Being sought on many fronts --- especially in Washington, D.C. --- is identification of the writer of an anonymous, much-talked-about New York Times op-ed piece critical of President Donald Trump, notes Grumpy Editor.
The non-byline op-ed focuses on a secret resistance movement at work in the Trump administration that aims to curtail the president's "worst inclinations."
The author, according to The Times is "a senior administration official" as media over the weekend cite about two dozen White House officials that match that title, including cabinet secretaries and their top deputies.
However, Grumpy Editor puts the number of true senior administration officials at about 100.
On Friday, mentioning "national security," Trump declares the Justice Department should investigate and unmask the author and pushes Attorney General Jeff Sessions to move on it. The president also says he is exploring legal action against The Times in publishing the piece.
A Wall Street Journal editorial Friday declares, "Surely the writer knew that such insider criticism in the anti-Trump New York Times would be like waving a red cape in front of a raging bull." The Journal adds,"The U.S. looks foolish before the world, which makes us wonder if the writer's real purpose is to assist the looming campaign for impeachment. This is certainly the New York Times agenda."
Others note the coincidence of the op-ed appearing at a time when Bob Woodward's book, "Fear," also critical of the president, debuts.
Ari Fleischer, who was President George W. Bush's press secretary, says writing an op-ed against the president without resigning is a cowardly tactic. "Support the president or don't work there," he says.
The unsigned essay already is attracting language detectives who use a combination of language usage, statistics and computer science in efforts to identify mystery document writers.
About the only person who knows the ID of "anonymous" is James Dao, The Times' op-ed editor.
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