Hungarian Pro-Nazi Group Claims Trump Advisor as a Member

Sebastian Gorka is touted as a top counterterrorism advisor to the Trump administration. And now, he might have a developing Nazi problem.

According to reporting from Forward, a far-right Hungarian group known as the Vitézi Rend claims Gorka as a member.

Vitézi Rend, or the Order of Vitez, was established in 1920 by the Hungarian nationalist leader Miklos Horthy and it helped to deport hundreds of thousands of Jews after the German occupation of Hungary in 1944. In the present age, the group is listed by the State Department as a collaborationist “criminal organization.” And Vitézi Rend continue to promote a racial superiority narrative that says members should practice “love of their race,” upholding Horthy’s view that “whoever lets another take his place is committing a crime against his race.”

In Forward’s reporting, those same members now claim that Gorka is a sworn member of the far-right group. Kornél Pintér, a leader of the Vitézi Rend in Western Hungary, alleges that he befriended Gorka’s father Pali through Rend activities and that he met with Sebastian in Sopron (which is near the Austrian border).

One bit of evidence that commentators in the Forward story cite is Gorka’s usage of the letter “v” in official testimonials. The letter “v” is “known to be an initial used by members of Vitézi Rend, and Gorka has used the letter in his doctoral dissertation and a 2011 address to the House Armed Services Committee, despite the fact that his full name is Sebastian Lukacs Gorka.

As of now, Gorka, who has appeared on programs to discuss intelligence issues, has refused to comment on the matter, telling Buzzfeed News to “Send a request to White House press.”