What in the fresh hell is this? An imposter might have infiltrated a White House intern group chat, collected signatures, and sent a letter to President Joe Biden demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. That appears to be the case, and yet another chapter of White House intrigue, though one that doesn’t involve Hunter Biden, his drug use, his tax evasion shenanigans, his gun charges, his prostitutes, or Joe Biden’s mental decay. Then again, who is this person? We have a name, but no one knows who she is—who is ‘Thara Nagarajan?’
Her alleged behavior in this story is incredulous. She posted a message into the GroupMe White House intern chat, hoping to solicit support for a letter demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. She gave interns in the chat until that evening to submit their names but added that they wouldn’t be revealed. Nagarajan then left the chat. The letter was leaked to the press, with NBC News reporting.
The ballsy move was dismissed, even mocked, as it should—did a group of interns demand Biden push Israel to halt the war? Interns are meant to be seen, not heard. Politico posted about this on Wednesday, following a deep dive into what The Hill reported about this letter and Ms. “Nagarajan,” a woman who is not “directly affiliated with the White House.” It might not have been a White House intern initiative after all, and we don’t know if “Nagarajan” was the brainchild or the pawn in this little act of guerilla activism.
The White House also doesn’t run or manage the group chat either—interns use it to communicate and stay in touch. Luckily, some read the post and were wary of it. With the Fall semester about to end, the window to figure out the identity of “Nagarajan” is rapidly closing. Even if they don’t know who this person is, Politico adds that the interns’ consensus position is that the letter outlined their views on the matter, and this cloak-and-dagger twist shouldn’t take away from that (via Politico):
When NBC News published a piece last week about a letter White House interns sent to President JOE BIDEN pressuring him to call for a permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, some on social media mocked the staffers for their gall to anonymously challenge the president and then leak the effort to the media. Others applauded their boldness.
And some cast doubt on the legitimacy of the entire thing.
Rumors started to circulate that the letter wasn’t actually organized by White House interns, but rather someone outside the administration. A day after the NBC story published, The Hill’s BRETT SAMUELS reported a “source familiar with the letter pushed back on its significance, saying it was organized by a woman named Thara [Nagarajan] who is not directly affiliated with the White House.”
According to a screenshot reviewed by West Wing Playbook, a user named THARA NAGARAJAN mysteriously popped into the White House intern GroupMe chat the Sunday before the letter became public.
“Hi all, as the genocide of Palestinians continues, there is a public letter for White House interns to sign anonymously for those who stand with Palestine,” Nagarajan wrote, along with a link to the letter on a Google Form. She said that interns had until 6 p.m. the following day to “sign” by noting the offices that they work in — but assured everyone that no actual names or emails would be collected or revealed.
There’s no evidence suggesting that Nagarajan orchestrated the letter. Nor has anyone cast doubt that a sizable number of White House interns feel distraught about the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
But still, no one could figure out who Nagarajan was — or how she got access to the intern chat. After Nagarajan sent that message, she immediately left the group.
The White House doesn’t run the intern GroupMe, which serves as an informal way for the roughly 150 20-somethings to stay in touch throughout the course of their program.
So, understandably, some interns were weirded out by the situation and flagged Nagarajan’s request to their supervisors. Some who did not want to be associated with the letter’s content said they were uncomfortable with the way they were approached.
[…]
West Wing Playbook attempted to get in touch with Nagarajan — or, at least, who we believe to be the same Nagarajan in the GroupMe. But our multiple calls, emails and texts went unanswered.
The same intern, one of the roughly 40 who signed the letter, said that Nagarajan’s involvement shouldn’t undercut the message they were trying to relay. The person stressed that the letter was organized by interns and not written by Nagarajan. And the person argued the letter exposed real tensions that have rippled throughout the Biden administration in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack.
The 2023 fall internship program ends this month. Some interns are coming to terms with the fact that they might leave campus without any answers about Nagarajan’s identity.
Interns organized it, but it might not have been. What is this, Abbott and Costello? As for full-time staffers, a few of them protested outside the White House recently, calling for the same thing. Does anyone have control over their respective staff within this administration? What is going on?
Was this a fake letter? Did these interns get bamboozled?
🚨👀: First @jonallendc reports WH interns send letter to Biden critical of Israel-Gaza
— Matthew Bartlett (@MRBartlettNH) December 14, 2023
Now WWPlaybook reports genesis of letter could be an anonymous person who joined intern group chat, urged action, and then disappeared
No one knows this person and @politico can’t track down… pic.twitter.com/MAqb370Kuv
Can you imagine what would happen to WH interns who publicly organized against the foreign policy of a Hilary Clinton White House?
— Meredith Dake-O'Connor (@meredithdake) December 15, 2023
So happy the grown-ups are in charge. https://t.co/MtwQEYlCnQ
— L A R R Y (@LarryOConnor) December 15, 2023
Join the conversation as a VIP Member