Journalist Maggie Haberman denies saving Trump toilet story for book: 'I'm not known for sitting on scoops'

Maggie Haberman
(Image credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for New York Magazine)

New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman is pushing back against claims her latest scoop about former President Donald Trump was saved for an upcoming book.

Earlier this week, Axios revealed that Haberman in her forthcoming book about Trump titled Confidence Man reveals that while he was in office, White House staffers "periodically discovered wads of printed paper clogging a toilet — and believed the president had flushed pieces of paper." The report quickly gained widespread attention, but it also sparked claims that Haberman sat on the piece of information for inclusion in the book rather than report it at the time. Activist and author Amy Siskind, for example, accused Haberman of "knowing Trump was *actually* destroying information" and "hiding that story before he ran for re-election" in order to "[profit] off a book deal."

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.