Yes, who’s going to crack this one? Pretty difficult.
From what I have surmised with a lot of input from various media (MSNBC, Networks, print, twitter etc) - it has everyone stumped. Depending on what kind of argument you formulate you could come up with a lot of choices.
The couple that have recently stuck out are:
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Gen. John Kelly - Potential choice. He has NOT denied writing the Op-Ed piece. He called the WH ‘Crazytown.’ Had an abiding respect for McCain, and the military and the Op Ed and remarks happened right on the heels of McCain’s funeral.
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Jared and Ivanka - they want to have a life after this WH is over and want to preserve what small shred of dignity they might have. It is conceivable that they may have done something like this.
(Note: Saw on a broadcast this week - on MSNBC, forgot which show but right after the OP-Ed came out, there was a small gathering inside T’s office - in attendance - Sarah H Sanders (NO), John Kelly (Possible Yes), Jared and Ivanka (possible yes) and KellyAnne Conway (possible yes.) News of said gathering made it to the press, and so that narrows it to this little group potentially.
AND
The discussion of these four prospects:
Andrew Bremberg, Assistant to Prez and Domestic policy maker
Bill Stepien White House political director
Nick Ayers, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence
John DeStefano, a former aide to John Boehner
Here’s one guess that is boring, but makes quite a bit more sense than any of the high-profile grifters in Trump’s cabinet who might otherwise have written the essay: Andrew Bremberg, an assistant to the president and director of the Domestic Policy Council, an under-the-radar body which “supervises the development, coordination, and execution of domestic policy in the White House,” and which has virtually no internet presence in Trump’s White House.
Of the four, Bremberg’s potential departure has been reported far more than anyone else on the list. The rest don’t seem to be going anywhere: Nick Ayers, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, was reported to be a potential successor to John Kelly in June; John DeStefano, a former aide to John Boehner, got a nice writeup by Politico earlier this year for “cultivating friends and allies” in the White House; and when White House political director Bill Stepien was picked for Politico’s 50 last year, he was described by multiple people as being loyal to Trump.
On the contrary, Bremberg’s been much fussier in the press about wanting to leave the White House. In November, Politico reported that Bremberg had “told associates that he plans to leave the administration in January.” The next month, the Weekly Standard wrote that Bremberg “has expressed frustration and may be looking to leave soon.”
And in July, ABC News reported that Bremberg—along with White House counsel Don McGahn and legislative affairs director Marc Short—would stay through the end of the Kavanaugh confirmation. Bremberg was described as having a “minor role” in the process.
There are discussions about KellyAnne Conway and she is historically the greatest leaker in the WH. She also has the best contacts at the NYT…and would be able to find entree there easily. They say (Morning Joe MSNCB) that KellyAnne is crafty enough to write ‘Lodestar’ and make it seem like it was Pence. And KellyAnne’s contrasting personal views were seen in the Green Room at MSNBC, where she did not seem fully endorsing the T candidacy show (something akin to “this is like going to a big car rally, you have to like big car rallies”).
(But KellyAnne has gone out of her way on all the Sunday AM talk shows to condemn and criminalize the Op-Ed writer. so she’s a longshot)
Whoever it is, we have gotten denials from everyone (Except Kelly)…so we are talking about a denying denier.
Oh, boy…