25 Jewish members of Congress call on Trump to fire Stephen Miller over leaked emails
(CNN)Twenty-five Jewish Democratic members of Congress are calling on President Donald Trump to remove senior White House adviser Stephen Miller
from the administration based on leaked emails that showed he promoted
stories from white nationalist and fringe media organizations.
The
lawmakers are the latest to call for Miller to be fired after hundreds
of the Trump adviser's emails during the lead-up to the 2016 election
were leaked by a former white nationalist who was working for Breitbart News at the time.
The emails revealed Miller's anti-immigration stances and his penchant
for sharing virulently white nationalist websites to shape Breitbart's
coverage of issues involving immigration and people of color.
In
a letter to the President, the 25 lawmakers made clear they are deeply
disturbed not only by Miller's influence but also by the way the White
House has defended him.
"As
Jewish members of Congress, we are calling on you to immediately
relieve White House Senior Advisor Stephen Miller of all government
responsibilities and dismiss him from your Administration," the letter
states. "His documentation of white nationalist and virulently
anti-immigrant tropes is wholly unacceptable and disqualifying for a
government employee."
Their letter follows a similar call for Miller's ouster in November from more than 100 Democratic members of Congress.
The
emails, first published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, were sent
during the two years leading up to Miller taking the job as a senior
White House adviser. At the time, he had been working for then-Sen. Jeff
Sessions -- an Alabama Republican who went on to become Trump's first
attorney general -- and later for the Trump campaign.
Miller
exchanged hundreds of emails with then-Breitbart News editor Katie
McHugh in 2015 and 2016. McHugh says she was a white nationalist at the
time and was told that Miller would help shape her news coverage of
immigration and other issues. She first shared the emails with the
Southern Poverty Law Center and then later with CNN.
One of the emails showed Miller had sent her a link to VDARE, a prominent white nationalist website.
In another email, Miller sent a Breitbart employee a link to the fringe right-wing media organization InfoWars.
Miller did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
A
White House spokesperson responded to CNN about the allegations made by
McHugh in November, when her emails were first published by the
Southern Poverty Law Center.
"SPLC
is engaged in a vile smear campaign against a Jewish staffer," the
spokesperson said. "While Mr. Miller condemns racism and bigotry in all
forms, those defaming him are trying to deny his Jewish identity which
is a pernicious form of anti-Semitism."
That response sparked outrage from the more than two dozen Jewish members of Congress who signed the letter.
"We are also deeply
troubled that your Administration is claiming that the legitimate
criticism of Miller is anti-Semitic simply because Miller is Jewish.
Nothing could be further from the truth," the letter states.
The
lawmakers add, "Weaponizing anti-Semitism is incredibly dangerous -- by
muddying the waters we are no longer able to see and fight against real
anti-Semites in our midst."
CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to reflect the correct quote in the letter to the President.
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