Trump on anonymous official behind op-ed, book: ‘I know who it is’

President Trump on Tuesday claimed he knows the identity of the anonymous administration official behind a New York Times op-ed and subsequent book, though he would not say who they are or provide any details.

“It’s not so much a search. I know who it is,” Trump said when asked whether there was an ongoing effort to discover who the individual’s identity.

Pressed on who the person is, Trump would not divulge any specifics.

“Can’t tell you that,” he said to reporters. “But I know who it is.”

“People know it’s a fraud,” he added. “I know who it is, and I know who some of the leakers are.”

The anonymous administration official has been the subject of fascination within the Beltway since September 2018, when The New York Times published an op-ed headlined “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.”

The individual wrote that they and other senior officials were part of a coordinated effort to “thwart” Trump’s worst instincts.

The person wrote a book last year titled “A Warning,” in which they laid out more criticisms of the president. But the author refused to disclose their identity, even as multiple current and former officials testified publicly in the House impeachment inquiry about their concerns with Trump’s conduct.

Politico reported earlier this month that deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates has been the subject of a whisper campaign among Trump allies who have sought to attribute the anonymous pieces to her.

Axios reported that Coates may be moved over to the Department of Energy amid the backlash, even as the book’s publisher denied she was the author.