(Erin Scott/Reuters)

Just when you thought we would never hear from that “anonymous” Trump administration official who wrote the New York Times infamous op-ed again, CNN reports that the official has written a book, hitting stores next month.

Obviously, the window for administration memoirs is closing; if Trump isn’t reelected in November 2020, these sorts of tell-alls will just be quickly forgotten collections of stories confirming the infighting looked as bad from the inside as it did from the outside.


No one in Washington cares all that much about portraits of chaos in the preceding administration; they’re old news.

However the author wants to justify his actions, most people will see his move as pretty cynical.

Upset at the accusation that this is cashing in on government service, the author said through his agent that he “intends to donate a substantial amount of any royalties to the White House Correspondents Association and other organizations that fight for a free press that seeks the truth,”


(No word on how much “a substantial portion” would be.)

“The author of A WARNING refused the chance at a seven figure advance and intends to donate a substantial amount of any royalties to the White House Correspondents Association and other organizations that fight for a free press that seeks the truth,” Matt Latimer, cofounder of Javelin, told CNN.

Surprisingly, Latimer declined to say whether the official was still part of the Trump administration, which will spur speculation that the figure left government service sometime between September 2018 and now.


Many Trump fans will insist the figure must be some low-level functionary, who otherwise would never get much attention for a negative view of the president.

As for the news value of the book, it matters a great deal whether the criticism fo Trump comes from a cabinet official who has worked closely with him, or an ambassador, or an obscure deputy assistant secretary somewhere.

Now, it’s anybody’s guess as to who that unnamed Trump administration official is; the craziest theory is that you can find the most likely suspect’s name by stringing together the first letter in each sentence on a particular blog post.