Political Scandals

WH Communications Director Unleashes On Chief Of Staff

White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci appeared to imply chief of staff Reince Priebus is the source of White House leaks.

WH Communications Director Unleashes On Chief Of Staff
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Article by Lauren Stephenson
SMS
July 27, 2017

On July 21, newly named White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci downplayed reports of tension between himself and chief of staff Reince Priebus. 

Scaramucci said: "Reince and I have been personal friends for six years. We are a little bit like brothers, where we rough each other up once in a while." 

But just six days later, Scaramucci appeared to give a more specific analogy to CNN's "New Day."

He said: "Some brothers are like Cain and Abel. Other brothers can fight with each other and get along. I don't know if this is repairable or not. That will be up to the president."

Scaramucci called into the show to address a tweet he sent Wednesday night. The tweet, which appears to reference Politico's publication of his financial disclosure form, said: "In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept #swamp @Reince45."

Scaramucci's tagging of Priebus led some to believe Scaramucci was accusing Priebus of being the source of the so-called "leak."

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As Politico notes, the disclosure form is available to the public upon request. 

Scaramucci ended up deleting the tweet. He later tweeted, "Tweet was public notice to leakers that all Sr Adm officials are helping to end illegal leaks. @Reince45."

"When I put out a tweet and I put Reince's name in a tweet, they're all making the assumption that it's him because journalists know who the leakers are. So if Reince wants to explain he's not a leaker, let him do that," Scaramucci told CNN's Chris Cuomo. 

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wouldn't say whether the White House believes Priebus is a leaker. 

She also didn't directly respond to questions about whether President Donald Trump has confidence in Priebus. 

Sanders said during Thursday's press briefing: "If the president doesn't, then he'll make that decision. We all serve at the pleasure of the president and if he gets to a place where that isn't the case, he'll let you know."

When asked a follow-up question, Sanders said: "We all come and have a chance to voice those ideas, voice those perspectives, and have a lot of healthy competition."

Priebus hadn't commented as of Thursday evening.