2 days ago
Trump's nominee for Bureau of Labor Statistics was Jan 6 ‘bystander' outside Capitol, says White House
Donald Trump 's pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics was a 'bystander' outside the Capitol as the Jan. 6 insurrection unfolded, according to the White House.
The president on Monday nominated Dr. E.J. Antoni to lead the BLS after firing the agency's commissioner earlier this month, accusing her of manipulating jobs data.
In recent days, videos have emerged of the 37-year-old economist from the right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank among a mob of Trump supporters who swarmed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Antoni is not believed to be among those who entered the building, and the video does not show him crossing barricades or demonstrating.
The footage places Antoni at the Capitol about an hour after rioters tore down police barricades, as other insurrectionists poured onto its grounds.
In U.S. Capitol Police surveillance video unearthed by NBC News, Antoni was spotted outside the Capitol building among a sea of supporters waving 'Stop the Steal' and 'Trump 2020' flags.
In the clip, Antoni is seen walking away from the crowd on the building's west side as chants of 'USA' ring out and tear gas plumes in the background. Far-right radio host Alex Jones can be heard speaking over a megaphone.
Other footage shows Antoni at the Capitol's east side, walking away from the building, according to NBC News.
The video was initially released by the GOP-led House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight and archived from the social media website Parler.
A White House official told NBC News Wednesday that Antoni was in Washington, D.C. for in-person meetings with his then employer, which, according to his LinkedIn profile, was the conservative think tank, the Committee to Unleash Prosperity.
'These pictures show EJ Antoni, a bystander to the events of January 6th, observing and then leaving the Capitol area,' White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told the broadcaster in an email statement.
He added it was 'wrong and defamatory to suggest EJ engaged in anything inappropriate or illegal.'
While Antoni has not been accused of any wrongdoing, more than 1,500 rioters were charged with crimes connected to the attack on the Capitol building. On his first day back in office on January 20, Trump granted clemency to almost all of the defendants.
Trump announced his intentions to install Antoni as BLS commissioner after removing Erika McEntarfer, whom he accused of using 'phony' numbers in the July jobs report that showed private companies adding just 73,000 positions, below projections.
Under Antoni's stewardship, Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday that the numbers released would be 'HONEST and ACCURATE.'
Antoni, who will face Senate confirmation, wrote on X last week that the bureau, part of the Labor Department, needed to revise its methods to 'rebuild the trust that has been lost over the last several years.'
However, his nomination has intensified fears among critics that Trump wants a partisan supporter at the helm of a bureau to manipulate data to support his policies.
Antoni was a contributor to the group's Project 2025, a controversial blueprint document outlining many of the moves the Trump administration has taken in office.
