London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

The New York Times Owes the Public an Explanation

The New York Times Owes the Public an Explanation

Anonymous was just a little gremlin all along.
Yesterday afternoon, the “senior administration official” who wrote a prominent anti-Trump New York Times op-ed and book named himself, ripping off his mask to reveal … a face so forgettable, so forgotten, that it was unclear whether the mask had been ripped off at all, or whether he was like the Robert Stack character in Airplane!, dramatically removing his sunglasses to reveal an identical pair of sunglasses underneath.

Anonymous is Miles Taylor, a Republican operative who started as chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security in February 2019, five months after publishing his op-ed. He left that position in June 2019 and is now campaigning for Joe Biden. At the time of the op-ed’s publication, Taylor was the DHS deputy chief of staff, and his name did not appear on the DHS leadership page at all.

Most people thought the author was more famous, not an unknown appointee but a real grand fromage, perhaps at the level of a Cabinet secretary.In retrospect, it was foolish to expect a Trump-administration official—let alone a “senior” one—to heed the ancient counsel of integrity: “underpromise; overdeliver.” I’m not sure what The New York Times’ excuse is. The op-ed strongly suggested that its author was one of the 15 officials empowered by the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to vote on removing the president due to incapacity.

Taylor’s boss, Kirstjen Nielsen, was one of those officials, but Taylor was probably far too junior to channel the thoughts of the other 14 voters or the vice president. Many candidates fell under suspicion of authorship, and many suspects were discarded, because the leak-hunters assumed that The New York Times would not allow an underling to write with what could reasonably be mistaken for the authority of a boss.

When James Dao, then the deputy op-ed editor, was asked who counted as a senior administration official, he said that Washington types know the term, and that it encompasses the “upper echelon[s]” of the administration. That’s true enough: I’ve received background briefings from “senior” officials more obscure than Taylor.

Although I have never background-quoted such an official myself, I know how the category of “senior” puffs up like a blowfish to impress readers: By using it, the reporter gets an important-sounding background source; the source gets a quote published that sounds like it comes straight from the Oval Office, and not from a cubicle in an adjacent building.

Ordinary readers cannot be expected to know these subtleties—and journalists should be more transparent about who gets “senior” treatment (I would suggest no one below the level of deputies to leaders of departments and major agencies). The op-ed and book hint, misleadingly, at that higher level of authority.

Taylor’s book, A Warning, is (as Mark Twain said of the Book of Mormon) chloroform in print. That is what happens when you write a book while taking care to consign to oblivion all identifying traces of your personality. There were touches of an expensive education—quotes from Cicero and Tocqueville (whom he called “De Tocqueville,” helpfully eliminating certain suspects who consistently, and properly, truncate the De).

But having regained consciousness after a thorough read, I found that my list of suspects was zero names long, because little tics like that had ruled out everyone I could call “senior” in good conscience. I am reassured to know that I was not wrong, only misled along with the rest of the public.

The New York Times should never have run the op-ed in that form, and since it no longer has to protect its source’s identity, it should explain its reasoning for the obfuscation in the first place. If the author were very senior, the granting of anonymity might have been defensible: that would have been the only way to convey to readers that (say) the attorney general was a saboteur.

Instead, Taylor looks like a relatively minor gremlin, for whom the venerable opinion page should have maintained the normal rule: if you have an opinion, you should attach your name and reputation to it like an adult. “Speak in your own name,” my colleague David Frum wrote at the time the op-ed came out. “Previous generations of Americans have sacrificed fortunes, health, and lives to serve the country. You are asked only to tell the truth aloud and with your name attached.”

As for Taylor, he is expiating his misdeeds for Donald Trump by exerting himself for Joe Biden and lining up anti-Trump interviews in the days before the election. He has been a CNN contributor since September.

If I were Biden, I am not sure I would want him on my side. “I am a Republican, and I wanted this President to succeed,” Taylor wrote yesterday. “It’s why I stayed.” Biden can easily find Republicans who were, unlike Taylor, perceptive enough to figure out not to trust Trump without having first worked for him for a year.

Moreover, Taylor is a liar. In August, CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked him directly whether he is Anonymous, and he said, “I wear a mask for two things, Anderson: Halloweens and pandemics. So no.” Cute, but it’s still a lie-and Taylor’s attempts to explain it away sound like more dishonesty. (In the book, he promised that he would “strenuously deny” authorship if asked.)

A journalistic enterprise like CNN should not employ contributors who lie to the camera without a trace of scruple. Many Trump officials, senior and junior, will emerge from the administration seeking ways to launder their reputations. This one should, for now, be sent back to the spin cycle.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×