Ex-Ag Aide Says Administration Forced Her Out

Shirley Sherrod, the now-former Department of Agriculture director of Rural Development, announced her resignation last night following the release of a recorded video of her ostensibly describing how she favored giving federal benefits to blacks over whites.

Today, Sherrod made the rounds among various media outlets to tell her side of the story. According to Sherrod, a deputy undersecretary "harassed" her and warned her that the video was going to result in a lot of negative attention for the USDA and the Obama administration.

Sherrod says she tried to explain circumstances surrounding the video, but the administration would hear none of it. "They were not interested in hearing the truth. No one wanted to hear the truth," she said in an interview this morning.

Furthermore, Fox News reports that the caucasian farm family who was the subject of Sherrod's story says the administration should not have forced her out of her job since she helped them keep their farm.

In an interview with CNN, Sherrod said she blamed the NAACP, who was quick to condemn her remarks. According to Sherrod, the NAACP never contacted her and that the group's self-propelled fight with the tea party set the stage for her forced resignation.

In addition, Sherrod also pointed to Cheryl Cook, deputy undersecretary for Rural Development, as an individual who called her several times on Monday and demanded her resignation "because you're going to be on Glenn Beck tonight," she said.