Former Trump advisor Sebastian Gorka meant to defend his former boss against the bombshells in Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury” book in a column for The Hill today. But unfortunately for Gorka, he inadvertently undermined Trump instead.
In his op-ed, Gorka (also a Fox News contributor) boasted about not trusting any journalist “from an outlet that belonged to what President Trump calls #FakeNews.” But heck, if I were a sworn member of a Nazi-aligned group and was a fake terrorism expert, I’d duck reporters not in the tank for Trump, too.
But, apparently, Gorka got carried away crowing that “you’d never see [CNN’s] Jim Acosta coming out of my office or [New York Times’] Maggie Haberman buying me an espresso at Peet’s around the corner from the West Wing.” Because in the next sentence, there was this:
So, when I met Michael Wolff in Reince Priebus’ office, where he was waiting to talk to Steve Bannon, and after I had been told to also speak to him for his book, my attitude was polite but firm: “Thanks but no thanks.” Our brief encounter reinforced my gut feeling that this oleaginous scribe had no interest in being fair and unbiased.
But while Gorka spent the next several paragraphs attacking the book and lecturing his former colleagues in the White House to be wary of journalists and to remember that “smartphones make excellent recording devices,” Gorka seemed unaware that he had just done Wolff a bigger solid than, perhaps, if they had talked.
Gorka admitted he was “told” to speak with Wolff for the book he was writing, which contradicts the president’s recent tweet that he “authorized Zero access to White House.”
[…]
The point is, Gorka incidentally raised some new and peculiar questions. Trump has asserted he didn’t authorize any access, and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has downplayed Wolff’s access to White House staffers, so why were Gorka, Bannon and presumably other White House staffers cooperating by giving Wolff interviews? Who told them to participate in these interviews?
This is the Trump tweet that Gorka just undercut today.
I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist. Look at this guy’s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018
A follow-up article in The Hill reported that Gorka later told that publication it was neither Bannon nor Trump who had asked him to talk to Wolff but a request that came “externally.”
Even so, that still does not explain why Wolff was in Priebus’ office and waiting to talk to Bannon if access was never granted. And let’s not forget, Wolff was not hanging around the office of some lowly “coffee boy.” Priebus and Bannon were two of the highest-level aides to Trump.
Heckuva job, Gorka!
(Gorka image via screen grab)