White House fires staffer for using Twitter to criticize administration

WASHINGTON -- A White House national security official has been fired for running a Twitter account that was harshly critical of the Obama administration.

Jofi Joseph served as non-proliferation director at the National Security Council and was involved in nuclear negotiations with Iran. In a statement to Politico, Joseph says he takes "complete responsibility" for the (at)natsecwonk Twitter account, which often criticized administration policies and top officials.

Joseph says the Twitter feed started as a "parody account." He apologized to those he insulted.

A White House official confirmed that Joseph is no longer working for the administration, but would not comment on personnel matters.