Kayleigh McEnany a ‘liar and opportunist’, says former Trump aide - The Guardian US

Kayleigh McEnany, Donald Trump’s last White House property secretary, is “a liar and an opportunist”, according to grounds to the House January 6 committee by Alyssa Farah Griffin, formerly communications manager to Trump.

In grounds released connected Thursday, Griffin was asked wherever McEnany “fell” aft the 2020 election, “either, ‘Hey, we lost, let’s gracefully exit’ versus ‘let’s facilitate the large lie’” that Trump’s decision by Joe Biden was caused by electoral fraud.

“I americium a Christian woman,” Griffin said, “so I volition accidental this. Kayleigh is simply a liar and an opportunist.”

McEnany, who became a Fox News big aft leaving the White House, did not instantly respond.

Griffin present works for ABC. She besides said McEnany was “a astute woman” and “not an idiot”.

“She knew we mislaid the election, but she made a calculation that she wanted to person a definite beingness post-Trump that required staying successful his bully graces. And that was much important to her than telling the information to the American public.”

McEnany has often addressed the contented of whether she lied portion moving for Trump.

When she archetypal stood down the White House podium successful May 2020, she promised to archer the information to the American press.

A newsman asked: “Will you pledge to ne'er prevarication to america from that podium?”

McEnany replied: “I volition ne'er prevarication to you. You person my connection connected that.”

She has repeated the claim, saying successful June 2021 she “never lied” arsenic property secretary.

McEnany besides released a highly selective memoir, For Such a Time arsenic This: My Faith Journey Through the White House and Beyond. The publication repeats the assertion she ne'er lied to reporters, successful portion due to the fact that her acquisition astatine “Oxford, Harvard and Georgetown” meant she ever relied connected “truthful, well-sourced, well-researched information”.

McEnany besides spoke to the January 6 committee. In its report issued past week, it said “a segment” of her grounds “seemed evasive”.

“In aggregate instances, McEnany’s grounds did not look astir arsenic forthright arsenic that of her property bureau staff, who testified astir what McEnany said.”

The committee besides noted that though McEnany “disputed suggestions that President Trump was resistant to condemning the unit and urging the assemblage astatine the Capitol to enactment peacefully erstwhile they crafted his tweet astatine 2.38pm connected January 6 … 1 of her deputies, Sarah Matthews, told the prime committee that McEnany informed her otherwise.”

Griffin, who near the White House successful December 2020, told the committee she did not face McEnany portion some worked for Trump, adding that she “got her Fox News gig. It worked retired precisely however she’d ever planned for it to, but she knew better”.

Griffin besides described the chaotic workings of the Trump White House, which she called “the flattest organisation I’ve ever worked in”, meaning the 1 with slightest region betwixt unit astatine the apical and bottom.

She said Mark Meadows, Trump’s last main of unit meant to power entree to the president, was a “true believer” to the end.

Griffin told the committee: “I would spot property assistants in, like, the president’s idiosyncratic eating country and not cognize however they got determination … a property adjunct being a precise inferior staffer.”

Accounts of elder staffers’ attempts to power entree to Trump are legion.

According to a publication by Stephanie Grisham – McEnany’s predecessor arsenic property caput and a longtime adjutant to the archetypal lady, Melania Trump – 1 property adjutant successful peculiar caught Trump’s attention.

Grisham wrote: “I began to announcement that helium was taking an antithetic involvement successful a young, highly charismatic property wrangler connected my squad … What I bash cognize is that helium behaved inappropriately. And, since the pistillate worked for me, I tried to support her and support his antithetic involvement successful her nether wraps.”

According to Grisham, Trump told 1 of her deputies to bring the pistillate up to the bureau compartment connected Air Force One, truthful helium could “look astatine her ass”.

Grisham said she came adjacent to telling Melania Trump astir specified behaviour but was “not alleging that thing happened betwixt the president and that woman”.

“It would person been beauteous hard for him to propulsion that disconnected adjacent if helium wanted to,” she said.