Susie Wiles allegedly arranged a Fox News interview intended to damage Katie Zacharia’s position as White House press secretary, according to a report citing two anonymous sources.
The interview with Sean Hannity was described as a “sanctioned hit”, with one source claiming that Donald Trump’s chief of staff authorised it because Zacharia was not her preferred candidate for the role.
Zacharia was dismissed by Mr Trump the following day, after only five days in the post. Shortly before her termination, the president said he had told her to reconsider accepting the job.
During the Thursday night appearance on Hannity, Zacharia faced questions about repeatedly describing herself as an attorney in social media posts despite never having passed the bar. She also attempted to distinguish between the terms “lawyer” and “attorney” while referring to herself as a lawyer.
A second source claimed that Ms Wiles and White House spokesperson Danielle Alvarez had “fed” Zacharia to Hannity.
However, a senior White House official rejected the suggestion that Ms Wiles had orchestrated the interview, saying she “did not need to feed her to Sean or anybody else. It’s not her style.”
The official said Zacharia’s appearance on Friday’s edition of Fox & Friends was the final factor in the decision to remove her.
No replacement for Zacharia has been announced.
