Scaramucci Vows To Go After White House 'Leakers'
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) – President Donald Trump's newest hire is putting 'leakers' inside the White House on notice.
"I know I'm in a cesspool called Washington, or a swamp called Washington, so it will be virtually impossible to get rid of every leak, but I think we can take dramatic steps to get rid of leaks," Anthony Scaramucci told Sean Hannity on Fox News.
Six days after being named White House Communications Director, Scaramucci says he's getting closer to rooting out those leaking confidential information.
"One of the big problems here that I am discovering in the comms team is that senior people are really the guys doing the leaking and they ask junior people to leak for them," he said.
Late Wednesday night, Scaramucci claimed he himself had become a target of a 'leak.'
In a tweet he posted he wrote, "In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony, I will be contacting the FBI and the Justice Department" and named White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
Scaramucci's financial disclosure form appeared on Politico's website, showing his assets are worth as much as $85 million
Leaking the form is actually not a felony- it's public information.
After Scaramucci took down the tweet, he clarified his position with another.
Wrong! Tweet was public notice to leakers that all Sr Adm officials are helping to end illegal leaks. @Reince45 pic.twitter.com/AB0reseuX1
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) July 27, 2017
Scaramucci said he and the president have a good idea of who's responsible for the leaks.
"When I put out a tweet, and I put Reince's name in the tweet, they're all making the assumption that it's him because journalists know who the leakers are. So if Reince wants to explain that he's not a leaker, let him do that," said Scaramucci during interview on CNN.
In an interview with The New Yorker magazine , an angry Scaramucci used expletives to accuse Priebus of being a "paranoid schizophrenic." He also accuses White House chief strategist Steve Bannon of trying to burnish his own reputation.
Scaramucci later tweeted, in part: "I sometimes use colorful language. I will refrain in this arena but not give up the passionate fight" for President Donald Trump's agenda.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she has nothing to add to Scaramucci's tweet.
Leaks have been a focus for President Trump since the start of his administration. Scaramucci was chosen by the president to, among other things, target those leaks.
