Miles Taylor, the formerly anonymous Trump administration staffer behind writings that criticized the president, said he would donate a portion of his book revenue, but never specified how much he would keep.
Taylor, a former chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security and a current CNN contributor, announced Wednesday that he was the “anonymous” writer behind the 2018 New York Times essay that detailed leveled criticism at President Donald Trump.
Taylor also anonymously wrote a book, titled “A Warning,” with a more in-depth attack on the president.
Donald Trump is a man without character. It’s why I wrote “A Warning”…and it’s why me & my colleagues have spoken out against him (in our own names) for months. It’s time for everyone to step out of the shadows. My statement: https://t.co/yuhTgZ4bkq
— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) October 28, 2020
The book was described as “a shocking, first-hand account of President Trump and his record,” the Associated Press reported.
Taylor said a portion of sales from the book, which stood as both a New York Times and Wall Street Journal no. 1 bestseller, were to be donated to charities that stand up for the truth and focus on accountability, but he wasn’t clear about how much he’d keep in 2019, according to AP.
Taylor claimed that his scathing criticism of the Trump administration was “not about money” and he indicated that again that proceeds would be donated, but didn’t specify what proportion in a Wednesday statement.
“To be clear, writing those works was not about eminence (they were published without attribution), not about money (I declined a hefty monetary advance and pledged to donate the bulk of the proceeds), and not about crafting a score-settling ‘tell all’ (my focus was on the President himself and his character, not denigrating former colleagues),” he wrote in the a statement.
Taylor said he stayed anonymous so that Trump would be forced to answer the accusations “directly,” rather than resorting to “petty insults.”
“Much has been made of the fact that these writings were published anonymously,” he wrote in the statement. “The decision wasn’t easy, I wrestled with it, and I understand why some people consider it questionable to levy such serious charges against a sitting President under the cover of anonymity.”
“But my reasoning was straightforward, and I stand by it,” he continued. “Issuing my critiques without attribution forced the President to answer them directly on their merits or not at all, rather than creating distractions through petty insults and name-calling.”
The former Trump administration member also said he’s breaking his silence to”urge” people to “speak out” ahead of the Nov. 3 election. (RELATED: Former Homeland Security Staffer Miles Taylor Comes Forward As ‘Anonymous’)
“That’s why I’m writing this note — to urge you to speak out if you haven’t,” he wrote. “While I hope a few more Trump officials will quickly find their consciences, your words are now more important than theirs. It’s time to come forward and shine a light on the discord that’s infected our public discourse.”
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