A $50,000 bounty has been placed on the Trump administration senior official who anonymously penned a New York Times op-ed claiming they are just one in a group of people “working diligently from within to frustrate parts of [Trump’s] agenda and his worst inclinations.”
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk tweeted Thursday that a “prominent Republican donor” is offering the reward in cold, hard cash for “information that will lead to the identification and termination of the New York Times ‘anonymous’ author.”
“Anyone have info contact me directly,” Kirk added.
Just got off the phone with a prominent Republican donor
He is offering $50,000 cash to information that will lead to the identification and termination of the New York Times “anonymous” author
Time to declare war on the deep state
Anyone have info contact me directly
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 6, 2018
Let the hunt begin.
Unsurprisingly, Kirk’s tweet drew a range of responses.
Some Twitter users believe that the New York Times fabricated the entire op-ed, and the anonymous senior official doesn’t actually exist.
I have the info, Surprise! It was a mass group of people who call themselves journalists and go by the name New York Times
— James Williams (@JWILL1939) September 6, 2018
the author does not exist
its more of the same nonsense about make believe anonymous sources
— Dividend Master (@DividendMaster) September 6, 2018
Others think the reward amount needs to be increased.
Add another zero and we can talk.
— Lisafer (@LisaMartino18) September 6, 2018
Get a few additional prominent donors to one million dollars and you’ll get someone from the NYT talking.
— SonnyDay (@rdelaune) September 6, 2018
And, of course, liberals couldn’t help but throw in their illogical two cents.
“Termination?” You are literally putting out a hit on Twitter ?
— Berta Massaro (@BertaMassaro) September 6, 2018
A hit, really? How about holding people accountable for breaking the law.
— grandmaRosie (@ingirltwin) September 6, 2018
Despite Grandma Rosie’s enthusiasm, whoever penned the op-ed has not broken any laws (that we know of). However, once his or her identity is revealed, there’s absolutely no reason why Trump shouldn’t fire them immediately.
Which begs the question: who wrote it?
Context clues have offered a few hints, including that the author is likely male, has Republican communication experience, and could have ties to the John McCain campaign. All these points have led many people to believe that Jon Huntsman, U.S. ambassador to Russia, penned the op-ed — but he has denied being the author.
Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and national intelligence director Dan Coats have all also denied writing the op-ed.
