Originally published 13 September 2018

An anonymous New York Times op-ed article, published on Wednesday, Sept. 4, has made headlines after President Donald Trump slammed the article, comparing the NYT’s decision to publish it to “treason.” The anonymously-written article declares that there is a secret, internal resistance within the Trump administration who were “working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”

The unnamed-author declared he was a member of this organization, and he presented himself as a senior official in the White House. In defense of the published article, The New York Times stood by their decision to publish the article and rebut Trump’s claim of treason. The news organization claim to have full knowledge of the writer’s identity and have kept it hidden per the writer’s request. The Times complied with the official’s request out of belief that publishing this story without anonymity would have a disastrous impact on his/her career. The president has not kept his feelings about the article hidden; in a recent press conference, Trump commented on the article calling the author’s anonymity “gutless.”

President Trump on Friday also announced that he had called the U.S. Justice Department to conduct an investigation in The Times in addition to stating that he was “considering taking action against The Times.” 

Aboard Air Force One, Trump told questioning reporters that Attorney General Jeff Sessions “should be investigating who the author of that piece was because I really believe it’s national security.” A spokeswoman from the Justice Department was unable to confirm or deny whether investigations were taking place. In response, the Times sent out a statement doubting the Justice Department would “participate in such a blatant abuse of power.”

The published article has become quite the topic of conversation amongst White House officials since its release. A number of Trump’s advisors have repudiated the article’s claims. In a Sept. 6 article from CNN, reporter Allie Malloy took note that “gossip [has been] spreading across the Capital about who the author could be.” Malloy also reported that more than 25 administration officials denied having involvement in writing the piece.

The Times article’s publication came just one day after several excerpts from seasoned journalist Bob Woodward were published. Woodward’s excerpts depicted “a White House beset by chaos” as the faces struggles from within. Woodward also reported that at least one White House official deliberately hid a document from the president fearful that Trump would sign it.

Editor’s Note: Information from Business Insider, CNN, Reuters and The New York Times was used in this report.