Threat Management, Vulnerability Management

Trump Energy appointee Bradford steps down amid hacking claims controversy

Just two days after Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked the FBI and the Department of Energy to provide information on supposed investigations into claims by Energy Department appointee William Bradford that unseemly remarks attributed to him on social media were posted by hackers, Bradford has resigned.

"I cannot comment on an ongoing federal investigation into multiple cyber attacks and Internet crimes committed against me over the past several years, to include email intrusions, hacking and impostors in social media,” Bradford had told CNN about the incendiary comments posted on Disqus, which mirrored remarks that he had publicly made.

Bradford expressed contrition for earlier tweets that disparaged Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and President Barack Obama. “As a minority and member of the Jewish faith, I sincerely apologize for my disrespectful and offensive comments,” he said in an email to the Washington Post earlier in the summer. “These comments are inexcusable and I do not stand by them. Now, as a public servant, I hold myself to a higher standard, and I will work every day to better the lives of all Americans.”

On Thursday, Bradford stepped down. “Bradford tendered his resignation this afternoon and is no longer with the Department of Energy,” the Post cited Energy Department Spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes as writing in an email.

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