Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s incoming chief of staff, has favored arresting journalists to force them to reveal their government sources, according to a new report. Susie Wiles, the outgoing chief of staff who reportedly pushed back on the idea, is leaving the White House.
The Atlantic reported Friday that Trump has pushed the Justice Department to pursue criminal leak investigations on national-security grounds. Three people familiar with the matter told the outlet the White House and DOJ have discussed tactics they could use, including arrests, as part of the effort to force journalists to reveal their sources.
Two of those people said Wiles pushed back. Miller “was in favor and insisted that it wouldn’t take long for journalists to give up their sources,” they told the outlet.
Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic’s executive editor, sounded the alarm on X, framing her post with siren emojis. “One key difference between Wiles and Miller: their attitude toward arresting journalists,” she wrote.
A DOJ spokesperson told The Atlantic by text that “this is absolutely false” but declined to elaborate. A White House spokesperson said unauthorized leaks will “NEVER be tolerated” and that those responsible “must be held accountable.”
The Atlantic described Wiles as “something of a guardrail” who made sure Trump understood the risks of his decisions. Miller, by contrast, “has played the role of an accelerant for a president who already has rash tendencies.”
That’s apparently what Trump wants. One person familiar with the decision told the outlet the president wants someone who “will crack skulls,” adding that Trump “doesn’t want to be reined in.”
Another person familiar with Trump’s thinking said there’s no need for a chief of staff who can work with Congress, because nothing is going to get done.
“The next two years are going to be nonstop political warfare,” that person said.
Leaks appear to have helped push Wiles out. Two people told The Atlantic that Trump saw a recent New York Times story as a betrayal. The story included verbatim leaks of his political team joking before the election about how grim things looked. He made his displeasure known to Wiles.
At a Mar-a-Lago event Friday night, Miller pledged to Trump “my absolute loyalty, my unwavering commitment, and my total devotion to your success and the success of this country.”
The outlet also reported that Miller holds conference calls six days a week with officials across the government who have been enlisted to help ICE’s deportation crackdown. Officials on those calls say he “often berates staff who disappoint him or lack the information he wants.”
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