President Donald Trump called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to pursue an investigation into who authored the anonymous op-ed in the New York Times disparaging him.
“It’s national security. I would say Jeff should be investigating who the author of that piece was because I really believe it’s national security,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump has fixated on the author of the op-ed since its publication Wednesday with calls for the New York Times to release the name under national security grounds.
Does the so-called “Senior Administration Official” really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018
The article was authored by a self-described “senior administration official” who writes, “It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room,” adding, “We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t.”
The official described a cabal of administration officials actively circumventing the president’s daily desires. The op-ed comes just as excerpts from Bob Woodward’s new book on the administration are being released, showing a similar culture of senior aides who do not think highly of the president and work to temper his behavior.