A Warning By Anonymous

Described as "a senior official in the Trump administration," Anonymous offers a firsthand account of one of the most consequential presidencies in American history.

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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.

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An anonymous writer described as a senior Trump administration official whose op-ed piece in the New York Times last year caused a firestorm has written a book called “A Warning” slated to hit bookshelves on Nov. 19.

The publisher, Twelve, an imprint of Lagardère MMB 1.38% SCA’s Hachette Book Group, described the book as “an unprecedented behind-the-scenes portrait of the Trump presidency.”

The op-ed piece, which ran in September 2018, was headlined “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” In the essay, the author said that he wanted the administration “to succeed” but added that “the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.”

After the op-ed was published, President Trump described the author as “gutless” and called on the Times to “turn him/her over to government at once!” The White House repeatedly urged the Justice Department to launch a probe to identify the writer.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Twelve said in a news release that the author didn’t receive an advance for the book and that the author intends to “substantially” donate any royalties to nonprofit groups that “focus on government accountability and on supporting those who stand up for the truth in repressive countries around the world.” The publisher said the author would continue to remain anonymous.

Javelin, a literary agency in Alexandria, Va., sold the book on behalf of the author to Twelve. It couldn’t be learned whether the author is still working in the Trump administration. A spokesman for the agency declined to comment on any aspects of the author’s identity.

One bookseller said he had already placed a major order for the forthcoming book but that it was too early to predict how it would sell.

“We haven’t been given any information,” said Bradley Graham, co-owner of the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. “We just can’t tell at this time how much of a splash it will make without knowing more about what it will say.”

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