House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows said Thursday that Republicans aren’t the only ones mad at the anonymous U.S. official who tried to undermine President Trump in a New York Times op-ed, and said some Democrats have also told him they don’t approve of the move.
“We’re evaluating options on how to get to the truth of what happened here, mainly in the interest of protecting national security,” Meadows told Politico on Thursday.
“We’ve had congressional Democrats reach out to our office about this issue as well — and while we may disagree politically, what many of us do agree on is that efforts within the White House to anonymously sabotage a duly elected president is an act of cowardice and does not serve American taxpayers well,” he added.
[Related: 7 points on the anonymous New York Times ‘resistance’ op-ed]
Meadows, a fierce defender of President Trump’s, did not divulge which Democrats have talked to him.
At a news conference held Thursday, Meadows added that free speech should be protected, and predicted that the author’s identity would eventually be known.
“Nothing in this town stays secret forever. I do believe ultimately we will find out who was the author,” Meadows said.
The opinion piece published Wednesday set off intense speculation about who was behind it, forcing numerous officials to publicly deny being the author.
“The dilemma — which [Trump] does not fully grasp — is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them,” the piece said.
