Author of new book about Trump White House says Kellyanne Conway is 'the No. 1 leaker'

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 2 April 2018

It was Kellyanne Conway, in the White House, with the telephone.

News leaks from the White House roughly eight seconds after it happens, and Ronald Kessler, the author of a new book about the state of President Trump's administration, says he has an idea of who passes along the most information to the media: Conway, counselor to President Trump and spin doctor extraordinaire.

On Sunday's State of the Union, Kessler told CNN's Jake Tapper that "if you wonder why there are so many leaks out of the White House, one reason is Kellyanne Conway is the No. 1 leaker." Kessler shared that Conway once forgot during an interview with him that she was on-the-record, and let loose — she said "mean, cutting, and honestly untrue" things about former chief of staff Reince Priebus, Kessler said, and also "dissed" Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, senior adviser Jared Kushner.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Speaking of Ivanka and Jared, Kessler told Tapper that Trump sees the pair, who pushed the president to fire former FBI Director James Comey and hire short-lived White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, as "problems," but it's highly unlikely he'd ever fire his family. Scaramucci was "the most absurd hire in the history of the White House," Kessler added, and the firing of Comey wound up being "disastrous." Kessler's book, The Trump White House: Changing the Rules of the Game, is out Tuesday. Catherine Garcia

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox