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Obama's green adviser quits over links with 9/11 campaign
Paul Thompson in Miami7 Sep 2009
Barack Obama faces fresh embarrassment today after one of his advisers was forced to resign over his links to a campaign which believes the Bush administration may have been complicit in the 9/11 attacks.
Van Jones handed in his notice after mounting criticism about statements he had made before joining the Obama administration.
Despite offering two public apologies for past comments it was made clear to Mr Jones by senior White House officials that he had become a liability.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs had failed to give full backing to Mr Jones after it became known that he signed a petition in 2004 supporting the "9/11 truther" movement which suggests that the Bush administration let the terror attacks happen to justify the war on terror.
Mr Jones had earlier been found to have made a derogatory remark about Republicans, and said school massacres were carried out only by "white suburban kids".
The Yale-educated lawyer and civil rights activist had been appointed by Mr Obama to advise on the creation of environmentally friendly jobs.
As a special adviser he did not go through the usual vetting procedures for people appointed to the Obama administration.
Mr Obama has not publicly commented on the resignation.
His press secretary yesterday refused to say if the President felt he was the victim of a smear campaign mounted by the Right.
Mr Gibbs said: "What Van Jones decided was that the agenda of this President was bigger than any one individual.
"The President thanks Van Jones for his service in the first eight months helping to coordinate renewable energy jobs and lay the foundation for our future economic problem."
Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck, who last month called Mr Obama a racist and is one of his fiercest critics, led the charge against Mr Jones.
He played a recording in which Mr Jones said school massacres were only carried out by "suburban white kids".
Beck used his nationally syndicated show to publicise Jones's links to the 9/11 petition.
In quitting, Mr Jones blamed a Right-wing smear campaign.
He said he resigned as he did not want any controversy to distract from Mr Obama's administration.
Reader views (1)
unfortunately a smear campaign of truth Mr Jones.
- Dirk Diggler, Soho, London, 07/09/2009 23:15
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