White House counselor Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth ConwayGeorge and Kellyanne Conway honor Ginsburg Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death George Conway hits Trump on 9/11 anniversary: 'The greatest threat to the safety and security of Americans' MORE is a "cartoon villain brought to life" who would bad-mouth her colleagues to members of the media, a former White House aide charges in a new book.

In excerpts from "Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House," obtained by Vanity Fair, author and former White House aide Cliff Sims accuses the top Trump adviser of trashing current and former top members of the administration by name in text messages to reporters.

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The messages, Sims says, were displayed in real time on Conway's laptop while Sims was using it to draft a statement on Conway's behalf in response to criticism from hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," who at the time had accused her of being two-faced in her support of the president.

"She was having simultaneous conversations with no fewer than a half­-dozen reporters, most of them from outlets the White House frequently trashed for publishing 'fake news,' " Sims said of Conway's text messages that came onscreen while he was working.

"Jour­nalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Politico, and Bloomberg were all popping up on the screen. And these weren’t policy conversations, or attempts to fend off attacks on the president," he added. "As I sat there trying to type, she bashed Jared Kushner Jared Corey KushnerAbraham Accords: New hope for peace in Middle East Tenants in Kushner building file lawsuit alleging dangerous living conditions Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing MORE, Reince Priebus Reinhold (Reince) Richard PriebusLeaked audio shows Trump touted low Black voter turnout in 2016: report Meadows joins White House facing reelection challenges Trump names Mark Meadows as new chief of staff MORE, Steve Bannon Stephen (Steve) Kevin BannonJuan Williams: Swamp creature at the White House Engineers say privately funded border wall is poorly constructed and set to fail: report Bannon and Maxwell cases display DOJ press strategy chutzpah MORE, and Sean Spicer Sean Michael SpicerKellyanne Conway to leave White House at end of month Pro-Trump duo Diamond and Silk launch new program on Newsmax TV The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Supreme Court's unanimous decision on the Electoral College MORE, all by name."

Conway responded to the article in a statement to Vanity Fair, accusing reporters of ignoring "the real leakers" in the White House.

“The real leakers, past and present, get much more positive press than I do. While it’s rare, I prefer to knife people from the front, so they see it coming,” Conway told Vanity Fair.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sims's accusations.

Conway is known for her frequently combative media appearances on cable news shows, and earlier this month she clashed with CNN's Jim Acosta on-camera over immigration, calling the reporter a "smart ass."