Two more Breitbart News employees announced their resignations on Monday, joining Ben Shapiro, his father David Shapiro, and Michelle Fields, who tendered their resignations on Sunday night. Former Breitbart spokesman Kurt Bardella also resigned last week. On Monday afternoon, Breitbart’s Jordan Schachtel and Jarrett Stepman announced their resignations, bringing the total number of staffers who have bolted from the organization to six. Schachtel said in a statement, “The company no longer resembles the ideals that inspired me to start writing for them three years ago.” He attacked the website’s consistent support for Republican front-runner Donald Trump as a central reason for his departure, saying, “Some of us have been fighting behind the scenes against the party-line Trump propaganda for some time, but without any success, unfortunately.”
Breitbart News is no longer a journalistic enterprise, but instead, in my opinion, something resembling an unaffiliated media Super PAC for the Trump campaign. I signed my contract to work as a journalist, not as a member of the Donald J. Trump for President media network. As recent events have proven, there is no longer a point in trying to reform the company from within, so I must step aside with my dignity intact.
Stepman repeated the same theme in his statement:
Breitbart News has always been about being a grassroots, conservative publication, but in my opinion we are working with or perhaps even taking direction from a presidential campaign, which is unacceptable journalistic behavior. I believe Breitbart News is becoming less of a news site and more of a propaganda organization dedicated to the Trump campaign.
There have been rumors that Trump’s campaign has been providing financial backing in exchange for favorable headlines at Breitbart. The Washington Examiner reported:
Editor-at-large Joel Pollack (sic), who once inquired about a position as a campaign speechwriter for the casino tycoon, also published an article last week suggesting Fields and an eyewitness, Washington Post’s Ben Terris, had merely misidentified Lewandowski.
Next Page: Breitbart Responds With Mocking Post
Pollak has also taken credit for a post that appeared on the site briefly this morning, mocking his former colleague Ben Shapiro and doxing his father, who wrote for Breitbart under the pseudonym “William Bigelow.” The post, which can be read in full here, was originally posted under Bigelow’s name and linked to his personal information.
The classless piece mocked Shapiro, who has had minimum involvement with the website in recent months, and also included a mean-spirited dig at Michelle Fields:
Breitbart California editor Joel B. Pollak, Shapiro’s friend and fellow Orthodox Jew, expressed concern for his former colleague.
“I’m worried. I had enjoyed listening to Ben read Breitbart California stories, word for word, without attribution, on his morning radio show. Now what will he do for content?”Breitbart News senior management issued a short statement: “Ben’s listicles will be missed.”The mood was somber at Breitbart News’ Los Angeles office, where one staffer stared silently at promotional copies of Shapiro’s books, left behind on the shelves when the author stopped showing up for work, several years ago.Alleged Fox News contributor Michelle Fields also resigned.
In place of the post is now a statement from Pollak claiming that the article was written in jest: “The article was written by me as part of an effort to make light of a significant company event, and was published as a result of a misunderstanding without going through the normal editorial channels. I apologize to Michelle Fields, my friend Ben Shapiro, and to everyone concerned.”
Editor’s note: Michelle Fields is a former PJTV employee.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member