Top Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka 'belongs to Nazi-linked group'

Donald Trump's top anti-terrorism adviser is allegedly "a formal member" of a Nazi-allied group, according to a report by Jewish newspaper The Forward, released on Thursday.

Sebastian von Gorka is allegedly party to a far-right Hungarian group that had ties to the Nazi party during the Second World War era.

The group, Vitezi Rend, is listed by the US State Department as an organisation that is under the direction of Nazi Germany.

It is currently split into two groups in Hungary, who claim to be the rightful heirs to the original Vitezi Rend. The Forward allegedly found Gorka to be a member of the Historical Vitezi Rend.

A leader in the Historical Vitezi Rend also confirmed to Buzzfeed that Gorka was a current member.

The Forward also found that when the top national security adviser became an American citizen in 2012, he had not disclosed this information upon entering the US, leaving much legal implication on his status in the country.

"The State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual specifies that members of the Vitezi Rend ‘are presumed to be inadmissible' to the country under the Immigration and Nationality Act,'" The Forward reported.

US Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York found the revelations "deeply disturbing", according to Buzzfeed.

"Not least because of what they reveal about the kinds of people able to influence the president of the United States," Nadler said.

"It's shocking that with these revelations he’s not already fired by the president," he added, "It's shocking he was hired in the first place, now with this revelation it’s shocking he hasn't already been fired."

Gorka denied the claims in an interview with Tablet magazine, saying "I have never been a member of the Vitez Rend. I have never taken an oath of loyalty to the Vitez Rend."

Yet his alleged ties to a Nazi-allied group may be seen as a new low for the Trump administration.

A number of Jewish organisations have already called for his resignation.

The National Jewish Democratic Council, a Washington-based political lobbying group, urged Trump to fire Gorka.

"Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the United States needs to implement, 'extreme vetting,' in order to determine if we should allow certain immigrants into our country," the group said in a statement. 

"And yet, it seems like he failed to vet one of his most trusted advisers."