Sebastian Gorka was White House aide while a fugitive from Hungarian justice

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/18/sebastian-gorka-hungary-fugitive-white-house-aide

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The White House employed a Hungarian fugitive for seven months, according to an arrest warrant that appears to show that Sebastian Gorka, a former adviser to Donald Trump, was wanted there on weapons charges as of September 2016.

The warrant, first reported by Hungarian online outlet 444 and BuzzFeed News is for “firearm or ammunition abuse”.

Gorka, a former Breitbart writer and Trump campaign surrogate, served as “deputy assistant” to the president during his White House tenure, but the exact nature of his role was vague. Gorka was reportedly forced out last August, by the chief of staff, John Kelly, who had recently assumed the role.

Details on the alleged crime triggered the warrant were scarce. The site 444 noted that it could have resulted from an incident as far back as 2009. Hungarian police did not respond to a request for comment.

Gorka told the Guardian that “since I moved to the US in 2008”, a year before the possible 2009 incident, he would decline to comment.

“More #FAKENEWS,” he then added.

He did not reply to a question about whether the incident could have occurred on a visit back to his native Hungary.

Gorka has a longstanding and well-documented interest in guns. He told Recoil magazine in November that his “everyday carry” includes two pistols, a knife, a tourniquet – and for good measure – a copy of the US constitution. In February 2016, he had a pistol confiscated after attempting to bring it through Washington’s Reagan national airport.

Born in the UK to Hungarian-born parents, Gorka spent much of his career in the Hungarian ministry of defense working on issues of counter-terrorism. Since he became a fixture of the Trump campaign and administration, numerous experts have raised questions about his formal credentials and his work in the field of counter-terrorism, and noted his connections to the “alt-right” in the US and fringe rightwing groups in Hungary.