CNN is reporting that Anthony Tata, a former army officer who courted controversy while later serving as Wake County schools superintendent and Secretary of Transportation under Gov. Pat McCrory, is now drawing heated opposition in his bid to serve as a high Pentagon official in the Trump administration.
This is from a CNN story posted last evening entitled “Democrats on key Senate committee oppose top Pentagon pick as more inflammatory tweets emerge”:
“Several Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee said Monday that they would oppose the nomination of retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata to oversee the Pentagon’s policy shop.
CNN’s KFile reported on Friday that Tata had a history of making Islamophobic and inflammatory remarks against prominent Democratic politicians, including falsely calling former President Barack Obama a Muslim.
If confirmed by the Senate, Tata would become the third highest official in the Pentagon overseeing the Defense Department’s policy shop, including its national security and defense strategy, nuclear deterrence and missile defense policy, and security cooperation plans and policies. The policy chief also closely advises the secretary of defense on national security and supports the Department of Defense’s program and budget decisions.
A spokesman for Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the committee that would oversee Tata’s nomination, said in a statement on Monday he would oppose the pick.”
And this is from a CNN report from last Friday:
“In several tweets from 2018, Tata said that Islam was the ‘most oppressive violent religion I know of’ and claimed Obama was a ‘terrorist leader‘” who did more to harm the US ‘and help Islamic countries than any president in history.’ Following the publication of this story, Tata deleted several of his tweets, screenshots of which were captured by CNN’s KFile.
Tata, in one radio appearance, speculated the Iran deal was born out of Obama’s “Islamic roots” in an attempt “to help Iranians and the greater Islamic state crush Israel.”
Yesterday, the advocacy group Muslim Advocates issued a statement expressing its opposition to Tata’s nomination, saying:
“Where Anthony Tata goes, bigotry and discrimination follow. His lengthy record of hostility and discrimination against Black people, Muslims and people with disabilities are absolutely disqualifying for any federal appointment. The Senate should reject him without hesitation.
His career as a media personality is built on anti-Black, anti-Muslim smears. He invoked slavery to attack a Black news anchor, he has repeatedly invoked race to smear Congresswoman Maxine Waters for her advocacy on behalf of police violence victim Rodney King, and he regularly perpetuates the anti-Muslim, anti-Black birther conspiracy theory that President Obama is a ‘terrorist’ and a secret Muslim.”
Tata, who found time while serving in office in North Carolina to author lowbrow suspense novels, has a history of making inflammatory statements. Last night’s CNN article reported that Tata has frequently accused former President Obama as being part of a secret plot to bring down the United States and, indeed, accused his administration of committing treason.
“In May 2018, Tata tweeted at former CIA Director John Brennan, ‘Might be a good time to pick your poison: firing squad, public hanging, life sentence as prison b*tch, or just suck on your pistol. Your call. #Treason #Sedition #crossfirehurricane #Obamagate’In another deleted tweet from July, Tata wrote that Obama sought to fundamentally change America because he hated the country.”
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