During the White House press briefing on Tuesday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said four times that she can only provide media with "the best information" available to her regarding disgraced ex-staffer Rob Porter, who's been accused of domestic violence by two ex-wives.
A CNN panel, led by "The Lead" host Jake Tapper, noted that the wording appeared intentional.
"She seems to be saying to reporters, to everyone out there, 'I'm not being told everything,'" the host noted.
Bloomberg Businessweek journalist Joshua Green, who published a book last year on the relationship between President Donald Trump and his erstwhile aide Steve Bannon titled The Devil's Bargain, agreed.
"That's what we're hearing privately from West Wing officials," Green said.
"It's pretty clear to me that if the White House press secretary doesn't have this information," he continued, "it's because her boss doesn't want her to have this information."
Green went on to say that Trump could get the scandal behind him if he wanted — to which The Nation's Joan Walsh responded that the president "doesn't particularly care" about the scandal.
Former GOP congressional aide Tara Setmayer, meanwhile, said the Porter controversy illustrates the need for better crisis management.
Watch below, via CNN: