White House aide fired over Twitter account

White House aide fired over Twitter account

A White House national security official was fired after it was discovered that he was behind an anonymous Twitter account that criticized the Obama administration.

Jofi Joseph was non-proliferation director on the National Security Council and was involved in nuclear negotiations with Iran.

One tweet said: "More people should be asking why John Kerry installed two former aides, both with ZERO foreign policy experience, into top posts at State."

Another tweet said: "That Obama only called Kerry/Hagel AFTER he made decision with his WH aides on going to Hill underscores how all foreign policy is WH-based."

The tweet referred to Mr. Obama's surprise decision in late August to seek congressional authorization for military strikes against Syria as punishment for a chemical weapons attack in August.

Mr. Joseph could not be reached on Wednesday for comment.

In a statement to Politico, Mr. Joseph took "complete responsibility" for the Twitter feed, saying it started as a "parody account." He apologized to those he insulted.

A White House official confirmed that Mr. Joseph no longer works for the administration, but declined further comment on personnel matters.

It was not immediately clear how officials determined that Mr. Joseph was behind the Twitter account.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Wednesday he had no additional information to provide.

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