An analysis by former Bill Clinton speechwriter David Kusnet published on Monday suggests that another speechwriter is the anonymous author of the new anti-Trump book “A Warning” and a similar “warning” published last year by The New York Times that famously praised the deep state — or as the author puts it, “the steady state” — for undermining Trump.
In his op-ed for The New Republic Monday, Kusnet engages in the “parlor game” of identifying the anonymous author of “A Warning.” The author, Kusnet claims, is likely Guy Snodgrass, former speechwriter for former Defense Secretary James Mattis:
I suspect, based on my own close reading of the text, that the author is an apolitical retired Navy commander who became chief speechwriter for former Defense Secretary James Mattis. If so, he behaved ethically when he wrote an unsigned op-ed and contracted to expand it into a book.
But now that a whistleblower’s complaint has triggered impeachment hearings, and current and former diplomatic, intelligence, and military officials have testified publicly, anonymity deflects accountability. Because the book includes previously unpublished anecdotes about Trump’s transgressions against constitutional governance and seemingly informed conclusions about his unfitness for office, readers should know who wrote the book and why. My entry in the guess-who-wrote it sweepstakes is the former Pentagon aide Guy Snodgrass, who would know about many events described in the book. He would have honorable reasons to render his judgments. And revealing the author to be an apolitical Navy officer, not a renegade Republican operative, would elevate the nature of his very serious concerns about Trump’s fitness to hold the office of the presidency.
With speculation running rampant online, Snodgrass initially inflamed the situation, writing a cryptic tweet that about how “the swirl continues.”
The swirl continues…https://t.co/BCth6lqnLM
— Guy Snodgrass (@GuySnodgrass) November 25, 2019
He then appeared on Fox News on Monday and gave another enticing non-denial.
Asked if he is in fact “anonymous,” Snodgrass replied: “Great question. I have a book out with my name on it called Holding the Line. I do appreciate that the New Republic said the writing was excellent across both books, but if I was going to make an announcement like that I would come into the studio with you in New York City.”
“So you are not denying that you are Anonymous,” pressed Fox News’ Trace Gallagher, to which Snodgrass replied: “I just heard this reporting as I was coming over to the studio, I got invited on to talk about national security. There is a lot to talk about there.”
Asked why he wouldn’t “just deny it outright,” Snodgrass said, “It’s the latest in a long series of D.C. parlor games, not unique to this point in time, it’s been going on for decades.”
But, as reported by Mediaite, Snodgrass finally slammed the door on the “anonymous” speculation in a discussion Tuesday morning with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota
“There’s been lots of speculation that it is you,” said the New Day host. “What is your answer? Are you the writer?”
“No, I’m not the writer,” said Snodgrass. “To put it to rest, no, I’m not the author of A Warning,” he added unequivocally. “I’m not the anonymous op-ed writer.”
The famous Times op-ed, published on Sept. 5, 2018 and titled “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration,” begins with an explanation by the editors of why they’re taking the “rare step” of publishing an anonymous piece:
The Times is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.
The “resistance” piece begins by admitting that the deep state really is working against the duly elected president, as he and his supporters have long claimed, but portraying it as a positive for the country:
President Trump is facing a test to his presidency unlike any faced by a modern American leader.
It’s not just that the special counsel looms large. Or that the country is bitterly divided over Mr. Trump’s leadership. Or even that his party might well lose the House to an opposition hellbent on his downfall.
The dilemma — which he does not fully grasp — is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.