March 17, 2017

Honorable Jason Chaffetz

Honorable Elijah E. Cummings
House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings:

American Oversight respectfully requests that the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform immediately investigate whether Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant to President Donald
Trump advising on counter-terrorism, is a member of a Nazi-affiliated organization, the Vitzi
Rend, and if so, whether Mr. Trump was aware of Mr. Gorkas association with this group when
he appointed him to a high-level position in the White House.

Yesterday, the Forward reported that Mr. Gorka may be a member of the Vitzi Rend, a
1
Hungarian group sympathetic to the former Nazi government of Germany. According to the
report, the Vitzi Rend is a far-right group listed by the U.S. State Department as having been
under the direction of the Nazi government during World War II, and which reportedly continues
to uphold the same nationalist and racial principles. According to the Forward, two members of
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the organization have reportedly come forward and claimed Mr. Gorka is a full member of Vitzi
3
Rend, and that he has taken an oath of allegiance to the group. If these reports are accurate, Mr.
Gorka may be affiliated with a groupand may harbor viewsantithetical to American values.

In addition, if this report is accurate, Mr. Gorka may have made false statements to gain entry into
this country, to obtain citizenship, and, ultimately, to secure a position at the White House.
According to reports, Mr. Gorka became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2012. Candidates for
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naturalization are required to disclose all organizational and political affiliations. If Mr. Gorka was
affiliated with the Vitzi Rend and deliberately failed to disclose that affiliation in the course of

1
Lili Bayer & Larry Cohler-Esses, Exclusive: Nazi-Allied Group Claims Top Trump Aide
Sebastian Gorka as Sworn Member, FORWARD, Mar. 16, 2017,
http://forward.com/news/national/366181/exclusive-nazi-allied-group-claims-top-trump-aide-
sebastian-gorka-as-sworn/.
2
Id.
3
Id.
4
See, e.g., U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION SERVS. FORM N-400 (Application for
Naturalization), Part 12 Item 9.

1030 15th Street NW, Suite B255, Washington, DC 20005 | AmericanOversight.org

Honorable Jason Chaffetz
Honorable Elijah E. Cummings
March 17, 2017
Page 2
seeking a visa or naturalization, he may have made a false statement in violation of the False
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Statements Act. Such a failure to disclose the affiliation would also have deprived immigration
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officials the information necessary to evaluate properly Mr. Gorkas fitness for naturalization. In
addition, making material false statements to obtain immigration status or naturalization can
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provide a basis for the revocation of an individuals status or citizenship.

Similarly, if Mr. Gorka was affiliated with the Vitzi Rend and failed to disclose that affiliation in
the course of any security clearance or background investigation in connection with his White
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House employment, that, too, might constitute a false statement.

After failing to respond to the Forwards requests for comment, following publication of the article
and the understandable ensuing public reaction, Mr. Gorka now reportedly denies the affiliation.
According to Tablet, Mr. Gorka stated, I have never been a member of the Vitez Rend. I have
never taken an oath or loyalty to the Vitez Rend. (sic)
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As you frequently note, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal
oversight committee of the House of Representatives and may at any time investigate any matter
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as set forth in House Rule X.

Faced with these competing assertions, the public deserves to know the truth. It should go without
saying that a member of a Nazi-affiliated group should not have a senior role in the White House,
and undoubtedly you agree that anti-Semitism has no place in our government. When serious
questions arise regarding the alleged Nazi sympathies and anti-Semitism of a high-level White
House official, who as part of his portfolio advises the President of the United States on gravely

5
See, e.g., 18 U.S.C. 1001; Tzantarmas v. United States, 402 F.2d 163 (9th Cir. 1968).
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Indeed, individuals affiliated with the Vitzi Rend between March 23, 1933 and May 8, 1945 are
presumptively inadmissible under longstanding U.S. policy, which is to deny entry to the United
States for individuals who were associated during that timeframe with groups that participated in
Nazi persecutions. See 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(E)(i); U.S. DEPT OF STATE FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MANUAL, 9 FAM 302.7-4. Presumably recent membership in such a group would at least
be pertinent to the evaluation of the moral character of a candidate for naturalization.
See, e.g., U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION SERVS. MANUAL vol. 12, pt. D, ch. 9, available at
https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartD-Chapter9.html.
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See 8 U.S.C. 1451; U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION SERVS. MANUAL vol. 12, pt. L, ch. 2,
available at https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartL-
Chapter2.html.
8
See, e.g., 18 U.S.C. 1001; United States v. Rodgers, 466 U.S. 475 (1984).
9
Liel Leibovitz, Tale of Trump Advisors Alleged Nazi Ties Unravels, TABLET, Mar. 16, 2017,
http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/227733/tale-of-trump-advisors-alleged-nazi-ties-unravels.
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See e.g., Letter from Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings to
White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn, II, Mar. 8, 2017 available at
https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-03-08-JEC-EEC-to-McGahn-WH-
Presidential-Records-Act-due-3-22.pdf.
Honorable Jason Chaffetz
Honorable Elijah E. Cummings
March 17, 2017
Page 3
significant matters, including issues related to the state of Israel, it is incumbent upon Congress to
investigate.

Therefore, American Oversighta non-partisan organization dedicated to accountability and ethics

in governmentrequests that you exercise your oversight jurisdiction and investigate Mr. Gorkas
alleged affiliation with Vitzi Rend, identifying the facts necessary to determine whether he made
false statements to federal officials, to assess his continued eligibility to access classified
information, and to evaluate whether it is appropriate for Mr. Gorka to maintain his position in the
Trump White House.

Sincerely,

Austin Evers
Executive Director
American Oversight

cc: Director James B. Comey

Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Department of Justice
935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20535