Latest news with #Anonymous'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ex-Homeland Security official Taylor fights back against probe: Trump creating a ‘modern blacklist'
Miles Taylor, a former deputy chief of staff in the Department of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration who wrote an op-ed criticizing President Trump, said the president is creating a 'modern blacklist.' 'I think he wants to create a modern blacklist and have that blacklist ruin people's lives,' Taylor responded when asked what he believes Trump's plan is during an interview on MSNBC's 'Deadline White House.' 'Because it's a lot of effort to go through with trying to pursue and prosecute hundreds of your enemies,' he continued. 'All you need to do is try to successfully do that to a couple, to send a message, and that's what some of his officials have said.' Taylor wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in 2018 and later a book under the pseudonym 'Anonymous' about how some officials were working to thwart Trump's impulses. In April, Trump signed a memorandum directing the Department of Justice to investigate Taylor, saying he was likely 'guilty of treason.' Taylor added that officials have said Trump put forward the orders to investigate him, as well as Chris Krebs, who was ousted from his post as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in 2020, 'to send a message,' adding that 'to a certain extent, it works.' 'I'm the sole income earner in my household. I had to leave my job,' Taylor said. 'My wife, who's stayed home with our daughter, had to return to work so that we can buy diapers, so we can buy formula, so we can pay the mortgage. 'We had to go launch a legal defense fund, because we don't think we can pay for the legal bills for this type of thing.' Taylor, during an interview with the Associated Press, said the investigation sets a 'really, really, really scary precedent' because the president 'can now sign an order investigating any private citizen he wants, any critic, any foe, anyone.' 'I didn't commit any crime, and that's what's extraordinary about this. I can't think of any case where someone knows they're being investigated but has absolutely no idea what crime they allegedly committed. And it's because I didn't.' Taylor emphasized that there were also threats to his and his family's security in the wake of Trump's investigation, even adding that someone advised his wife and him to 'go update your last will and testament to name a guardian for your daughter.' Despite others advising him to 'keep his head down' in the hopes that the situation will 'blow over,' Taylor said, 'We know this guy, we don't think this will blow over.' 'I'm a guy from a small town in Indiana, and you don't just watch something this wrong happen and not say something,' he added. 'And we know that that means we're going to have to take more punches if we're out there. But this is just wrong.' Taylor also noted his family's feelings of isolation, noting that he has had close friends call to tell him that they need to keep their distance. However, Taylor emphasized that him speaking out is 'not so that people play the violin for me,' but so he can show how easy it is for the president 'to order a revenge investigation against an American.' 'Right now, this could be happening to anyone, and that's why we've decided to step out.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
6 days ago
- General
- The Hill
Ex-Homeland Security official Taylor fights back against probe: Trump creating a ‘modern blacklist'
Miles Taylor, a former deputy chief of staff in the Department of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration who wrote an op-ed criticizing President Trump, said the president is creating a 'modern blacklist.' 'I think he wants to create a modern blacklist and have that blacklist ruin people's lives,' Taylor responded when asked what he believes Trump's plan is during an interview on MSNBC's 'Deadline White House.' 'Because it's a lot of effort to go through with trying to pursue and prosecute hundreds of your enemies,' he continued. 'All you need to do is try to successfully do that to a couple, to send a message, and that's what some of his officials have said.' Taylor wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in 2018 and later a book under the pseudonym 'Anonymous' about how some officials were working to thwart Trump's impulses. In April, Trump signed a memorandum directing the Department of Justice to investigate Taylor, saying he was likely 'guilty of treason.' Taylor added that officials have said Trump put forward the orders to investigate him, as well as Chris Krebs, who was ousted from his post as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in 2020, 'to send a message,' adding that 'to a certain extent, it works.' 'I'm the sole income earner in my household. I had to leave my job,' Taylor said. 'My wife, who's stayed home with our daughter, had to return to work so that we can buy diapers, so we can buy formula, so we can pay the mortgage. 'We had to go launch a legal defense fund, because we don't think we can pay for the legal bills for this type of thing.' Taylor, during an interview with the Associated Press, said the investigation sets a 'really, really, really scary precedent' because the president 'can now sign an order investigating any private citizen he wants, any critic, any foe, anyone.' 'I didn't commit any crime, and that's what's extraordinary about this. I can't think of any case where someone knows they're being investigated but has absolutely no idea what crime they allegedly committed. And it's because I didn't.' Taylor emphasized that there were also threats to his and his family's security in the wake of Trump's investigation, even adding that someone advised his wife and him to 'go update your last will and testament to name a guardian for your daughter.' Despite others advising him to 'keep his head down' in the hopes that the situation will 'blow over,' Taylor said, 'We know this guy, we don't think this will blow over.' 'I'm a guy from a small town in Indiana, and you don't just watch something this wrong happen and not say something,' he added. 'And we know that that means we're going to have to take more punches if we're out there. But this is just wrong.' Taylor also noted his family's feelings of isolation, noting that he has had close friends call to tell him that they need to keep their distance. However, Taylor emphasized that him speaking out is 'not so that people play the violin for me,' but so he can show how easy it is for the president 'to order a revenge investigation against an American.' 'Right now, this could be happening to anyone, and that's why we've decided to step out.'
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Anonymous' author on concerns of Trump creating ‘revenge machine': ‘That's what's happening'
A former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official who criticized President Trump in his first term said in a new interview that he thinks he was right to be concerned that the president would seek 'revenge' upon his return to office. 'My concern was he would turn the government into a revenge machine, and that's what's happening,' Miles Taylor, former deputy chief of staff at DHS during the first Trump administration, said in an interview with NBC News. Last month, Trump signed a memorandum directing the Department of Justice to investigate Taylor, who wrote a New York Times op-ed and later a book under the pseudonym 'Anonymous' about how some officials were working to thwart Trump's impulses during his first term. White House staff secretary Will Scharf said at the time that the memo would strip any active security clearance for Taylor and would direct the Justice Department 'to investigate his activities to see what else might come up in that context given his egregious behavior during your previous administration.' Taylor told NBC News he thinks he's being targeted for exercising his First Amendment right to free expression. 'I know I've never broken the law. I know that I've assiduously upheld my national security obligations,' he said. 'What's really important for people to know is you don't need a permission slip in the United States to criticize the president.' Taylor said he knows of instances of government officials contacting former high school classmates and other associates, saying to NBC News, 'I have seen indications that they are out there, rummaging through my past, talking to people as far back as high school and trying to comb through my life.' He described how the memo has turned his life upside down, compelling his family to take additional security precautions and to cut back on his work. He has said he has not considered trying to strike a settlement discretely with the administration, as some others have, stressing he has committed no crime. 'That is insidious; that is un-American. You can't threaten Americans to not exercise their First Amendment rights because they're fearful the president of the United States will prosecute them,' he told NBC News. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Hill
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
‘Anonymous' author on concerns of Trump creating ‘revenge machine': ‘That's what's happening'
A former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official who criticized President Trump in his first term said in a new interview that he thinks he was right to be concerned that the president would seek 'revenge' upon his return to office. 'My concern was he would turn the government into a revenge machine, and that's what's happening,' Miles Taylor, former deputy chief of staff at DHS during the first Trump administration, said in an interview with NBC News. Last month, Trump signed a memorandum directing the Department of Justice to investigate Taylor, who wrote a New York Times op-ed and later a book under the pseudonym 'Anonymous' about how some officials were working to thwart Trump's impulses during his first term. White House staff secretary Will Scharf said at the time that the memo would strip any active security clearance for Taylor and would direct the Justice Department 'to investigate his activities to see what else might come up in that context given his egregious behavior during your previous administration.' Taylor told NBC News he thinks he's being targeted for exercising his First Amendment right to free expression. 'I know I've never broken the law. I know that I've assiduously upheld my national security obligations,' he said. 'What's really important for people to know is you don't need a permission slip in the United States to criticize the president.' Taylor said he knows of instances of government officials contacting former high school classmates and other associates, saying to NBC News, 'I have seen indications that they are out there, rummaging through my past, talking to people as far back as high school and trying to comb through my life.' He described how the memo has turned his life upside down, compelling his family to take additional security precautions and to cut back on his work. He has said he has not considered trying to strike a settlement discretely with the administration, as some others have, stressing he has committed no crime. 'That is insidious; that is un-American. You can't threaten Americans to not exercise their First Amendment rights because they're fearful the president of the United States will prosecute them,' he told NBC News.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Ousts Key Tariffs Official Over Petty Need for Revenge
The White House fired an official because he knew the guy who criticized President Donald Trump in the famous 'Anonymous' op-ed in The New York Times seven years ago, The Washington Post reported Friday. The executive director of the Office of Trade Relations at Customs and Border Protection, George E. Bogden, was abruptly asked to leave his post over apparent ties to Miles Taylor, the author of the anonymous 2018 op-ed, sources told the Post. Taylor was Trump's chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security at the time, and the piece revealed his and his colleagues' internal efforts to thwart parts of the president's agenda. Taylor made his authorship public in 2020 after leaving his position as chief of staff. The president has reportedly been obsessed with the op-ed ever since. He ordered the Department of Justice to investigate Bogden's seemingly thin ties to Taylor, despite Bodgen's centrality to implementing the president's absurd tariff scheme. Bodgen's job was to listen to the trade industry's complaints and grievances amid the economic chaos spurred by Trump in recent weeks. It's unclear what the DOJ found to merit Bogden's ousting, and there are few ties connecting the two men other than a Facebook photo of Bogden at Taylor's wedding in 2019, one year before Taylor revealed he wrote the op-ed. Sources told the Post that Bogden and Taylor 'have not been close' and that 'few Trump allies, including Bogden, were aware of Taylor's role in writing the piece at the time it was published or by the time of the wedding.' Taylor's humiliating revelation to the public clearly instilled a deep sense of paranoia in the president that hasn't dissipated even seven years later. 'From the White House to executive branch departments and agencies, senior officials will privately admit their daily disbelief at the commander in chief's comments and actions,' Taylor wrote at the time. 'Most are working to insulate their operations from his whims.' As Trump works to rid his administration of any Taylor-like officials, his firing of a yearslong supporter like Bogden (while he continues to defend a Cabinet member who shared national security information over text) is a stark reminder that the president values unwavering loyalty above all else.
