Chief White House Strategist Steve Bannon and Deputy Assistant to President Sebastian Gorka on Friday posed with convicted felon Dinesh D’Souza and his new book, The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left, in the White House. D’Souza, a far right wing political pundit violated federal campaign finance laws and was convicted in 2014. He is best-known for his earlier books, The Roots of Obama’s Rage, Obama’s America: Unmaking the American Dream, and Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party.
D’Souza posted the photos of him posing with top Trump appointees to Twitter, but soon deleted them.
Center for Public Integrity investigative reporter Christina Wilkie quickly took screenshots and tweeted them.
In his tweets D’Souza noted his goal is to show Trump how he “can flip the accusation of fascism on the Democratic left.” He also said he signed copies for the president and senior staff.
“Your tax dollars at work,” ThinkProgress reporter Aaron Rupar writes, noting “Gorka’s role is particularly interesting since his tenure at the White House has been mired in controversy due to his own alleged association with a Nazi-linked group.”
Legal experts and ethicists will have to determine if Bannon’s and Gorka’s actions violate official Standards of Conduct, and Office of Government Ethics’ rules.
Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway earlier this year similarly violated ethics rules when, while standing in the White House, appeared on Fox News to give Ivanka Trump’s products a “free commercial.” The Office of Government Ethics expressed frustration over “Conway’s misuse of position,” and further frustration that she would not be disciplined for it.
In March, OGE Director Walter Shaub explained in a letter to the White House that “disciplinary action serves to deter future misconduct.” His warning was ignored. He recently resigned.
This week on Facebook, D’Souza said, “FACT: Hitler got many of his destructive, genocidal ideas from American Democrats.”Â
On Amazon, his book’s page reads:
What is “the big lie” of the Democratic Party? That conservatives and President Donald Trump in particular are fascists. Nazis, even. In a typical comment, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow says the Trump era is reminiscent of “what it was like when Hitler first became chancellor.”
But in fact, this audacious lie is a complete inversion of the truth. Yes, there is a fascist threat in America but that threat is from the Left and the Democratic Party. The Democratic left has an ideology virtually identical with fascism and routinely borrows tactics of intimidation and political terror from the Nazi Brownshirts.
Last year Salon described D’Souza as a “hack who deserves to be laughed out of politics,” “a convicted felon and adulterer,” and a “defender of Donald Trump’s right to access beauty pageant contestants dressing rooms,” “a total overall sad hack,” and the “world’s most racist amateur comedian.”
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Image via Christina Wilkie/Twitter