Anthony Tata
Anthony Tata | |
---|---|
Senior Official Performing the Duties of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy | |
In office November 10, 2020 – January 20, 2021 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | James H. Anderson (as Acting Under Secretary) |
Succeeded by | Colin Kahl |
Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy | |
In office July 31, 2020 – November 10, 2020 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | James H. Anderson (as Deputy Under Secretary) |
Succeeded by | Thomas M. Williams |
Personal details | |
Born | Anthony Jean Tata September 7, 1959 |
Anthony Jean Tata[1] (born September 7, 1959) (/ˈteɪtə/), is an American retired United States Army officer, author, and government official. He is a retired brigadier general of the United States Army (1981–2009), and later served as a school district administrator for two large school districts in the District of Columbia and North Carolina. He served as Secretary of Transportation of North Carolina from 2013 to 2015 under Governor Pat McCrory.[2] Tata is the author of the Threat series of thriller novels.
After leaving the Army, he became a regular on Fox News.[3] where he offered pro-Donald Trump commentary.[3] He has falsely claimed that Barack Obama is a Muslim and "terrorist leader" and promoted a baseless conspiracy theory asserting that the CIA sought to assassinate Trump.[4]
In 2020, Tata joined the Pentagon in a senior civilian advisory role to Defense Secretary Mark Esper.[5] On April 23, 2020 Trump nominated Tata to the post of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.[6] His nomination was submitted to the Senate on June 11, 2020,[7] but a hearing on his confirmation was cancelled on July 30, and the White House planned to withdraw the nomination.[8] Later, Tata was appointed as "the official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy reporting to the acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, James Anderson."[9] Following Anderson's resignation after the November 2020 elections, Tata served as the de facto acting Under Secretary under the official title "Performing the Duties of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy"[10] until his resignation on January 15, 2021.[11]
Early life and education
Tata was born in
Tata graduated from the School of Advanced Military Studies with a master's degree in Military Art and Science.[citation needed]
Career
Military
Tata served in the
Tata and his first wife (Tracy Lynn) divorced in April 1993 under acrimonious circumstances: his ex-wife filed a complaint against him with the Army's Office of Inspector General (OIG), triggering an investigation.[19] The OIG concluded in June 2007 that Tata had extramarital affairs in 1985 and 1992 while still married. The affairs involved three different women, and a son[20] born out of wedlock. Adultery is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice under certain circumstances.[19][16] Tata did not contest the finding of adultery, and Army leaders did not penalize him over the finding.[19] The OIG investigation also concluded Tata's ex-wife's other allegations were "not substantiated."[19] OIG's conclusion rejecting the allegation of failure to pay child support was based on a supposed 2001 Georgia court order submitted as evidence by Tata and his lawyer.[19] It was later determined, however, that the document was fraudulent, with the signatures of the Georgia judge and counsel having been forged. Tata and his lawyer acknowledged that the court order they had produced to OIG was "not genuine" and later produced the genuine order, which was substantively different.[19] OIG never determined who created the false document and forged the signatures. Tata and his counsel said they did not create the document.[19]
Upon his retirement in June 2009, Tata received the Distinguished Service Medal.[19]
Public schools administrator
After retiring from active duty service, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of the
Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation
In January 2013, North Carolina governor
Political commentator
Tata has appeared on commentary panels on
Conspiratorial and inflammatory comments
In Twitter posts and radio-show appearances in 2017 and 2018, Tata repeatedly made
Tata deleted several of his Twitter posts after they were publicized by CNN in June 2020, following an investigation by Andrew Kaczynski and others.[28]
Trump administration
In spring 2020,[16] Tata joined the Pentagon as a senior advisor to Defense Secretary Mark Esper.[5]
Nomination for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
On April 24, 2020, Trump announced his intent to nominate Tata to be the next Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, replacing John Rood, who resigned from the position in February 2020.[6] On June 11, 2020, Trump formally nominated Tata for the position,[31] which is the third-highest ranking position in the Defense Department.[8]
Upon his nomination, Tata's past conspiratorial and inflammatory comments in Twitter posts, radio interviews, and other statements led to opposition to the appointment.
On July 30, 2020, Tata's confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee was canceled just before it was set to begin, signaling that there might not be a sufficient number of Republicans to confirm Tata's appointment.[16] On the same day, the White House reportedly advised the committee that the nomination was likely to be withdrawn.[8] Tata was then appointed as "the official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy reporting to the Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Dr. James Anderson", a position that does not require confirmation by the Senate.[9] Both the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed, condemned the appointment, with Reed describing it as "an insult to our troops, professionals at the Pentagon, the Senate, and the American people."[36]
With the resignation of James Anderson in November 2020, Tata assumed the responsibilities of the acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy[37] or, "the senior official performing the duties of the under secretary of defense for policy."[38][39] Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin fired Tata in February 2021.[40]
In December 2020, Trump named Tata to the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.[41]
Novelist
Tata's work has been referred to as "Tom Clancy-style military thrillers."[13] His novel Besieged was listed by Publishers Weekly as a Top 10 Thriller/Mystery of 2017.
Tata's published books are:
- Threat Series
- Book I, Sudden Threat (2009), ISBN 978-1935142089
- Book II, Rogue Threat (2009), ISBN 978-1935142096
- Book III, Hidden Threat (2011), ISBN 978-1935142171
- Book IV, Mortal Threat (2015) ISBN 978-1508483786
- Book I, Sudden Threat (2009),
- Captain Jake Mahegan Series
- Foreign and Domestic (2015), ISBN 0786035404
- Three Minutes to Midnight (2016), ISBN 1496706250
- Besieged (2017) ISBN 978-1496706638
- Direct Fire (2017) ISBN 978-1496706645
- Dark Winter (2018) ISBN 978-1496717900
- Double Crossfire (2019) ISBN 978-1496717924
- Foreign and Domestic (2015),
- Reaper Series, published as A. J. Tata
- With ISBN 1250127343
- With Nicholas Irving. Reaper: Threat Zero (2019) ISBN 125012736X
- With Nicholas Irving. Reaper: Drone Strike (2020) ISBN 9781250240743
- With
As of 2008, all of the proceeds from Tata's Threat Series books had been donated to the USO Metro DC Hospital Services fund for Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; by 2008, $15,000 had been donated.[42]
Personal life
Tata, who is of Italian ancestry, has two children.[14][43] He married Tracy Lynn Burt on July 16, 1983; they were divorced in April 1993.[43] In 2015, Tata married his third wife, Jodi Amanda.[43]
References
- ^ "Anthony Jean Tata". West Point Association of Graduates. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ Siceloff, Bruce (8 January 2013). "He's not 'The General,' but he's the boss at DOT". The News & Observer. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Fox News regular Anthony Tata to be tapped as Pentagon policy chief". POLITICO. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ a b c Em Steck; Andrew Kaczynski; Nathan McDermott; Zachary Cohen (June 23, 2020). "Top Pentagon nominee pushed conspiracy theories that former CIA director tried to overthrow Trump and even have him assassinated". CNN.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gordon Lubold, Generals Pull Support for Pentagon Nominee Tata Over Offensive Tweets, The Wall Street Journal (June 18, 2020).
- ^ POLITICO. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- National Archives.
- ^ a b c d e Em Steck, White House tells Senate Armed Services they plan to withdraw controversial Pentagon nominee, source says, CNN (July 30, 2020).
- ^ a b Ryan Browne (2 August 2020). "Trump directed controversial Pentagon pick into new role with similar duties after nomination failed". CNN. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
- ^ "Trump loyalists elevated to powerful roles at the Pentagon after firing of Defense Secretary Esper". CNBC. 10 November 2020.
- ^ "Biden taps Trump appointee Norquist to be his temporary Defense secretary". Politico. 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Tata, Martha Jeraldine [obituary]". Greene County Record. 30 Nov 2019. Retrieved 1 Aug 2020.
- ^ a b Turque, Bill (15 February 2010). "Retire Army Officer's New Mission:D.C. Public Schools". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "NCDOT Leadership: Secretary of Transportation". Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ Jacobs, Jennifer (April 22, 2020). "Trump Chooses Tata, a Retired General, for Top Defense Post". Bloomberg. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dan Lamothe & Seung Min Kim, Senate hearing for controversial Pentagon nominee Anthony Tata canceled just before it was set to begin, Washington Post (July 30, 2020).
- ^ Frank, John; T. Keung Hui (4 January 2013). "McCrory completes Cabinet, names Tata in another surprising pick". The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ Tata, Anthony (26 August 1996). "A Flight for Lodgement: Future Joint Contingency Operations". Joint Force Quarterly (11): 82–89.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Siceloff, Bruce (September 19, 2015). "Tony Tata's Army Career Included Phony Court Order, At Least 2 Affairs". News & Observer.
- OCLC 15649740. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ Wheeler, Burgetta Eplin. "Wheeler: The school board from another planet". The News & Observer.
- WUNC. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ "Tata was heartbroken over Wake Schools firing". WRAL.com. WRAL-TV. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ Chris Baysden, Poll: School board shouldn’t have fired Tata, Triangle Business Journal (October 3, 2012).
- ^ Luebke, Bob (28 September 2012). "Poll: Wake Voters support Tata; not school board". Civitas Institute.
- ^ a b c d Bruce Siceloff; Craig Jarvis (July 28, 2015). "Tata takes sudden step away from helm of NCDOT". News & Observer.
- ^ a b Jackson, Drew (November 25, 2018). "Former NC highways chief defends Trump's decision to send troops to US-Mexican border". The News & Observer.
- ^ a b c d Em Steck, Andrew Kaczynski and Nathan McDermott (June 12, 2020). "Top Pentagon policy nominee has a history of Islamophobic and offensive comments". Kfile. CNN.
- ^ a b c d e Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck & Nathan McDermott, Democrats on key Senate committee oppose top Pentagon pick as more inflammatory tweets emerge, CNN (June 15, 2020).
- ^ "Gen. Tata: 'Communist John Brennan' Never Should Have Had a Security Clearance". Fox News.
- ^ "PN1980 — Anthony J. Tata — Department of Defense: Anthony J. Tata, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, vice John C. Rood, resigned". Congress.gov. United States Congress. June 11, 2020.
- ^ a b Zachary Cohen, Barbara Starr & Andrew Kaczynski, Retired generals pull support for Trump nominee after offensive tweets uncovered by CNN, CNN (June 18, 2020).
- ^ Connor O'Brien, 51 advocacy groups oppose Trump's pick for Pentagon policy chief due to past comments, Politico (June 25, 2020).
- POLITICO. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ Clarence K.K. Chinn & Dana J.H. Pittard, Confirm Tony Tata, Wall Street Journal (July 27, 2020).
- ^ Lamothe, Dan (August 3, 2020). "Retired general is appointed to Trump administration in position that won't require confirmation". Stars & Stripes. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ Seligman, Lara; Lippman, Daniel (November 10, 2020). "Official who once called Obama a 'terrorist leader' takes over Pentagon policy". Politico. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "DOD Statement on Personnel Changes at the Pentagon". U.S. Department of Defense. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ Baldor, Lolita (2021-02-02). "Pentagon chief purges defense boards; Trump loyalists out". Defense News. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "Board of Visitors | U.S. Merchant Marine Academy". www.usmma.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ Bedard, Paul (24 December 2008). "The Army's Very Own Tom Clancy". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- ^ a b c "Tony Tata's Army career included phony court order, at least 2 affairs". The News & Observer. 2015.
External links
- A.J. Tata Home Page Archived 2015-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Anthony J. Tata Biography Western Wake Republican Club
- The Military Man in Charge of Transportation in North Carolina
- NCDOT Leadership: Secretary of Transportation
- A.J. Tata at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library
- Raleigh: NCDOT's Tata revs up side career as novelist