White House press secretary Sarah Sanders assured reporters Monday that the president is not currently considering using lie detectors to figure out which senior administrative official wrote the anonymous New York Times op-ed.
“No lie detectors are being used or talked about,” Sanders told reporters at the White House Monday, adding that everyone in the administration is focused on advancing the president’s agenda, not worrying about the “gutless” author of the op-ed.
The Times published an anonymous op-ed last week that described members of the Trump administration working “diligently” to stop the president’s “worst impulses” and move against parts of his agenda. The author claimed not to be working alone and that the group is acting because they believe their primary duty is to protect the country.
The op-ed came days after excerpts from veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s new book were leaked to the press. Woodward’s book paints a picture of the White House in perpetual turmoil, with top aides often finding themselves at odds with the president to the point that some, such as former White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, offered their resignations. The book and the op-ed have only worked to reinforce the president’s belief that there are leakers around him in the White House who are actively working to undermine his presidency.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., first floated the idea last week that Trump would be justified in using lie detector tests to smoke out the anonymous author.
Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News Sunday that he would take a lie detector test in a “heartbeat,” if the president wanted him to do so.
“Should all top officials take a lie detector test, and would you agree to take one?” Fox News Chris Wallace asked Pence Sunday.
“I would agree to take it in a heartbeat and would submit to any review the administration wanted to do,” Pence said.
A number of senior White House officials have pushed back against rumors that it was a top administration official that wrote the op-ed.
On Thursday, Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both denied authoring the op-ed, claiming the author should be ashamed for writing it and that people shouldn’t take too much credence in the words. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson all joined Pence and Pompeo in claiming they did not write the story.
