Times grants anonymity to official for searing column

The New York Times took the unusual step on Wednesday of granting anonymity to a senior Trump administration official to write a searing column that said people who work for the president are trying to protect the country from his worst impulses.

The essay was published against the backdrop of a president who frequently rails against “fake news” and the “failing New York Times,” to the delight of many fans. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called the decision a “new low” for the Times, saying the newspaper should apologise and the writer resign.

The column veered in tone between a hostage note and a bid to reassure Americans that, as the writer put it, “there are adults in the room.”

In introducing the piece, the newspaper said anonymity was granted at the request of the author, whose identity is known to the newspaper and whose job would be jeopardised by disclosure. “We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers,” the newspaper said.

While unusual, the move is not unprecedented. In June, the Times published a piece from an asylum seeker who was in a Trump administration family detention Centre, not identifying her because of gang-related threats she received. In 2014, a woman from Pakistan was not identified for writing an editorial page blog item to protect her from the Taliban.

But in Wednesday’s case, the person was from the highest reaches of the US government. “It’s extraordinary,” said Frank Sesno, director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. “I have never seen anything like this. I can only imagine the conversations at the New York Times about publishing such a thing. If there’s any question about the role that journalism plays in a democracy, this puts it to bed.”