SWEARAMUCCI
UNLEASHES UNCENSORED RANT ON PRIEBUS, BANNON
WASHINGTON — A shocking, profanity-laced, on-the-record chat between White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci and a New Yorker reporter exploded on Twitter late yesterday — escalating an already deep rift with chief of staff Reince Priebus.
Scaramucci also expressed disdain for chief strategist Steve Bannon in X-rated terms.
The Oval Office’s chief flack lashed out at Priebus to a reporter yesterday hours before implying on Twitter that Priebus had committed a felony.
“Reince is a (expletive) paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac,” Scaramucci fumed in his phone call to New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza, angrily expressing his belief Priebus “leaked” to Lizza that Sean Hannity and former Fox News executive Bill Shine had dined at the White House with President Trump, the first lady and Scaramucci.
A former hedge fund manager with no previous communications experience, Scaramucci did not ask that the conversation with Lizza be on background or off the record. Instead, frustrated that Lizza would not confirm if Priebus was the source of the information, Scaramucci threatened to fire the entire communications team — and force out Priebus.
“They’ll all be fired by me. I fired one guy the other day,” Scaramucci said, according to Lizza’s report published yesterday, referring to former White House press aide Michael Short, who stepped down this week.
“I have three to four people I’ll fire tomorrow. I’ll get to the person who leaked that to you. Reince Priebus — if you want to leak something — he’ll be asked to resign very shortly.”
Scaramucci, in his unfiltered interview, also had some choice words for Bannon, essentially saying he was a publicity hound by comparison.
“I’m not trying to build my own brand off the (expletive) strength of the president,” Scaramucci said. “I’m here to serve the country.”
The open hostility is the clearest example yet of stark tensions between veteran Republican operatives in the White House like Priebus, and close allies of the president from outside the political establishment, like Scaramucci and Trump’s family. Scaramucci was hired over Preibus’ objection, leading press secretary Sean Spicer, a close Priebus ally, to resign.
Scaramucci’s open display of hostility toward Priebus continued last night with a tweet the new White House comm chief fired off after a story about his financial disclosure was published by Politico.
“In light of the leak of my financial info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept #swamp @Reince45,” Scaramucci tweeted. The financial report, a public record, was obtained by Politico through an information request.
Scaramucci later deleted the tweet, saying his tag of Priebus was to indicate that White House officials were working together to stop internal leaks.
Scaramucci began the day targeting Priebus in an interview on CNN’s “New Day,” suggesting he was the source of leaks.
“If Reince wants to explain that he’s not a leaker, let him do that,” Scaramucci said. “People know my history between me and Reince. I can speak for my own actions. He’s going to need to speak for his own actions.”
Preibus, appearing at a White House event honoring first responders from last month’s shooting at a congressional baseball practice, did not address the spat.
Asked at press briefing if Trump still had confidence in Priebus, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: “We all serve at the pleasure of the president, and if he gets to a place where that isn’t the case, he’ll let you know.”