- The leak of President Donald Trump’s private schedule sparked a manhunt for the individual responsible for its release, according to Politico.
- The White House tapped into the services of the IT office and is believed to have made progress in searching for its suspect.
- According to one White House official, the suspect is reportedly likely to be a career government worker, rather than a Trump-appointee.
The leak of President Donald Trump’s private schedules dating back to the 2018 November midterm elections sparked a manhunt for the individual responsible for its release, according to Politico report published Friday.
The White House tapped into the services of the IT office and is believed to have made progress in its search, people familiar with the development said to Politico.
Trump’s private schedule, which is different from the publicly available copy, detailed how the president spends his day. Trump was reportedly incensed by the leak and is aware of the search for the one responsible.
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The trove of information, first published by Axios, revealed Trump that an unprecedented amount of time was labeled “Executive Time” — a period in which Trump watches TV, reads newspapers, tweets, and makes phone calls.
The leaked schedule is not all-inclusive and does not show some of the meetings Trump attended. One White House official also noted that there was a different, more secretive schedule laying out all of Trump’s calls and meetings, Politico reported.
“We all have much bigger things to worry about and much bigger things that are going on,” one White House official told Politico. “So it’s not that big of a deal. but [sic] it’s more just unnecessary, and it was just a petty thing to do.”
“If you’re leaking the schedule, what else could you be leaking or what other information,” the official added.
Unflattering leaks and reports have constantly flowed out of the Trump White House, much to the consternation of officials. Former White House chief of staff John Kelly attempted to clamp down on the leaks by taking several precautions, including conducting sweeps to collect personal devices and banning cell phones at the West Wing.
One particular leak in May attracted bipartisan condemnation and embarrassment. White House special assistant Kelly Sadler was reported to have made an off-hand comment about Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who was recovering from brain cancer treatment. McCain voiced his concern over Gina Haspel serving as CIA director, an opinion Sadler had reportedly brushed off in a meeting because “he’s dying, anyway.”
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