has been named Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff of the National Security Council under John Bolton,” it reads. “Fleitz served as the Center’s Senior Vice President for Policy and Programs from 2013-2018.”

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group was founded Gaffney, a former Reagan official, in 1988 and has morphed from a “hawkish think tank” to a “conspiracy-oriented mouthpiece for the growing anti-Muslim movement in the United States.” CSP has also reportedly been banned from CPAC. 

Per a Tuesday Bloomberg report, Fleitz worked as Bolton’s chief of staff while he was an undersecretary of state for former President George W. Bush.

Fleitz is also a former CIA analyst and frequent guest on Fox News.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for ghost ghost says:

    Is anyone surprised? Only the best people.

  2. Hello? Anybody surprised? Hello???

  3. “CSP has also reportedly been banned from CPAC.”

    You know a group is pretty bad if it gets banned from CPAC. I didn’t think there was a conservative group that was vile enough for that to happen.

  4. Maybe it was banned because it wasn’t vile enough!

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

14 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for paulw Avatar for ghost Avatar for srfromgr Avatar for sysprog Avatar for old_curmudgeon Avatar for dickweed Avatar for ljb860 Avatar for demyankee Avatar for gusfabriani Avatar for rickjones Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for read2much Avatar for demosthenes59 Avatar for 10c Avatar for spacesaver Avatar for harmonb3 Avatar for favoritecurmudgeon Avatar for cinfl

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: