Jofi Joseph, a national security official, is fired after he's discovered to be behind the highly cutting @natsecwonk Twitter account that criticized, well, a lot of people. The truth hurt? (Credit: Late Breaking News/YouTube Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET) In these days of zero secrecy, you'll always get found out -- even if you're a National Security official. Yet for quite some time, many on the island of the insane known as Washington, D.C. couldn't work out who was writing the @natsecwonk Twitter feed. This was full of more barb than your average prison fence. It was apolitically cutting. Sample One: "Was Huma Abedin wearing beer goggles the night she met Anthony Wiener?" Sample Two: "So when will someone do us the favor of getting rid of Sarah Palin and the rest of her white trash family? What utter useless garbage." Some might see this as hope for the future of politics, a ray of light proving that cross-party harmony is possible. However, as the Daily Beast reports, the White House seems not to have been pleased that the author of this clear-eyed feed worked in, well, the White House. Jofi Joseph, a director in the National Security Staff's nonproliferation section was therefore fired for proliferating his digs. The White House seems to have been slightly irked that he also revealed the occasional tidbit of internal information. More Technically Incorrect Nokia sniffs at Apple after Apple, um, borrows iPhone movie PETA uses drones to expose hunters' 'dirty secrets' Weird, wonderful Sony ad: More water music than you can handle One nightmarish sea creature is fun, but is two an invasion? Conan: Bill Gates a total failure, I am LinkedIn's Gladwell But I wonder whether that was more painful -- after all, officials leak to journalists all the time -- or whether tweets such as: "I'm a fan of Obama, but his continuing reliance and dependence upon a vacuous cipher like Valerie Jarrett concerns me" might have caused more discomfort. It's unclear how Joseph was unmasked, though rumor has it the White House had been in pursuit of discovering the tweeter's identity for months. Joseph, though, is said to have been a conscientious and well-respected member of the White House staff. Thankfully, his tweets have been lovingly preserved for all to read. Joseph himself has come clean about his extra-curricular activity. In an e-mail to Politico, he offered: "What started out as an intended parody account of DC culture developed over time into a series of inappropriate and mean-spirited comments. I bear complete responsibility for this affair and I sincerely apologize to everyone I insulted." This would include the president himself, for one tweet read: "'Has s***ty staff.' #ObamaInThreeWords." It would also include Julian Assange. For one Joseph tweet read: "Here's the bottom line: @wikileaks can go f*** themselves."
Jofi Joseph, a national security official, is fired after he's discovered to be behind the highly cutting @natsecwonk Twitter account that criticized, well, a lot of people.
The truth hurt?
(Credit: Late Breaking News/YouTube Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)
In these days of zero secrecy, you'll always get found out -- even if you're a National Security official.
Yet for quite some time, many on the island of the insane known as Washington, D.C. couldn't work out who was writing the @natsecwonk Twitter feed.
This was full of more barb than your average prison fence. It was apolitically cutting.
Sample One: "Was Huma Abedin wearing beer goggles the night she met Anthony Wiener?"
Sample Two: "So when will someone do us the favor of getting rid of Sarah Palin and the rest of her white trash family? What utter useless garbage."
Some might see this as hope for the future of politics, a ray of light proving that cross-party harmony is possible.
However, as the Daily Beast reports, the White House seems not to have been pleased that the author of this clear-eyed feed worked in, well, the White House.
Jofi Joseph, a director in the National Security Staff's nonproliferation section was therefore fired for proliferating his digs.
The White House seems to have been slightly irked that he also revealed the occasional tidbit of internal information.
More Technically Incorrect
- Nokia sniffs at Apple after Apple, um, borrows iPhone movie
- PETA uses drones to expose hunters' 'dirty secrets'
- Weird, wonderful Sony ad: More water music than you can handle
- One nightmarish sea creature is fun, but is two an invasion?
- Conan: Bill Gates a total failure, I am LinkedIn's Gladwell
But I wonder whether that was more painful -- after all, officials leak to journalists all the time -- or whether tweets such as: "I'm a fan of Obama, but his continuing reliance and dependence upon a vacuous cipher like Valerie Jarrett concerns me" might have caused more discomfort.
It's unclear how Joseph was unmasked, though rumor has it the White House had been in pursuit of discovering the tweeter's identity for months.
Joseph, though, is said to have been a conscientious and well-respected member of the White House staff.
Thankfully, his tweets have been lovingly preserved for all to read.
Joseph himself has come clean about his extra-curricular activity.
In an e-mail to Politico, he offered: "What started out as an intended parody account of DC culture developed over time into a series of inappropriate and mean-spirited comments. I bear complete responsibility for this affair and I sincerely apologize to everyone I insulted."
This would include the president himself, for one tweet read: "'Has s***ty staff.' #ObamaInThreeWords."
It would also include Julian Assange.
For one Joseph tweet read: "Here's the bottom line: @wikileaks can go f*** themselves."
