John Kelly's allies now realize Trump is the one leaking dirt on him to the press: NYT reporter

There have been several leaks out of the White House recently that paint an unflattering portrait of White House chief of staff John Kelly, and the New York Times' Maggie Haberman says that Kelly's allies now believe the leaks are coming from President Donald Trump himself.

Writing on Twitter, Haberman described low morale at the Trump White House and she said that many White House staffers believe that their own colleagues are lying about their roles in the handling of former staff secretary Rob Porter, who was fired after it was revealed that both of his former wives accused him of domestic abuse.

"Several White House aides have described a diffuse situation as opposed to a more precise one last year when the focus of attacks was either Priebus or Bannon," Haberman writes. "Most think the people directly involved in retaining Porter are lying to some degree."

Haberman then said morale had sunk to a low point not seen since the president's insistence after Charlottesville that there were "very fine people" attending a white nationalist rally -- and she said that Kelly's allies think Trump is trying to oust him through leaking dirt to the press.

"The morale was already quite low in the Kelly era for several staff," she writes. "But this is worse than it’s been since Charlottesville. And after dismissing Kelly dismissal talks as spread by Mooch/others, people close to Kelly now realize it’s coming from Trump."