Sebastian Gorka, the counterterrorism czar, ranks among the Trump administration’s most polarizing personalities—a brash intruder in the staid realm of national security. In an arena that prizes subdued expertise, Gorka stands out as boisterous and unpredictable. In a booming voice with a British accent, he describes U.S. operations reducing suspected terrorists to “red mist” and stacking bodies “like cordwood.” He sports a lanyard emblazoned with “WWFY & WWKY,” alluding to President Donald Trump’s line: “We will find you and we will kill you.” It speaks to the frenzy of Trump’s first year back in office that even the colorful Gorka had faded into the background as the nation reeled from a mass deportation campaign and sweeping cuts to federal agencies. That changed in February with the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which increased the danger of retaliatory strikes on American citizens and interests worldwide. Overnight, interest reignited in who heads White House counterterrorism efforts. My editors and I decided it was time to dig into the Gorka files. For six months, I had been tracking Gorka’s public statements for hints on the progress of his long-promised national counterterrorism strategy and updates regarding lethal U.S. strikes in Africa and the Middle East. It began as traditional beat reporting; I cover counterterrorism, and he serves as the senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council. The wealth of details I gathered from months of Gorka’s public statements, plus interviews with over two dozen current and former security officials, were incorporated into a ProPublica investigation published in April.
