NYT blasted for saying Biden's treasury nom was painted as communist because she's Russian

Following Biden's nominee for Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Saule Omarova, withdrawing her name from consideration on Tuesday, The New York Times is being slammed for stating that she was labeled as being communist because she was born in the Soviet Union.

"Saule Omarova, a Cornell Law professor whom President Biden picked for a key banking regulator job, is withdrawing from consideration for the post. Bank lobbyists and Republicans painted her as a communist because she was born in the Soviet Union," read a New York Times Twitter post linking to their story about Omarova's withdrawal.

Omarova was painted as being communist not because of her birth country, but because of numerous statements she has made in the past advocating for Soviet-era policies relating to banking and other areas.

"Until I came to the US, I couldn't imagine that things like gender pay gap still existed in today's world," Omarova wrote in a 2019 Twitter post. "Say what you will about old USSR, there was no gender pay gap there. Market doesn't always 'know best.'"

Omarova had also advocated for "'end[ing] banking,' as we know it," in a paper titled The People's Ledger.

A thesis she wrote regarding Karl Marx, titled, "Karl Marx's Economic Analysis and the Theory of Revolution in The Capitali," was also removed from her resume, which had been listed on it as recently as 2017.

In a statement acknowledging the receipt of her withdrawal letter, Biden slammed those speaking out against her nomination, writing: "But unfortunately, from the very beginning of her nomination, Saule was subjected to inappropriate personal attacks that were far beyond the pale. I am thankful to Chairman Brown for giving her a fair hearing and the opportunity to demonstrate her qualifications."

The New York Times pointed to a Wall Street Journal editorial piece reportedly shared by some lobbyists that suggested "Ms. Omarova's Soviet childhood meant that she could not be trusted."

That editorial piece didn't necessarily point to her Soviet upbringing as the issue, but instead highlighted many of the issues above.

"The Cornell University law school professor's radical ideas might make even Bernie Sanders blush. She graduated from Moscow State University in 1989 on the Lenin Personal Academic Scholarship. Thirty years later, she still believes the Soviet economic system was superior, and that U.S. banking should be remade in the Gosbank's image," The Wall Street Journal wrote.

"Ms. Omarova faced months of criticism from Republicans and bank lobbyists who cast her as a threat to the American economy. Lobbyists began to oppose her almost as soon as her nomination was announced, saying she wanted to replace the banking industry's functions with services provided by the Federal Reserve," wrote The New York Times, in regards to Omarova's objectors.

Following The New York Times Twitter post, social media users were quick to debunk the "because" statement on who Omarova received such backlash.