A senior official in the U.S. Department of Labor who resigned last week after being wrongfully accused of anti-Semitism by Bloomberg News was reinstated Wednesday following criticism from both liberals and conservatives.
The Labor Department’s acting Secretary Patrick Pizzella “personally made this decision after carefully reviewing all the facts and circumstances,” according to a senior agency official who spoke with the Daily Caller.
Leif Olson had resigned after Bloomberg asked the department to comment on a series of Facebook posts that Bloomberg labeled anti-Semitic, when the posts were clearly sarcastic.
The “scoop” published by Bloomberg touting the outlet’s work in ousting a senior official in the Labor Department after unearthing the posts was widely criticized by Jewish groups and those on both sides of the political spectrum.
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
Ironic that this disgracefully shamefully dishonest reporting is coming out the same day people are complaining that the Trump administration is going to hold reporters to the same standard. Here is the plainly ironic statement at issue: https://t.co/BTAcIpmE7J https://t.co/TnSuSM27qQ
— skipping web3 straight to web4 tedfrank (@tedfrank) September 3, 2019
Ben Penn, the reporter who wrote the story for Bloomberg, tweeted in 2013 that a Popeye’s-themed cake made for a black man was not racist unless watermelon was featured as a side dish.
Wow pic.twitter.com/JTa7Ka509I
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) September 3, 2019
While the Bloomberg hit piece has been roundly criticized, Bloomberg has admitted no wrongdoing.
