Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, revealed on Wednesday that he was the anonymous author of the scathing opinion piece published by The New York Times in September in which a senior Trump Administration official harshly criticized the Trump administration. occupant of the White House.
Taylor, who also wrote an unsigned book called
A Warning
with Criticisms of the President and His Administration, revealed his identity in an article published on Medium and titled
Why I am no longer Anonymous.
The former official said he published the Times article to make
the White House focus on his complaints about the danger that he believes Trump poses to the country
, instead of focusing on him as the author.
"The decision was not easy, I struggled with it, and I understand why some people consider it questionable to launch such serious accusations against a sitting president under the shadow of anonymity. But my reasoning was simple and I stand by it," he said.
And he added that issuing his criticisms without signing them avoided "the distractions" of the president insulting him or calling him names, something that Trump often resorts to to delegitimize his political opponents.
In the September op-ed, Taylor wrote that "many of the top officials in his own administration" were
fighting Trump from within "to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst leanings."
"We will do what we can to steer the Administration in the right direction until, one way or another, it is over," he wrote under the anonymous signature.
"We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do the right thing even when Donald Trump doesn't want it."
Following publication, Trump accused the yet-unknown perpetrator of treason and demanded that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions find out his identity.
Anonymous whistleblower denounces Trump's abuse of power
Sept.
26, 201902: 14
During an interview with CNN after the article was published, Taylor denied being the anonymous author.
On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said: “This disgruntled former low-level staff member is a liar and a coward who chose anonymity over action and leakage over leadership.
He was ineffective and incompetent during his time as DHS chief of staff, which is why he was immediately fired after only serving in this position for a few weeks. "
"It is
appalling that a low-ranking official is granted anonymity
and it is clear that The New York Times is following the orders of the Democrats ..."
On his Twitter, Miles Taylor on Wednesday called Trump a "man without character."
"This is why I wrote
A Warning
... and this is why my colleagues and I have spoken against it (on our own behalf) for months," he wrote.
"It's time for everyone to come out of the shadows."
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