Sources close to the White House say a probe into who penned an anonymous op-ed for the New York Times claiming an in-house “resistance” is emerging to President Donald Trump, has narrowed the list of suspects down to just a few individuals.
CNN reports that the investigation moved swiftly, motivated by Trump’s “obsession” with finding out which one of his “senior officials” authored an NYT op-ed claiming that a small cabal of staffers within the West Wing are quietly working to moderate Trump’s agenda and keep the president zeroed in on conservative policy, rather than a list of populist grievances.
More public members of Trump’s administration have denied involvement. Vice President Mike Pence said he would “take a lie detector test” to prove that he wasn’t meeting with officials to discuss the potential implications of a 25th Amendment challenge to the president’s ability to hold office. True Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway told reporters Saturday that she believes the leak came from within the Trump Administration’s national security apparatus.
The op-ed writer claimed that what was taking place inside the White House is different from the pink-hatted “resistance,” and that senior officials want “the administration to succeed … But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.”
The piece accuses Trump of “erratic behavior” and warns that the president’s “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective” leadership has created an unsustainable situation.
The White House has struggled to respond to the op-ed. Instead of a coordinated response, the administration and many of its members have issued around 30 separate statements attacking the article’s contents and its author, and pledging fealty to the Trump Administration.
CNN says the administration seems to believe it will find out who the leaker is this week.
Source: The Daily Wire
