Susie Wiles and Kash Patel orchestrate White House phone seizure during intense leak probe
FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles "helped personally orchestrate" an investigation into who leaked information about President Donald Trump's Qatari-gifted airplane and its security shortcomings — demanding some officials turn over their phones, according to a new CNN report published Wednesday.
Trump was apparently furious that information about the plane, which was meant to be used as Air Force One, went public. Investigators were reportedly seeking information from officials who traveled with the president.
A source told CNN that as the investigation was underway, at least one federal agency contacted its employees via email to warn that if they were contacted by outside agencies or groups requesting information or devices, then they should contact their agency's attorneys.
"The sources said Patel — who had been preparing to travel to Chicago — was diverted to the White House on Friday to take a hands-on role in running the probe, which became public early the next morning when the New York Times reported that the Justice Department had issued subpoenas to four of its journalists who reported on security concerns surrounding the new plane," CNN reported.
"Patel posted up in an office next to Wiles’ for roughly seven hours, as the two established what one source referred to as a 'war room' in the West Wing," according to CNN.
Not all White House officials were asked to turn over their phones.
"The effort reflects the extent to which the White House was willing to exert control over a law enforcement investigation — a significant breach of the Justice Department’s historic independence, though one that has become somewhat common in Trump’s administration," CNN reported.