Two White House employees were captured in undercover recordings criticizing President Donald Trump and discussing internal policymaking, with one official reportedly placed on administrative leave after the videos were released.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Two White House officials were recorded in undercover videos criticizing President Donald Trump and discussing internal administration operations in footage released by O’Keefe Media Group.
The videos reportedly featured Maxim Lott, identified as a special assistant to the president serving on the White House Domestic Policy Council, and Benjamin Ellisten, identified as a budget analyst manager within the Executive Office of the President.
In one recording, Ellisten criticized Trump and discussed concealing his views from coworkers.
“[Trump is] f***ing it up for everybody,” Ellisten said in the undercover footage. “We’ve got to get rid of him.”
Ellisten also referred to Trump as “a madman, literally,” while adding, “They can’t know,” in reference to coworkers being unaware of his personal views.
According to O’Keefe Media Group, Ellisten later denied knowledge of the situation when contacted following publication of the recordings.
The organization said Ellisten sounded “flustered” during the phone call and stated he had “no idea what we’re talking about” before ending the conversation.
The report stated Ellisten has since been placed on administrative leave and is under investigation.
The second recording involving Lott focused on discussions surrounding policymaking inside the administration.
“In theory, everything should sort of come from the president,” Lott said in the footage. “But it might come from the level below him [Trump] where they’re like, ‘I think I know the president well enough to say what he would say on this.’”
According to O’Keefe Media Group, Lott also discussed how some policy proposals move forward based on political support rather than formal financial analysis.
“There’s no cost-benefit analysis… no, like, ‘oh, well, this will cost $10 million, but save people $20,’” Lott said in comments published by the organization.
“There’s nothing like that, it’s just like ‘this feels like a good idea’ or ‘the base supports this,’ all right just sign!”
Following publication of the videos, Lott issued a statement defending himself and maintaining support for the administration.
“I went out with an individual I thought was a genuine person, but it goes to show how insidious politics and this city can be,” Lott said in comments provided to O’Keefe Media Group.
“Nothing I said was contradictory of this administration and I remain fully committed in helping carry out its agenda.”
The undercover recordings were released as the Trump administration continues navigating internal policy disputes and personnel scrutiny during Trump’s second term in office.
The videos circulated widely on social media platforms following their publication and prompted additional attention surrounding internal operations within the Executive Office of the President.
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