WHOA. TweetGate. RT @joshrogin: Exclusive: White House Official Fired for Tweeting Under Fake Name http://t.co/deFgvAem5Q @natsecwonk
— KRenner (@KRenner2) October 23, 2013
The Daily Beast reports tonight that a White House national security official was fired last week for tweeting under a fake name, which he used to hurl insults and expose secret information for more than two years.
Jofi Joseph, a director in the non-proliferation section of the National Security Staff at the White House, has been surreptitiously tweeting under the moniker @natsecwonk, a Twitter feed famous inside Washington policy circles since it began in February, 2011 until it was shut down last week.
…
During his time tweeting under the @natsecwonk name, Joseph openly criticized the policies of his White House bosses and often insulted their intellect and appearance. At different times, he insulted or criticized several top White House and State Department officials, including former National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, Secretary of State John Kerry, and many many others.
The Daily Beast saved a long record of @natsecwonk’s tweets prior to the shutting down of his Twitter feed.
“I’m a fan of Obama, but his continuing reliance and dependence upon a vacuous cipher like Valerie Jarrett concerns me,” he once tweeted.
“Was Huma Abedin wearing beer goggles the night she met Anthony Wiener? Almost as bad a pairing as Samantha Powers and Cass Sunstein ….,” he tweeted on another occasion, insulting a top Clinton aide, a then Congressman, and two White House senior officials in one tweet.
Jofi Joseph, named as @NatSecWonk by @JoshRogin, was in line for senior Pentagon Post, according to admin sources
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) October 23, 2013
Prob is that Jofi Joseph was/(is?) well-connected. @NatSecWonk disparaged everyone. Tough for him to find trust in DC FoPo circles again.
— Abu Sumood (@JShahryar) October 23, 2013
Followers of @NatSecWonk noted earlier that the account had been deactivated but wondered the cause.
so did anyone ever figure out who @NatSecWonk is, though? http://t.co/lV1cGX8aiq
— Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) October 22, 2013
Here are some recent tweets as archived at Favstar to give some of idea of what was coming from a White House staffer.
Will @NatSecWonk be missed? That depends on whom you ask.
I don't think @joshrogin's story fully captures the degree of malice that @Natsecwonk regularly brought to the conversation.
— Aaron Connelly (@ConnellyAL) October 23, 2013
Amidst the misogyny, foul language, and crude insults in @natsecwonk's feed was some Grade-A gossip that only an insider would have known.
— Andrew Exum (@ExumAM) October 23, 2013
WH official fired for running @natsecwonk Twitter. A parody of self-important FP experts, no? Not criticism of WH http://t.co/0LacgiE5SM
— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) October 23, 2013
somehow never heard of @natsecwonk before @joshrogin doxxed him
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) October 23, 2013
I never followed @natsecwonk — never saw the value-added. #hipsternatsecwonk.
— Daniel Drezner (@dandrezner) October 23, 2013
Update:
Former press secretary Dana Perino is thankful to have missed the social media revolution while in the White House.
Saying a prayer of thanks that twitter wasn't a big deal when we were in the WH. Twitter troll at the NSC? Good grief.
— Dana Perino (@DanaPerino) October 23, 2013
Related:
Get your own #EPASecretEmailName, just like departing EPA chief Lisa Jackson
Outgoing EPA chief Lisa Jackson tweets goodbye; no word from ‘Richard Windsor’
Rep. Darrell Issa reminds Washington that posing as an imaginary person isn’t cool
