The Trump administration's director of the
Office
of Indian Energy at the Department of Energy resigned last week after being confronted with even more offensive online remarks.
William C.
Bradford apologized in June after confirming that he called former president
Barack Obama a
"Kenyan creampuff" and described the
internment
of Japanese Americans as "necessary" in Twitter posts that he deleted.
But CNN found even more outrageous comments, including one in which he referred to the prior president, who was adopted by a family from the
Crow Tribe, as the "son of a fourth-rate p&*n actress and w@!re."
Bradford, who claims to be a citizen of the
Chiricahua Apache
Nation, told CNN last Monday that he was the victim of hacking and said federal authorities were investigating "multiple cyber attacks and Internet crimes committed against me." He suddenly resigned on Thursday.
“Bradford tendered his resignation this afternoon and is no longer with the Department of Energy, ” a spokesperson for the
department told The Washington Post.
"I resigned because I reached the conclusion over the previous four months that the best way to serve the President, the USA, and Indian Country would be from a position beyond the constraints I experienced," Bradford told CNN in a statement.
Bradford, a supporter of
President
Donald Trump, has long been a
figure of interest in Indian Country but never served in a position of leadership in an Indian or inter-tribal organization. He claimed to be the attorney general of his tribe, which is no longer recognized by the United States, according to a
federal
court decision from 2008.
He surfaced on Indian Country's agenda after he joined the Trump administration, apparently in early May. His name first showed up on a
May
30 press release about renewable energy.
"Public officials in leadership positions have the responsibility to serve all Americans regardless of race, gender, and religion,"
five Democratic and Independent lawmakers wrote in a June 26 letter to
Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
"These officials must be held to the highest standards of conduct. Dr. Bradford’s divisive rhetoric has no place in public service."
Bradford succeeded
Chris
Deschene, a citizen of the
Navajo Nation who had been
hired during the Obama administration.
Read More on the Story:
Trump Energy official who said controversial comments were result of hacking resigns
(CNN September 1, 2017)
Energy Department official who sent disparaging tweets resigns
(The Washington Post August 29, 2017)
This Trump appointee says it was hackers, not him, who called Obama's mom a 'w@!re'
(CNN September 1, 2017)
Related Stories
Director
of Office of Indian Energy deletes offensive Twitter account (June 23,
2017)
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