Bolton, Wray deny writing anonymous NYT op-ed

White House national security adviser John Bolton and FBI Director Christopher Wray have individually denied they were the author of the op-ed slamming President Trump published anonymously in The New York Times.

A spokesman for Bolton’s National Security Council issued a denial on Thursday, while separately an FBI spokesperson also denied Wray’s authorship to CNN.

For those asking – did Amb. Bolton write the op-ed? “As General Sherman said, no.” – Amb. John Bolton https://t.co/ZbRjyJTiBz

— Garrett Marquis (@GMarquis45) September 6, 2018

FBI spokesperson on the NYT op-ed: It wasn’t Director Wray

—@davidgshortell reports

— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) September 6, 2018

The two officials join a growing number of administration officials, including Vice President Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Defense Secretary James Mattis, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and others who have denied writing the op-ed. 

{mosads}The op-ed issued a blistering rebuke of the president, calling him “amoral,” “anti-democratic” and frequently prone to “misguided impulses.”

It was authored by an individual the Times described as a “senior” administration official.

“[M]any Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office,” the op-ed’s author wrote. 

“The root of the problem is the president’s amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making,” it continued.

Speculation abounded about who wrote the piece, and Trump declared Thursday night “we’re gonna try” to find the person within the administration.

The op-ed’s effects were compounded by the upcoming release of Watergate journalist Bob Woodward’s book reporting on the inner workings of the Trump White House.

The book claims Trump called Sessions “mentally retarded,” White House chief of staff John Kelly called Trump an “idiot,” and former Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn stole a piece of paper off Trump’s desk to prevent him from withdrawing from a trade deal with South Korea. 

The White House came out swinging against both the op-ed and Woodward’s book. Trump called the op-ed’s author “gutless.” He and Sanders slammed Woodward’s book as a work of fiction.