Who wrote the New York Times op-ed? These Trump administration officials have denied it

Friday, September 7, 2018
WASHINGTON -- Though it's not yet known who penned the New York Times opinion piece claiming to be part of the ''resistance'' within the administration of President Donald Trump, several officials have come out to say that it wasn't them.

The anonymous op-ed, which was published on Wednesday, outlined the "resistance" within the administration. Its author claimed that "there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment" because of the "instability" witnessed in the president.
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In an editorial note with the article, the Times' editorial team explained that they know the author's identity, writing:

"The Times is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure."

RELATED: Trump blasts critical New York Times op-ed

Trump has said that the author of the opinion piece committed "treason" and should come forward.



So far, about two dozen officials have said that they did not write the article. They include:

Vice President Mike Pence
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
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Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen
Housing Secretary Ben Carson
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke
Energy Secretary Rick Perry
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie
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White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Nikki Haley, ambassador to the United Nations
Jon Huntsman, ambassador to Russia
Dan Coats, director of national intelligence
Gina Haspel, director of the CIA
Mick Mulvaney, budget director
White House counsel Don McGahn
Robert Lighthizer, U.S trade representative

The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
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