| Joel B. Pollak | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | April 25, 1977 Johannesburg, South Africa | ||
| Political Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse | Julia Ingle Bertelsmann | ||
| Religion | Orthodox Judaism | ||
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 Breitbart.com.[1][2] 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.[3]
Pollak is an Orthodox Jew whose family migrated from South Africa to Illinois shortly after he was born. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1987.
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.[4][5] 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.[5]
References
- ↑ "Breitbart News shakes up masthead", Politico, October 17, 2013.
- ↑ Felsenthal, Carol (1 March 2012). Andrew Breitbart's Right-Hand Man: Skokie-Bred Joel Pollak, Chicago (magazine)
- ↑ Joel Pollak, Republican Candidate for Congress, 9th District of Illinois. Pollakforcongress.com.
- ↑ "Mark Levin to Congress: Investigate Obama’s ‘Silent Coup’ vs. Trump", Breitbart, March 3, 2017.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Birth of a conspiracy theory: How Trump's wiretap claim got started", CNN Money, March 6, 2017.