WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday he would take a lie detector test to prove he did not write last week's stunning op-ed as White House officials sought to discredit the author and the idea that President Donald Trump is "erratic" and "amoral."

White House officials were consumed by the New York Times op-ed for a fifth day, taking to the Sunday political shows to push back against a series of accusations that surfaced in the op-ed and in excepts from Bob Woodward's forthcoming book.

"Whoever wrote that editorial, and the narrative that comes out of some other writings recently, just doesn't know what really happens in this White House," Pence said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "The only thing that's wrong about that narrative is everything."

With midterm elections that will decide control of Congress two months off, Trump and other White House aides sought to refocus the nation's attention on the strong economy and the expected confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.

But that has proven a tall order as Washington speculates about the op-ed's author.

Pence is one of several White House officials who denied writing the op-ed. He reiterated that assertion, telling "Fox News Sunday" he would take a lie detector test.

"I would agree to take it in a heartbeat and would submit to any review (by) the administration," Pence said.

Pence denied a claim raised in the op-ed that members of the administration had secretly considered invoking the 25th Amendment as a means to remove the president from office. The vice president said he had never been involved in any such conversation.

More:Eight things to know about the 25th Amendment

"No. Never. And why, why would we be?" Pence said.

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said the writer was "motivated by conceit," and she denied that the op-ed and Woodward book had harmed trust levels inside the White House.

"The team tightened up even more because of all this," she said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "We are together this week. I hope we learn the identity of the person, but why elevate this person?"

Pence said he is confident members of his staff had nothing to do with the op-ed's authorship. Pence said he hadn't asked his aides because he doesn't need to.

"I'm 100 percent confident that no one on the vice president's staff was involved in this anonymous editorial," Pence said.

Trump, meanwhile, appeared eager to move on. In a series of tweets Sunday he focused instead on his trade policy with China. The president doubled down on his position Friday, saying he was prepared to slap tariffs on virtually all Chinese imports.

"The days of the U.S. being ripped-off by other nations is OVER!" Trump tweeted.