“Queen Bee” Michelle Obama Has Largest First Lady Staff-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A forwarded email claims that Michelle Obama has 22 staffers, which is far more than other first ladies like Hillary Clinton (three) and Jackie Kennedy and Laura Bush (one each).
The Truth:
The “Queen Bee” email makes false comparisons about the size of Michell Obama’s White House staff to those of other first ladies.
The White House Museum has a first lady page with photos with descriptions of former First Ladies meeting with staff members. Images of Nancy Reagan and Laura Bush posted on the site appear to contradict the claim that they each had one staff member.
The museum page, which can be viewed here, says former first lady Hillary Clinton had a staff of 20, in addition to 15 interns and volunteers, which also contradicts claims made in the email about staff size.
This email has been circulating since 2009. Back then, the White House released a 29-page long ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS ON WHITE HOUSE OFFICE STAFF.
From the report, which can be viewed here, TruthorFiction.com confirmed a number of staff members and job titles as they appeared in the report, and their annual salaries, as of July 2009. Many of these staffers and job titles undoubtedly changed in the years that followed. Also, another important factor is that the job titles don’t indicate if a staffer works directly under the president or the first lady, and the forward email assumes (falsely) that all of them are personal attendants to Michelle Obama :
Sher, Susan, assistant to the president and chief of staff to the First Lady, $172,200 annual salary
Frye, Jocelyn C., deputy assistant to the president and director of policy and projects for the first Lady, $140,000
Rogers, Desiree G., special assistant to the president and White House social secretary, $113,000
Johnston, Camille Y., special assistant to the president and director of communications for the first lady, $102,000
Winter, Melissa E., special assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff to the first lady, $102,000
Medina, David S., deputy chief Of staff to the first lady, $90,000
Lelyveld, Catherine M., director and press secretary to the first lady, $84,000
Starkey, Frances M., director of scheduling and advance for the first lady, $75,000
Sanders, Trooper, deputy director of policy and projects for the first lady, $70,000
Burnough, Erinn J., deputy director and deputy social secretary, $65,000
Reinstein, Joseph B., deputy director and deputy social secretary, $65,000
Goodman, Jennifer R. deputy director of scheduling and events coordinator for the first lady, $62,000
Fitts, Alan O., deputy director of advance and trip director for the first lady, $60,000
Lewis, Dana M., special assistant and personal aide to the first lady, $60,000
Mustaphi, Semonti M., associate director and deputy press secretary to the first lady, $52,500
Jarvis, Kristen E., special assistant for scheduling and traveling aide to the first lady, $50,000
Lechtenberg, Tyler A., associate director of correspondence for the first lady, $45,000
Tubman, Samantha, deputy associate director, $45,000
Boswell, Joseph J., executive assistant to the chief of staff to the first lady, $40,000
Armbruster, Sally M., staff assistant to the social secretary, $36,000
Bookey, Natalie, staff assistant, $36,000
Jackson, Deilia A., deputy associate director of correspondence for the first lady, $36,000
Most of the substance of this email first appeared at a blog site hosted by Dr. Paul L. Williams, Thelastcrusade.org. Williams told TruthorFiction.com that the last paragraph of the forwarded email was added by an unknown author. The original unchanged version can be found at: William’s blog at the TheLastCrusade.com.
The Last Crusade website, according to its self description, is a place for visitors to “engage in the life and death struggle against the forces of Islam, apostasy, moral complacency, cultural relativity, and the New World Order.”
Also, it says that they “abhor the teachings of such spineless and heretical pseudo-Christians such as Robert Schuller, Rick Warren and Joel Osteen.” Dr. Paul L. Williams, according to his website bio, was a former pastor at the Saint Paul’s United Church of Christ in Taylor, PA, who vacated his position “because the denomination was spiritually bankrupt.”
updated 01/08/16