Report calls into question anonymous letters purportedly signed by US gov’t staffers opposing Biden support for Israel

US federal government officials protest for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the White House on December 13, 2023. (Screen capture/X)
US federal government officials protest for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the White House on December 13, 2023. (Screen capture/X)

A Washington Post report calls into a question several stories in other news outlets about anonymous letters purportedly signed by hundreds of federal government staffers expressing their opposition to the Biden administration’s support of Israel in the war against Hamas.

NBC News reported on a letter signed by what it said were 40 White House interns; Huffington Post reported on another such letter it said was signed by 140 Capitol Hill staffers; The New York Times reported on a letter signed by 500 political appointees and staff members from 40 government agencies; and Foreign Policy wrote about another letter signed by 370 US Agency for International Development employees.

The signatories in each letter maintained anonymity, however.

“In each case, it was impossible to identify or enumerate the letters’ purported signatories. The stories said supporters declined to make their names public. That left open claims that dozens of people stood behind the underlying sentiments,” The Washington Post reports.

The USAID letter explained that staffers withheld their names due to “concern for our personal safety and risk of potentially losing our jobs.”

Each news outlet that reported on the letters told the Post that it stands by the reporting but declined to elaborate further on their veracity.

A screenshot obtained by the Post indicates that the intern letter was organized by an individual who lives in San Francisco where they work as a doctor.

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