Appearing on MSNBC with host Katy Tur, Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff revealed that, for all Donald Trump's protestations, the biggest dispenser of White House leaks is the president because he can't help but complain and blurt out insides gossip to his "motormouth" buddies on the phone at night.
The author also pushed back at former White House advisor Steve Bannon's Sunday apology to Trump, where Bannon claimed he was speaking about ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort when he described "treasonous" behavior in dealing with the Russians during the campaign.
After Wolff admitted he is still in communication with some White House aides, host Tur asked him about Bannon's statement.
"You talked about Bannon in that statement," Tur began. "He's trying to say he was talking about Paul Manafort. You say, absolutely not, he was talking about Don Jr."
"Again, Steve was incredibly helpful on this book, and his insights are penetrating and I don't feel great about putting him in what seems obviously a difficult position," Wolff replied. "But he was talking about Don Jr., he was not talking about Paul Manafort. "
"Why release that statement then claiming otherwise," Tur pressed.
"I think he released the minimal amount of contrition and dissembling that he could," Wolff suggested. "He's certainly not challenging everything that I quoted him as saying and I think that he's -- Steve is trying to figure out what to do right now."
Asked about White House leaks, Wolff explained what he saw
"You talk about how everyone was a leaker," Tur began. "One day you're talking about Kushner and Katie Walsh -- Kushner accused Walsh of leaking about him. Anyone feel they shouldn't be leaking to the press about what's going on inside the White House? "
"No," Wolff blurted. "The biggest leaker was Donald Trump. I mean, many of the leaks that he would come out and rail against started because he gets on the phone at night, with his coterie of friends, and billionaires and motormouths. I mean, is Donald Trump aware of what he's saying? I would suspect not all of it. And it just goes. And then -- and then they call other people to say, 'oh, my God, this is what he said,' and then those people call other people and suddenly you have leaked."
Watch the video below via MSNBC:
