Former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) went public on Saturday with comments about antisemitic remarks published by his own producer.
Conservative political commentator James Lindsay on Friday highlighted the alleged comments first, writing, "OAN's Vish Burra, Matt Gaetz's scriptwriter and handler, has severely crossed the line now, calling Jews vermin, accusing them of 'scheming,' identifying them as cockroaches he's destroying in the name of 'America First' and 'America Only.'"
According to Lindsay, Burra quickly deleted the controversial post in question.
"He's deleting now because of the huge legal exposure this puts OAN and him into. Every Jewish employee at OAN now has standing in a Title VI and VII suit they could file, at least unless OAN handles it, perhaps more," he wrote. "I am also named by name, along with my friend Suzy. Vish has been targeting both of us with very specific harassment for long enough, clearly enough, that there can be no doubt to whom he's referring. This is also actionable, both criminally and civilly."
Gaetz on Saturday gave a statement on the matter:
"My producer Vish Burra posted something dumb this week. He knew it was dumb and quickly deleted it," according to Gaetz. "I too have posted dumb things on social media without thinking - some I’ve deleted, some I haven’t."
He then continued, "And I’ve had to pay some consequences along the way. Vish will too. I’m not the internet hall monitor of any of my coworkers (thankfully.) I can say on the Matt Gaetz Show we do not believe in applying bigotry to any group of people, no matter where they live or how they worship. We stand against such bigotry every weeknight at 9pm est on [OAN]."
