Trump has ordered an all-hands 'witch hunt' for aides who spoke with Bob Woodward, wrote the Times op-ed

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Before an unidentified senior administration official published a brutal op-ed in The New York Times on Wednesday afternoon claiming to be a member of an internal "resistance" faction saving America from a dangerously erratic and amoral president, President Trump had already ordered "a real witch hunt in the West Wing and throughout his administration, asking loyal aides to help determine who cooperated with" Bob Woodward's new book, Fear, CNN reports. Trump is "directing the response strategy personally," and he wants names of both Woodward collaborators and the Times resistor.

"The hunt for the mole began as soon as The New York Times published" the op-ed, Politico reports. "One senior administration official described a White House in 'total meltdown' by Wednesday evening." Inside the West Wing, "top officials canceled afternoon meetings and huddled behind closed doors to strategize about how to expose the author," White House officials told The Wall Street Journal. "Some officials called reporters to chase down rumors about who was behind the op-ed, and whether it came from inside the White House or a Cabinet-level agency."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.