"Anonymous" is former DHS official who has openly opposed Trump
The identity of a senior official in the Trump administration who wrote a New York Times op-ed about working against President Trump's "worst inclinations" has remained anonymous until now. The person who wrote the op-ed is Miles Taylor, a former top official at the Department of Homeland Security.
Taylor has been openly vocal in his condemnation of Mr. Trump, but only after leaving his post.
"Donald Trump is a man without character. It's why I wrote 'A Warning' ...and it's why me & my colleagues have spoken out against him (in our own names) for months. It's time for everyone to step out of the shadows," Taylor tweeted, along with a lengthy statement.
In September 2018, Taylor wrote in the New York Times that there was a "quiet resistance" to the president within his own administration of people "working diligently" to block the president's "worst inclinations."
The White House hunted down the author for awhile without success. At the time, Mr. Trump slammed the op-ed and questioned whether it constituted "TREASON?"
In August, Taylor lied when he was asked by CNN's Anderson Cooper if he was Anonymous.
"I wear a mask for two things, Anderson: Halloween and pandemics. So, no," he said, and he gave the same answer to Vice's Elizabeth Anders when she posed the same question.
On Wednesday, Taylor encouraged Americans to vote for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
"This election is a two-part referendum: first, on the character of a man, and second, on the character of our nation. That's why I'm also urging fellow Republicans to put country over party, even if that means supporting Trump's Democratic opponent," Taylor wrote. He announced his support for Biden in August.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany described Taylor as a "disgruntled" low-level staffer who was fired for incompetence.
"This low-level, disgruntled former staffer is a liar and a coward who chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading," she said. "He was ineffective and incompetent during his time as DHS chief of staff, which is why he was promptly fired after only serving in this role for a matter of weeks. It is appalling a low-ranking official would be granted anonymity and it is clear the New York Times is doing the bidding of Never-Trumpers and Democrats. The American people elected President Trump to carry out his vision for the country, not an arrogant deep state operative trying to put their agenda ahead of the President's America first policies."
The president, however, came out with a much harsher stance on Taylor, saying without evidence that he should be "prosecuted."
"This guy, in my opinion, he should be prosecuted. He should be prosecuted," the president said at his rally in Goodyear, Arizona.
