FILE PHOTO: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) Dinner, which was rescheduled from April after it was interrupted when a man tried to force his way through security and fired a shotgun, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced she is abandoning her official role to become an informal adviser to President Donald Trump.
The move raised concerns during an MS NOW’s “On The Line” panel discussion with host Alicia Menendez on Thursday.
The timing coincided with Attorney General Todd Blanche's controversial memo extending executive privilege to private citizens advising the president.
Legal correspondent Lisa Rubin explained, “It remains to be seen whether a court will say that its construction of who is entitled to executive privilege is valid or not.”
“But, at least as the DOJ considers it, is Karoline Leavitt, an outside adviser when she leaves the presidency, the presidential administration, and continues to talk to Trump on the phone and give him advice?"
Menendez compared the development to giving out cars, suggesting Trump officials now receive legal shields they previously lacked.
Conservative critic Amanda Carpenter suggested, “What Trump is trying to do here, and through this memo is shield any kind of accountability that may come later. I view this as a kind of preemptive strike against any accountability that might come after the midterm elections.”
Watch the video below.