State Dept defends Nauert for moderating 2009 panel about Sharia law theories

A State Department spokesman on Monday defended President Trump’s pick for ambassador to the United Nations over a CNN report that detailed her role as host of a 2009 Fox News webcast about “Islamic Fundamentalism within the United States.”

Deputy State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told CNN that Nauert’s involvement in the program, titled “Terror from Within,” does not mean she agreed with the views expressed during the segment.

“TV anchors host debates with guests who hold different, and at times, controversial opinions,” Palladino said, noting that the guests on Nauert’s program appeared on other networks as well.

{mosads}”Furthermore, Heather repeatedly made clear that she was not maligning any faith; her segment examined taxpayer dollars that went to both churches and mosques,” Palladino added.

Nauert, the top spokesman for the State Department and a former Fox News anchor, was tapped in November to replace Nikki Haley as the U.S. envoy to the United Nations. She is awaiting a confirmation hearing.

CNN reported Monday that Nauert’s 2009 webcast featured commentary from Frank Gaffney and Robert Spencer. The Southern Poverty Law Center identifies both men as holding Islamophobic views. Spencer in his book “Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam Is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs” has suggested that “Islamic jihadists” are seeking to force the U.S. to adopt Islamic law, or Sharia.

Nauert reportedly described the program at the time as examining a “school of thought that there is a stealthy jihad taking place within the U.S.,” and “that some in our country want to destroy our America from within.” Those actors, she suggested, would undermine the U.S. through its financial system and by using its “politically correct” culture.

She said during the program that the broadcast was not meant to “malign the Muslim faith” in any way, CNN reported, but was assessing “one school of thought.”

Nauert is expected to face a difficult confirmation hearing, as she does not have diplomatic or government experience prior to her time in the Trump administration.