Trump’s nominee to steer US Workplace of Particular Counsel refutes antisemitic claims

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FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s nominee to steer the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) sat down with Fox Information Digital to deal with a barrage of assaults from Democrats and the media as he heads towards his Senate affirmation.

Paul Ingrassia, a Cornell Regulation Faculty graduate from Lengthy Island, New York, was nominated by President Trump on the finish of Might to steer OSC, a nonpartisan, impartial company primarily liable for investigating and defending federal whistle-blowers, and imposing the Hatch Act, which restricts federal workers from utilizing federal funds for political acquire.

Ingrassia, who's simply 30 years outdated and served as White Home liaison to the Department of Justice earlier than being reassigned to the Division of Homeland Safety in Trump’s second time period, has confronted heavy criticism from Democrats and the mainstream media main as much as his Senate affirmation listening to.

Paul Ingrassia on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Pete Kiehart for The Washington Pos)

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Issues primarily encompass his younger age paired with antisemitic allegations, which Ingrassia has sternly denied.

"I am not an antisemite," Ingrassia mentioned on a name with Fox Information Digital. "The hit piece and the smears which might be being propagated by CNN is only a complete lie."

"The truth that they're smearing me as a Holocaust denier, I believe it’s disgusting," Ingrassia continued. "I grew up in New York, New York, the place there have been inside my very own neighborhood survivors of the Holocaust three homes down from me and I [listened] to their tales. I perceive that we are able to by no means undergo one thing like that ever once more."

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Nick Fuentes speaks as America First protesters collect in entrance of Gracie Mansion to protest vaccination mandates in New York Metropolis on Nov. 13, 2021. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Company)

Ingrassia is alleged to have ties with fringe determine Nick Fuentes, an brazenly outspoken antisemite and Holocaust denier.

Trump’s OSC nominee beforehand posted to X that Fuentes ought to be allowed to talk at a Speaking Level USA convention final 12 months, arguing that "conservatives ought to at all times uphold the primary modification," referring to Fuentes as a "dissident" voice.

However when requested about antisemitism broadly , Ingrassia made clear that his views on the matter don't align with these of Fuentes.

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"I've accomplished quite a bit presently in my function as a White Home liaison to advance Jewish patriots and many roles throughout the federal authorities," Ingrassia instructed Fox. "I believe what occurred on Oct. 7 was, , an atrocity, a tragedy, and I by no means need to see one thing like that occur once more."

Israeli military troopers search the stays of a torched automobile for forensic proof on the website of the Oct. 7 assault on the Supernova desert music competition within the Negev desert in southern Israel on Oct. 13, 2023. (Jack Guez/AFP through Getty Photographs))

CNN also claimed that varied Jewish advocacy teams didn’t know who Ingrassia was and didn't endorse him, with a kind of teams being the Zionist Group of America. Nonetheless, the group’s nationwide president was fast to dispute the declare.

"A CNN article [said] that I by no means endorsed Paul Ingrassia for his nomination of a place with OSC," Morton Klein, nationwide president for the Zionist Group of America, instructed Fox Information Digital.

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"In actual fact, I merely acknowledged that I didn’t clearly recall endorsing him. However upon additional reflection, I now recall that I did endorse him throughout a latest Newsmax interview. And since then, I’ve had additional conversations with Paul Ingrassia which solely strengthened my assist of getting him confirmed."

"He additionally made clear to me that he finds ‘Fuentes views on denying the Holocaust and viciously and inappropriately condemning the Jewish State of Israel abhorrent and despicable,’" Klein mentioned.

"Free Palestine" graffiti on a fence praising the Oct. 7 Hamas bloodbath towards Israelis. (Govt Council of Australian Jewry )

CNN additionally quoted Jonathan Burkan, a Trump-appointed member of the Holocaust Memorial Council, as one other Jewish advocate who doesn't assist Ingrassia.

However Burkan instructed Fox Information Digital: "On a private degree, I do know Paul to be a superb man who isn't an antisemite nor a Holocaust denier."

"I'm assured primarily based on my conversations with him that he's a pal and an ally of the Jewish neighborhood, and something on the contrary is a vicious and disgusting smear towards him."

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The timeline for Ingrassia’s Senate affirmation listening to and affirmation is unclear, however he'll probably face questions surrounding comparable matters when going through Congress.

Preston Mizell is a author with Fox Information Digital masking breaking information. Story ideas will be despatched to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston