"Anonymous" = Miles Taylor

[Dill]

Probably no accident this guy was a foreign policy advisor. That's where Trump's instability and incompetence was most quickly manifest.

'Anonymous,' author of White House tell-all book, revealed to be Miles Taylor
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/anonymous-author-white-house-book-revealed-miles-taylor/story?id=73884296

Taylor, a former senior Trump administration official, went public with his criticism of the president in August, in a video released by Republican Voters for Trump, making him.

 the highest-ranking former administration official to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden

Taylor, who had served as Homeland Security chief of staff, launched a group called the Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform or REPAIR for short, made up of "former U.S. officials, advisors, and conservatives -- organized by ex-Trump administration officials -- calling for leadership change in the White House and seeking to repair the Republican Party," according to its website.

As it turns out, Taylor is also the author of the book “A Warning” and the 2018 New York Times op-ed that claimed there was a “resistance” within the Trump administration.

After the op-ed was published, President Donald Trump blasted it as "gutless," tweeting, "TREASON?" "If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist," he wrote on Twitter that day, "the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!"

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ex-homeland-security-official-miles-taylor-says-he-is-anonymous-author-11603918474

Anonymous author of President Trump critique is identified
https://www.kcci.com/article/family-drives-more-than-20-hours-to-be-reunited-with-dog-they-say-was-stolen-6-years-ago/34513598

The allegations incensed the president, bolstering his allegations about a “deep state” operating within his government and conspiring against him. And it set off a Beltway guessing game that seeped into the White House, with current and former staffers trading calls and texts, trying to figure out who could have written the piece.

Trump, who had long complained about leaks in the White House, also ordered aides to unmask the writer, citing “national security” concerns to justify a possible Justice Department investigation. And he issued an extraordinary demand that the newspaper reveal the author.

Instead, the author pressed forward, penning a follow-up book published last November called “A Warning” that continued to paint a disturbing picture of the president, describing him as volatile, incompetent and unfit to be commander in chief.

Trump “stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information,” the author alleged, also citing racist and misogynist statements the author claimed Trump made behind closed doors.

Then-White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham slammed the author as a “coward” for hiding their identity, charging that they “didn’t put their name on it because it is nothing but lies.”

[Dill]

Why I’m no longer “Anonymous”
https://milestaylor.medium.com/a-statement-a13bc5173ee9

More than two years ago, I published an anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times about Donald Trump’s perilous presidency, while I was serving under him. He responded with a short but telling tweet: “TREASON?”

Trump sees personal criticism as subversive.

I take a different view. As Theodore Roosevelt wrote, “To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or anyone else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about anyone else.”

We do not owe the President our silence. We owe him and the American people the truth.

Make no mistake: I am a Republican, and I wanted this President to succeed. That’s why I came into the Administration with John Kelly, and it’s why I stayed on as Chief of Staff at the Department of Homeland Security. But too often in times of crisis, I saw Donald Trump prove he is a man without character, and his personal defects have resulted in leadership failures so significant that they can be measured in lost American lives. I witnessed Trump’s inability to do his job over the course of two-and-a-half years. Everyone saw it, though most were hesitant to speak up for fear of reprisals.

So when I left the Administration I wrote A Warning, a character study of the current Commander in Chief and a caution to voters that it wasn’t as bad as it looked inside the Trump Administration — it was worse. While I claim sole authorship of the work, the sentiments expressed within it were widely held among officials at the highest levels of the federal government. In other words, Trump’s own lieutenants were alarmed by his instability....

Yet Trump has failed to bury the truth.

Why? Because since the op-ed was published, I’ve been joined by an unprecedented number of former colleagues who’ve chosen to speak out against the man they once served. Donald Trump’s character and record have now been challenged in myriad ways by his own former Chief of Staff, National Security Advisor, Communications Director, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Director of National Intelligence, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and others he personally appointed.

History will also record the names of those souls who had everything to lose but stood up anyway, including Trump officials Fiona Hill, Michael McKinley, John Mitnick, Elizabeth Neumann, Bob Shanks, Olivia Troye, Josh Venable, Alexander Vindman, and many more. I applaud their courage. These are not “Deep Staters” who conspired to thwart their boss. Many of them were Trump supporters, and all of them are patriots who accepted great personal risks to speak candidly about a man they’ve seen retaliate and even incite violence against his opponents. (I’ve likewise experienced the cost of condemning the President, as doing so has taken a considerable toll on my job, daily life, marriage, finances, and personal safety.) . . . .

This election is a two-part referendum: first, on the character of a man, and second, on the character of our nation. That’s why I’m also urging fellow Republicans to put country over party, even if that means supporting Trump’s Democratic opponent. Although former Vice President Joe Biden is likely to pursue progressive reforms that conservatives oppose (and rest assured, we will challenge them in the loyal opposition), his policy agenda cannot equal the damage done by the current President to the fabric of our Republic. I believe Joe Biden’s decency will bring us back together where Donald Trump’s dishonesty has torn us apart.

Trump has been exactly what we conservatives always said government should NOT be: expansive, wasteful, arbitrary, unpredictable, and prone to abuses of power. Worse still, as I’ve noted previously, he’s waged an all-out assault on reason, preferring to enthrone emotion and impulse in the seat of government. The consequences have been calamitous, and if given four more years, he will push the limits of his power further than the “high crimes and misdemeanors” for which he was already impeached.

Trust me. We spent years trying to ameliorate Trump’s poor decisions (often unsuccessfully), many of which will be back with a vengeance in a second term. Recall, this is the man who told us, “When somebody’s president of the United States, the authority is total.” I believe more than ever that Trump unbound will mean a nation undone — a continued downward slide into social acrimony, with the United States fading into the background of a world stage it once commanded, to say nothing of the damage to our democratic institutions.

I was wrong, however, about one major assertion in my original op-ed. The country cannot rely on well-intentioned, unelected bureaucrats around the President to steer him toward what’s right. He has purged most of them anyway. Nor can they rely on Congress to deliver us from Trump’s wayward whims. The people themselves are the ultimate check on the nation’s chief executive. We alone must determine whether his behavior warrants continuance in office, and we face a momentous decision, as our choice about Trump’s future will affect our future for years to come. With that in mind, he doesn’t deserve a second term in office, and we don’t deserve to live through it. . . .


Miles Taylor
October 2020

[Dill]

Could this be too little too late?

Taylor told Cuomo tonight on CNN that the reveal should have more impact this close to the election. It would have been one news cycle had he come out earlier in the year.

I think he is probably right about one news cycle. But now so many former Trump teamers have made the case regarding Trump's incompetence that this almost seems a footnote now.

Taylor resigned from the administration months ago, but I'm wondering if we'll see any higher level resignations in the coming week.

Or perhaps those who agree with Taylor but have remained silent out of party loyalty will feel more pressure to corroborate accounts of those who have already gone public.

LOL at least we have a name and a face put to the story of Trump staffers removing the order to pull out from Korea from his desk in the knowledge he would forget about it by the nextday. No more "unnamed sources."

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

Is he one of those career staffers who really control policy? LOL

[BmorePat87]

He said that he chose to do what he did anonymously so that it forced a dialogue on the claims rather than just turning into Trump attacking him personally.

White House staff responded by attacking him personally.

[GMDino]

(10-29-2020, 08:31 AM)BmorePat87 Wrote: He said that he chose to do what he did anonymously so that it forced a dialogue on the claims rather than just turning into Trump attacking him personally.

White House staff responded by attacking him personally.

It's all they have.  It's all Trump has.  If he was smart and had anything of substance he'd use it..but neither of those things are going to happen.

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(10-29-2020, 08:31 AM)BmorePat87 Wrote: He said that he chose to do what he did anonymously so that it forced a dialogue on the claims rather than just turning into Trump attacking him personally.

That’s so naive I can’t believe he actually thought that. I mean he did title the second book “A Warning.” Duh.

Quote:White House staff responded by attacking him personally.

Default mode.

[*Nately120*]

Time will tell, but there are far less undecided voters or "they both suck equally" types who are waiting for election day with a spontaneous vote in mind compared to 2016. All this late breaking stuff may end up being pretty pointless.

[*michaelsean*]

(10-29-2020, 08:48 AM)Nately120 Wrote: Time will tell, but there are far less undecided voters or "they both suck equally" types who are waiting for election day with a spontaneous vote in mind compared to 2016. All this late breaking stuff may end up being pretty pointless.

Well half the country has voted already so it is mostly pointless. I had to call the BoE to make sure it was still ok to vote on Election Day.

[*Nately120*]

(10-29-2020, 09:44 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Well half the country has voted already so it is mostly pointless. I had to call the BoE to make sure it was still ok to vote on Election Day.

My polling place is down the street and it's ultra rural and the wait is usually about 10 minutes max. I'm going to vote in person and act like that makes me an ultra patriot. 

[Belsnickel]

(10-29-2020, 09:44 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Well half the country has voted already so it is mostly pointless. I had to call the BoE to make sure it was still ok to vote on Election Day.

(10-29-2020, 09:51 AM)Nately120 Wrote: My polling place is down the street and it's ultra rural and the wait is usually about 10 minutes max. I'm going to vote in person and act like that makes me an ultra patriot. 

Pfft, my ballot has been in for over a month. Noobs.

[Mickeypoo]

(10-29-2020, 09:51 AM)Nately120 Wrote: My polling place is down the street and it's ultra rural and the wait is usually about 10 minutes max. I'm going to vote in person and act like that makes me an ultra patriot. 

Same.  lol.  No joke, I could sprint from my house to our polling place front door in 15 seconds.  No exaggeration.  

[*Nately120*]

(10-29-2020, 09:54 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Pfft, my ballot has been in for over a month. Noobs.

Yeah, in a river. My vote is going in the trash because I'm voting for Jorgensen thank you very much. 

[GMDino]

(10-29-2020, 09:44 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Well half the country has voted already so it is mostly pointless. I had to call the BoE to make sure it was still ok to vote on Election Day.

I always vote in person.  The polling place is between work and home.  Plus this year is my son's first time voting and I wanted to go with him like I did with my daughter.  

[Belsnickel]

(10-29-2020, 10:10 AM)Nately120 Wrote: Yeah, in a river. My vote is going in the trash because I'm voting for Jorgensen thank you very much. 

I actually had a little bit of panic because my wife and father-in-law showed their ballots as received when we checked last week, but mine didn't, and we mailed them all from the house on the same day. So I harassed the local registrar (I know him personally) and he said they had it, it just hadn't been scanned in for some reason.

[*Nately120*]

(10-29-2020, 10:15 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: I actually had a little bit of panic because my wife and father-in-law showed their ballots as received when we checked last week, but mine didn't, and we mailed them all from the house on the same day. So I harassed the local registrar (I know him personally) and he said they had it, it just hadn't been scanned in for some reason.

A buddy of mine went to the local courthouse office to drop his off personally. He had to stand in a long line and when he just made sure he had the right place and handed it over he said the woman there was beyond relieved he wasn't there to yell at her like everyone else was. 

[*michaelsean*]

(10-29-2020, 10:11 AM)GMDino Wrote: I always vote in person.  The polling place is between work and home.  Plus this year is my son's first time voting and I wanted to go with him like I did with my daughter.  

I was just kidding, but the county BoE is by my house and that things s traffic mess every morning. I don’t understand the insanity of putting up with that just to vote early. Some people probably need to but I don’t understand all the rest.

[*Nately120*]

(10-29-2020, 10:11 AM)GMDino Wrote: I always vote in person.  The polling place is between work and home.  Plus this year is my son's first time voting and I wanted to go with him like I did with my daughter.  

When I was 3 my father took me with him to vote so I can say I witnessed in person one of the dozen votes cast for Walter Mondale. 

[hollodero]

(10-29-2020, 10:10 AM)Nately120 Wrote: Yeah, in a river. My vote is going in the trash because I'm voting for Jorgensen thank you very much. 

Hehe... yeah, I can't fight the urge to mention it for one more time: You root for Trump to lose as hard as anyone, you make that clear basically on a daily basis, yet you decide not to contribute to this very much desired outcome of yours. In a crucial swing state.

I know you've got your reasons and I respect that, but still, couldn't fight bringing it up one last time. May I be forgiven.

[GMDino]

(10-29-2020, 10:24 AM)Nately120 Wrote: When I was 3 my father took me with him to vote so I can say I witnessed in person one of the dozen votes cast for Walter Mondale. 

Whoa!  Too bad you couldn't keep that!  Collectors item!