A senior policy adviser in Department of Labor was forced to resign Friday after a Bloomberg reporter accused the official of making antisemitic comments on Facebook, even though the comments were clearly sarcastic and mocking the alt-right.
Leif Olson, 43, is a conservative appellate lawyer who started as an adviser in the department’s Wage and Hour Division on Aug. 12. His ouster is now being questioned because Bloomberg reporter Ben Penn’s “scoop” was quickly revealed to be a vicious attempt at character assassination.
SCOOP: Trump Labor Department's new sr adviser Leif Olson posted on Facebook that Jewish media "protect their own." In response to my request for comment on Olson's anti-Semitic post, @USDOL says they've accepted his resignation. https://t.co/68kDvaFn0h
— Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn) September 3, 2019
Penn began his hit piece by noting that Olson has “a history of advancing controversial conservative and faith-based causes in court” and “has resigned after revelations that he wrote a 2016 Facebook post suggesting the Jewish-controlled media ‘protects their own.’”
“Olson, an unsuccessful GOP candidate in 2012 for a Texas district court judgeship, fired off a series of late-night posts on his personal Facebook page three years ago that started as a sarcastic quip about former House Speaker Paul Ryan’s blowout primary victory. They then devolved into an exchange referencing two anti-Semitic tropes: that Jews control the media and that they look out for members of their own faith,” wrote Penn.
But the entire exchange was obviously a sarcastic reaction to then-House Speaker Paul Ryan primary victory against his alt-right challenger challenger Paul Nehlen. Someone (probably being sarcastic as well) commented on the post that Ryan must be a neo-con and a Jew, to which Olson replied, “It must be true because I’ve never heard the Lamestream Media report it, and you know they protect their own.” Ryan, of course, is Roman Catholic.
Olson wrote on Facebook Tuesday: “Greetings Bloomberg readers. I never thought I’d see the day when making fun of alt-right anti-Semites led to being branded an anti-Semite, but here we are.”
In his lengthy post, Olson debunked a number of Penn’s misrepresentations regarding his involvement in “controversial” court cases.
Leif’s full statement, publicly available on Facebook. Leif’s Target filings are available here: https://t.co/EX7LX0ul5l pic.twitter.com/C8wWDJGXSf
— (((tedfrank))) (@tedfrank) September 3, 2019
In his article, Penn conveniently left out the fact that Ryan’s challenger in the 2016 race was an antisemitic politician.
Calling them anti-semitic facebook posts in the headline is bad enough, but the bigger disaster is ZERO MENTION of the candidate Paul Ryan was running against, who was an extreme alt-right figure. How can you possibly present this without that context? https://t.co/m6XH9sqdcs
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) September 3, 2019
Penn doubled down on his sketchy reporting Tuesday, calling the appointment of Olson “the latest in a series of mishaps under the Trump administration vetting system.”
This is the latest in a series of mishaps under the Trump administration personnel vetting system. What makes this one remarkable is that Olson's Facebook page was public to his non-friends. Any cursory screening of his social media accounts could've uncovered the anti-Semitism.
— Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn) September 3, 2019
Penn faced an immediate backlash on Twitter as the correct context of the Olson’s posts was easy to discern. In fact, some Twitter users pointed out that Penn had used a screenshot of Olson’s Facebook posts that cropped off a comment referencing his “epic sarcasm.”
You should be ashamed of yourself. https://t.co/TUItsf2j8d
— (((tedfrank))) (@tedfrank) September 3, 2019
You should feel bad about yourself.
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) September 3, 2019
How is mocking the alt right newsworthy? How do you justify suggesting these remarks were serious? What is wrong with you?
— Patterico (@Patterico) September 3, 2019
Trump Labor official Leif Olson has resigned due to a putatively anti-Semitic Facebook post. But if you read the post, it appears to be mocking anti-Semitic conspiracy theories: https://t.co/C9UPvhKbzz
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) September 3, 2019
Why are you being dishonest? The full context makes it clear he was making fun of anti Semites. Exactly the opposite of what you are accusing him of
— Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) September 3, 2019
You should delete your account immediately.
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) September 3, 2019
You got someone who was making fun of antisemites and got them fired
— Aaron W. (@WWeingrad) September 3, 2019
You should get a job at Snopes, Ben. They're experts at fact checking satire. You'll fit right in with that idiocy.
— Molly Ratty (@molratty) September 3, 2019
This isn’t a “scoop,” Ben. It’s a deliberate attempt to get a guy fired for mocking the very position you’re accusing him of holding. And you know it.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) September 3, 2019
The reporter said in his defense that all he did was ask officials at the Department of Labor for comment on the posts, but he had strongly suggested in his article and in his previous tweets that Olson had posted antisemitic material on Facebook.
I will point out that all I had to do was present DOL with a screenshot of the post and request for comment, and 4 hours later I’m told he has resigned. Not engaging with you any further.
— Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn) September 3, 2019
Some suspect that the conservative lawyer was targeted because of his appellate work on a same sex marriage case that was filed before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
It was sporting of Bloomberg News to note the real reason they went dumpster-diving on Leif Olson https://t.co/u16niqabmm pic.twitter.com/TqJwgbRpQ9
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) September 3, 2019
And now we get to the core of your activist journalism. pic.twitter.com/VVlqzWb5jB
— Cranky Gordon (@StillCrankyAF) September 3, 2019
NBC’s Benjy Sarlin suggested on Twitter that Olsen could be reinstated at Labor after the severe backlash the Bloomberg story has received.
This is blatantly a case of someone mocking an anti-semitic politician not making anti-semitic statements, seems very possible this person gets reinstated after the backlash to this story https://t.co/VUeba0qzOk
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) September 3, 2019