| | '''Joel Barry Pollak''' (born April 25, 1977) is a South African-born American lawyer and author. He serves as the senior-editor-at-large for [[Brietbart.com|Breitbart News]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Byers|first1=Dylan|title=Breitbart News shakes up masthead|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/10/breitbart-news-shakes-up-masthead-175371.html|accessdate=June 18, 2017|publisher=Politico|date=October 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name="breit1">Felsenthal, Carol (1 March 2012). [http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/Felsenthal-Files/March-2012/Andrew-Breitbarts-Right-Hand-Man-Skokie-Bred-Joel-Pollak/ Andrew Breitbart's Right-Hand Man: Skokie-Bred Joel Pollak], ''Chicago (magazine)''</ref> Prior to the death of Andrew Breitbart, he was editor-in-chief and in-house counsel. In 2010 he was the Tea Party Republican nominee for U.S. Congress from [[Illinois's 9th congressional district]], losing decisively to incumbent Democrat [[Jan Schakowsky]] with 31% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pollakforcongress.com/ |title=Joel Pollak, Republican Candidate for Congress, 9th District of Illinois |publisher=Pollakforcongress.com |date= |accessdate=June 18, 2017}}</ref> | | '''Joel Barry Pollak''' (born April 25, 1977) is a South African-born American lawyer and author. He serves as the senior-editor-at-large for [[Brietbart.com|Breitbart News]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Byers|first1=Dylan|title=Breitbart News shakes up masthead|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/10/breitbart-news-shakes-up-masthead-175371.html|accessdate=June 18, 2017|publisher=Politico|date=October 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name="breit1">Felsenthal, Carol (1 March 2012). [http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/Felsenthal-Files/March-2012/Andrew-Breitbarts-Right-Hand-Man-Skokie-Bred-Joel-Pollak/ Andrew Breitbart's Right-Hand Man: Skokie-Bred Joel Pollak], ''Chicago (magazine)''</ref> Prior to the death of Andrew Breitbart, he was editor-in-chief and in-house counsel. In 2010 he was the Tea Party Republican nominee for U.S. Congress from [[Illinois's 9th congressional district]], losing decisively to incumbent Democrat [[Jan Schakowsky]] with 31% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pollakforcongress.com/ |title=Joel Pollak, Republican Candidate for Congress, 9th District of Illinois |publisher=Pollakforcongress.com |date= |accessdate=June 18, 2017}}</ref> |
| | Although not a news reporter, Pollak played a major role in the start of the [[Obamagate]] controversy. [[Mark Levin]] wrote a story about a "silent coup" against [[President Trump]] which did not gain much media notice. However, on March 3, 2017, as is Pollak's custom, Pollak published an opinion-editorial reprising Levin's work and adding a few points.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/03/mark-levin-obama-used-police-state-tactics-undermine-trump/|title=Mark Levin to Congress: Investigate Obama’s ‘Silent Coup’ vs. Trump|date=March 3, 2017|accessdate=June 18, 2018|work=Breitbart}}</ref><ref name=money>{{cite news|url=http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/06/media/mark-levin-joel-pollak-breitbart-trump-obama/index.html|title=Birth of a conspiracy theory: How Trump's wiretap claim got started|date=March 6, 2017|work=CNN Money|accessdate=June 18, 2018}}</ref> The Breitbart op-ed circulated in the White House and came to President Trump's attention prompting him to tweet out that Obama "tapped" Trump Tower.<ref name=money/> | | Although not a news reporter, Pollak played a major role in the start of the [[Obamagate]] controversy. [[Mark Levin]] wrote a story about a "silent coup" against [[President Trump]] which did not gain much media notice. However, on March 3, 2017, as is Pollak's custom, Pollak published an opinion-editorial reprising Levin's work and adding a few points.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/03/mark-levin-obama-used-police-state-tactics-undermine-trump/|title=Mark Levin to Congress: Investigate Obama’s ‘Silent Coup’ vs. Trump|date=March 3, 2017|accessdate=June 18, 2018|work=Breitbart}}</ref><ref name=money>{{cite news|url=http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/06/media/mark-levin-joel-pollak-breitbart-trump-obama/index.html|title=Birth of a conspiracy theory: How Trump's wiretap claim got started|date=March 6, 2017|work=CNN Money|accessdate=June 18, 2018}}</ref> The Breitbart op-ed circulated in the White House and came to President Trump's attention prompting him to tweet out that Obama "tapped" Trump Tower.<ref name=money/> |