Anonymous Trump official writing a book

The author last year claimed that many of President Trump's senior officials were working from within to "frustrate parts of his agenda". Photo / AP

A Warning, by the Trump White House official who wrote an Op-Ed for The New York Times last year, is expected to be published in November.

An anonymous Trump administration official who published a September 2018 essay in The New York Times, about the active resistance to the president's agenda and behavior from within his own administration, will publish a book next month.

The author, who has not been publicly identified, created an uproar when he or she wrote in an op-ed last year that many of President Donald Trump's senior officials "are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations," adding, "I would know. I am one of them."

The book, titled, A Warning, will be published on November 19 by Twelve, a division of the Hachette Book Group. The author is represented by Matt Latimer and Keith Urbahn of Javelin, the literary agency that represents former FBI Director James B. Comey, Senator Martha McSally and retired US Navy Cmdr. Guy Snodgrass.

In a news release, the publisher described the book as "a shocking, firsthand account of President Trump and his record" that picks up where the op-ed left off. Latimer, a co-founder of Javelin, told CNN that the author planned to donate most of the proceeds and was not motivated by money to tell the story.

"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 organisations that fight for a free press that seeks the truth," Latimer said. The book "was not written by the author lightly, or for the purpose of financial enrichment," he added. "It has been written as an act of conscience and of duty."

In a withering statement, Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, said, "It takes a lot of conviction and bravery to write a whole book anonymously."

News of the deal was reported earlier by The Washington Post.

The announcement comes at a precarious time for Trump, who faces an impeachment inquiry, scrutiny of his foreign policy decisions regarding Syria and Ukraine, and criticism of his now-abandoned decision to host next year's Group of 7 meeting at the Trump National Doral resort near Miami.

A Warning is also likely to become the latest explosive tell-all about the Trump administration, following headline-grabbing books by former government officials such as Comey; Andrew G. McCabe, a former deputy FBI director; Cliff Sims, a former Trump aide; and Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former reality TV star and White House official.

In the 2018 op-ed, the author described a systematic effort within the administration to "preserve our democratic institutions" by defying some of Trump's directives. "There is a quiet resistance within the administration of people choosing to put country first," the author wrote.

The essay sparked criticism from both liberals and Democrats who felt the administration official should resign and come forward publicly, and from Trump supporters, who denounced the official as a "deep state" operative undermining the president's agenda. Trump himself argued that the official was guilty of "treason" and posed a national security risk, and he suggested that his then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions should use law enforcement to investigate the official.

The unnamed official, whose identity is known to the Times editorial page department but not to the news department or the reporters who cover the White House, has managed to remain anonymous for more than a year despite frenzied efforts to uncover the person's identity.

On Twitter, much of the discussion after the news was published Tuesday revolved around guesses about the author's identity and decision to remain anonymous. "At a time when State Department employees are risking their careers to testify about wrongdoing in this administration, I can't think of anyone I want to hear from less than this person," tweeted Matthew Miller, a former director of the Justice Department's Office of Public Affairs in the Obama administration.

It is unclear whether the official remains in the administration, given the high turnover in Trump's Cabinet, and how much additional and specific detail the book will offer regarding the president's behavior and misgivings that members of his own administration might have.

Written by: Alexandra Alter

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