President Donald Trump is voicing his outrage that Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, is âAnonymous.â
In 2018, Taylor wrote an op-ed that was published by The New York Times anonymously and alleged that he was a high-ranking administration official who was thwarting the presidentâs worst instincts.
After the op-ed was published, Taylor was widely referred to as âAnonymousâ because his identity was withheld.
However, many suggested that it strains credulity to assert that Taylor was a âsenior administration officialâ in his position.
During a rally in Florida on Thursday, Trump turned his attention to Taylorâs revelation, âHe was a staffer, low, had nothing to do with the White House.â
âThere should be major criminal liability for some scum like this,â he added.
Trump continued to say he wondered whether if high-ranking Cabinet members were the author of the op-ed, âAnd it turns out to be this low-life that nobody knows who the hell he is. He had nothing to do with us. I donât think I ever met him.â
âThis is a disgrace to our country. It shouldnât have happened, and he should be prosecuted. Are you listening to me back in Washington? He should be prosecuted,â he said.
Trump added, âAlong with The New York Times, cause it was a story made up, it was fake news made up by The New York Times.â
Watch the video below:
In a blog post on Wednesday afternoon, Taylor wrote, âWe do not owe the President our silence. We owe him and the American people the truth.â
He added that at the time, he published his criticisms anonymously because âissuing my critiques without attribution forced the President to answer them directly on their merits or not at all.â
Trump has insisted he never met Taylor. However, he responded, âThatâs too bad. I remember you, all too well. And I will continue shining a light on your failed presidency through the electionâand beyond.â
He has since been hired as a contributor for CNN. However, after he revealed that he was âAnonymous,â many noted that he previously denied he was the writer during an interview with the networkâs Anderson Cooper.
That prompted CNNâs Chris Cuomo to ask, âWhy should CNN keep you on the payroll after lying like that?â
Taylor responded that in his 2019 book âA Warning,â he vowed to âstrenuously deny I was the authorâ if he was asked.
It is not clear what Trump believes Taylor should be prosecuted for.
