Peter Navarro is hunting for the mysterious Trump administration official behind the anonymous tell-all book and critical New York Times opinion piece about the White House.
The White House trade adviser initiated his own unofficial investigation to root out “Anonymous” alongside several others, according to the Daily Beast. White House counsel Pat Cipollone is leading the administration’s official investigation to comb through the ranks of officials to identify the author. A group of National Security Council staffers is also conducting a search.
Navarro has compiled writing samples from a number of officials in the administration and had the samples compared to Anonymous’s column and book, focusing on how the author constructs sentences and uses certain phrases. Sources familiar with Navarro’s investigation said he has identified one suspect and delivered his findings in a report given to Cipollone.
Anonymous is known only as a senior Trump administration official who wrote a critical September 2018 New York Times column, as well as a book titled A Warning.
Both works are critical of the Trump administration and talk of a “resistance” inside the administration working to thwart President Trump.
The identity of Anonymous has eluded reporters and government officials since the New York Times opinion piece appeared. Trump has used the article to bolster allegations that some in his administration, including Obama holdovers, are working against his agenda.
Last week, former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova, a lawyer whose work has been caught up in the Ukraine-impeachment controversy, said he and his wife, Victoria Toensing, were told by “a senior government official” that “Anonymous” had been identified as an official working in the White House and would be removed “soon.”
In recent weeks, Trump has taken action to remove multiple officials from his orbit who have been critical of him. Trump stripped Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman of his National Security Council role and recalled U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland from his post at the European Union after both officials testified against Trump in the House Democrats’ impeachment investigation.
