FALLS CHURCH, VA - 
(NewMediaWire) - July 17, 2024 - Yesterday, National Legal and Policy Center sent
a letter to Microsoft Corporation calling for Reid Hoffman to resign from the
Company’s board of directors, and if he does not, then for the board of
directors to call a special meeting to vote on his removal. The shareholder
group wrote that he should not continue to serve on Microsoft’s board, after he
wished
for the death of former President Donald Trump just days before an
attempted assassination on the 2024 Republican nominee.
Mr. Hoffman’s comments were first reported by Puck News:
Peter Thiel sarcastically thanked Reid Hoffman for funding lawsuits against Trump because they had turned him into “a martyr,” increasing his chances of re-election.
From the stage, Hoffman shot back with his own sarcastic quip: “Yeah, I wish I had made him an actual martyr.”
Mr. Hoffman did not deny the comments in a response on X. Instead, he claimed his comments had been taken out of context. While his statement denounced the assassination and called for both sides to condemn political violence, it excused President Joe Biden while doubling down on the vilification of President Trump.
Journalist and media personality Megyn Kelly responded:
“Your very attempt to ‘both sides’ it reveals your insincerity. I have multiple sources who were in the room when you said it and everyone took away the same meaning: you wanted Trump dead. You’re not fooling anyone.”
It was not the first time NLPC called for Mr. Hoffman’s removal from Microsoft’s board. The Company shareholder previously sent directors a letter calling for Mr. Hoffman’s resignation or removal on October 6, 2023. The letter criticized Microsoft for allowing Mr. Hoffman to continue serving on the board of directors given his extensive ties to Jeffrey Epstein and his hyperpartisan political activities. The letter concluded with a warning: “What’s next to be revealed? Is the Company willing to wait and find out the next shoe that drops to see how embarrassing it is?”
“Microsoft ignored our admonitions that Reid Hoffman would eventually become an even bigger liability for the company’s reputation. Now that time has come,” said Luke Perlot, Associate Director of NLPC’s Corporate Integrity Project. “Microsoft now has no choice but to remove Mr. Hoffman from its board of directors. His continuing presence would demonstrate that his director colleagues implicitly condone his statements and actions.
Founded in 1991, NLPC promotes ethics in public life and government accountability through research, investigation, education, and legal action.
For more information or to schedule an interview with Paul Chesser, contact Dan Rene at 202-329-8357 or drene@nlpc.org.
Please visit http://www.nlpc.org.
