A Trump administration appointee who recently resigned in the wake of a report outlining his ties to white supremacists is a campaign donor to Rep. David Brat, R-Va., according to campaign records reviewed by the American Ledger.
Ian M. Smith resigned from his position as a policy analyst for the Department of Homeland Security after The Atlantic obtained emails showing he participated in planning events with well-known white nationalists, including Richard Spencer and Jared Taylor.
Smith contributed $250 to Bratâs campaign in 2015. In 2016, he gave $540 to the Republican National Committee and the maximum allowable — $2,700 — to Donald Trumpâs presidential campaign.
Bratâs campaign did not respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.
Bratâs anti-immigrant policies have won him fans on the far right.
Earlier this month, Media Matters for America reported that in 2015, Brat tweeted a link to a piece published on white-nationalist website VDare praising his stance against allowing undocumented immigrants in the military.
The Atlantic reported that Smith was included on an email chain about a dinner party in 2015 for that weekendâs conference of Spencerâs National Policy Institute.
The host wrote: âItâs a dinner, not a partyâthus the having to get out by 9:30 or 10 at the latest. I would imagine this would start on the early side, like 7:00 or even earlier. So itâs settledâwe know my home shall remain judenfrei,â a German word meaning âfree of Jews.â
Smith responded, âThey donât call it Freitag for nothing,â using the German word for âFriday.â
The Washington Post reported Thursday that Smith had attended multiple immigration-policy meetings at the White House.