Sunday shows preview: White House officials on offensive in wake of anonymous NY Times op-ed

White House officials will hit the Sunday news show circuit this week to dissect claims made by an anonymous “senior [Trump] administration official” in The New York Times this week.

The op-ed, published on Wednesday, sent shockwaves through Washington with claims that an internal “resistance” is working within the Trump administration to the thwart the president’s “worst inclinations.”

{mosads}Following the op-ed, Trump administration officials rushed to tamp down murmurings that they could be the unnamed writer. President Trump himself called on the Times to turn over the author’s identity for national security purposes.

The Times has so far refused the president’s demands, while Trump and other officials have publicly questioned whether the anonymous official exists at all. Dozens of Trump associates, including first lady Melania Trump, have denounced the op-ed’s author.

Vice President Pence will pull double-duty on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday,” as will White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who will appear on CNN’s “State of the Union” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

The heads of both the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Republican National Committee (RNC) will also appear on “Face the Nation,” as the two party chairpersons discuss campaign efforts ahead of November’s midterm elections, now just two months away.

Making his first appearance on any Sunday talk show this week is former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who was sentenced this week to two weeks in federal prison for lying to investigators about his contacts with Russia-linked individuals during the 2016 election.

Papadopoulos made headlines with his claim this week that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who served on the Trump campaign, appeared “enthusiastic” about the prospect of a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, directly contradicting Sessions’ sworn testimony last year.

Here’s the full lineup:

NBC’s “Meet the Press”: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, Sens. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

“Fox News Sunday”: Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.).

CBS’s “Face the Nation”: Pence will be on, as will Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), DNC chairman Tom Perez, and RNC chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel.

CNN’s “State of the Union”: Conway, Sens. Warner and Sasse will join the show.

ABC’s “This Week”: Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos.