Newsmax, almost alone in the ConWeb, has made a big deal out of the Heritage Foundation giving aid and comfort to Tucker Carlson for giving a platform to racist anti-Semite Nick Fuentes — and it has surprisingly stayed with the story. A Jan. 18 article stated:
More than 60 senior staff members, fellows, and trustees have departed the Heritage Foundation in the wake of the crisis ignited by President Kevin Roberts’ support for Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson, Newsmax has learned.
The departures signal deepening turmoil at one of Washington’s most influential conservative think tanks.
In the past week, Andrew Hale, a senior Heritage policy analyst, exited the foundation.
“I can roll with policy changes, but what I can’t roll with is a tolerance or an overlooking of antisemitism or any form of bigotry,” Hale told Jewish Insider.
When reached for comment by Newsmax, a Heritage spokesperson declined to confirm the number of departures since October.
[…]The departures of senior people from Heritage span multiple departments and include longtime policy experts, senior leadership figures, and prominent fellows, according to people familiar with the organization’s internal operations.
The wave of departures has coincided with growing unease among major donors.
Several longtime financial backers have scaled back or halted contributions, citing concerns about governance, strategic direction, and reputational risk.
An update was later tacked on to the article:
Editor’s Note: Since publication, the Heritage Foundation has insisted the number of departures is overstated, claiming 30 “employees” have departed since November. As Newsmax initially reported on Sunday, 60 staff members, in addition to fellows and trustees, have departed. And since the initial report, Newsmax has learned that more than 100 volunteers, part of Heritage’s now-defunct Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, have severed ties.
The think tank has not provided a breakdown of employees, fellows, trustees, and volunteers. Newsmax has reached out to the Heritage Foundation for a breakdown.
The Heritage-bashing continued in a Feb. 18 article:
The Heritage Foundation Board of Trustees reaffirmed its support for President Kevin Roberts at a recent meeting as the think tank continues to roil from an exodus of staff and senior leadership.
In this month alone, trustee John Coleman, senior policy analyst Daniel Flesch, director Diana Furchtgott-Roth, and donor relations director Max Morrison have departed Heritage.
Furchtgott-Roth, a renowned expert on transportation, had been Heritage’s director of the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment.
As Newsmax recently reported, the number of senior staff members, fellows, and trustees who have departed exceeds 60. (Heritage disputes the number and says it is closer to 30.)
Five board members have quit Heritage since last October, when Roberts made an impassioned defense of Tucker Carlson’s interview with white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
Roberts would later apologize for his video defending Carlson and Fuentes, but withheld criticism of the podcaster.
[…]Meeting with staff in the ballroom of Heritage’s Washington headquarters earlier this month, the board, led by Chairwoman Barb Van Andel-Gaby, addressed employees and confirmed that she and the remaining trustees were standing by Roberts, even as the organization continues to face internal upheaval.
Roberts has refused to criticize or condemn Carlson for his many antisemitic statements or dissociate Heritage from the podcaster. His stance has fueled months of unrest inside Heritage.
At the meeting, Van Andel-Gaby thanked remaining staff for weathering what she called ongoing “disruptions,” language that angered many employees, according to the source.
She also made clear the board would continue backing Roberts.
Newsmax made sure to add: “Roberts has refused to criticize or condemn Carlson for his many antisemitic statements or dissociate Heritage from the podcaster. His stance has fueled months of unrest inside Heritage.”