The Dismissal of a House Historian TRIAL BY FIRESTORM

RECRUITED by Newt Gingrich last December as the new House Historian—who is charged with documenting and informing the public on the workings of the House—Christina Jeffrey rose swiftly from relative obscurity as a college professor from Georgia, only to fall twice as fast, branded an anti-Semite, Nazi sympathizer, and racist before the entire nation.

On January 9, Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) rose to the House floor and called Mrs. Jeffrey’s appointment “an affront to my constituents who survived the Holocaust . . . and millions of Americans.” Barney Frank (D., Mass.) had already called her views “wacko” and “offensive.” Even after Gingrich fired her, some Democrats weren’t satisfied. Minority Whip David Bonior asked ominously, “What did Speaker Gingrich know about her extreme views, and when did he know it?” Patricia Schroeder (D., Colo.) wanted to know the same thing. And Mr. Schumer contended that questions remained which “must, must be answered.”

About the Author

Tracy Lee Simmons

Tracy Lee Simmons is the author of Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin.

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RECRUITED by Newt Gingrich last December as the new House Historian—who is charged with documenting and informing the public on the workings of the House—Christina Jeffrey rose swiftly from relative obscurity as a college professor from Georgia, only to fall twice as fast, branded an anti-Semite, Nazi sympathizer, and racist before the entire nation.

On January 9, Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) rose to the House floor and called Mrs. Jeffrey’s appointment “an affront to my constituents who survived the Holocaust . . . and millions of Americans.” Barney Frank (D., Mass.) had already called her views “wacko” and “offensive.” Even after Gingrich fired her, some Democrats weren’t satisfied. Minority Whip David Bonior asked ominously, “What did Speaker Gingrich know about her extreme views, and when did he know it?” Patricia Schroeder (D., Colo.) wanted to know the same thing. And Mr. Schumer contended that questions remained which “must, must be answered.”