Mystery NYT author: Is it House Of Cards-style conspiracy?
Going to the New York Times could be a sackable offence, so it's understandable the White House needs to know who it was.
Friday 7 September 2018 22:07, UK
It's understandable why White House officials are desperately trying to identify the mystery author of the scathing editorial in the New York Times.
It was an act of disloyalty and insubordination, and would lead to instant dismissal from their job. And that is why the New York Times granted them anonymity.
President Trump says he plans to ask his attorney general Jeff Sessions to investigate, but even though he may regard the article as in typically blunt fashion as 'treason', it's not clear what law he thinks has been broken.
No classified information was disclosed, and freedom of speech is protected under the First Amendment. But from Mr Trump's perspective, he now worries the disgruntled staff member could still have access to classified information.
If the author of the article had owned up immediately, the story would already be fading from the headlines.
:: Trump calls for inquiry into mystery author of critical New York Times article
It's the anonymity, the search for the culprit and the tantalising possibility that it could be the work of someone senior who is still operating within Mr Trump's inner circle that continues to keep the story fresh.
Mystery is usually more interesting than banal truth. In 1996, a political novel called Primary Colors was published, with the author's name missing, and replaced by the simple word Anonymous.
Because the story about a little-known southern Governor running for the White House was obviously based on Bill Clinton, it was assumed that the author chose anonymity because they were close to the Clinton campaign.
The guessing-game publicity helped it become a best seller and it was adapted as a movie. The truth was less salacious. It was later revealed that the author was Joe Klein, a reporter and columnist.
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If and when we finally discover who wrote that President Trump was "amoral" and needs restraining, the reaction may well be 'Who?' together with disappointment that the Vice-President/Secretary of State/Chief of Staff wasn't involved in a House Of Cards-style conspiracy.
All of the major players in the White House have denied being responsible, even those who were never suspects.
But one of those denials could well be a lie.
Mark Felt, a senior FBI official who was revealed to be the famous Deep Throat informant who helped the Washington Post uncover the Watergate scandal, has publicly denied being the mole. It took more than 30 years for the truth to come out.