Trump’s personal assistant resigns after caught leaking information to media – report

The scoop on Westerhout’s exit through the Trump administration’s revolving door was reported by the New York Times on Thursday.

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US President Donald Trump was reportedly made aware of Westerhout’s ‘betrayal’ on Thursday. The woman allegedly spilled the beans on his family and White House shenanigans when chatting with journalists at a recent off-the-record dinner near Bedminster, New Jersey.

The 28-year-old had made quite a career within the Trump administration before her reported fall from grace. She was appointed a special assistant and executive assistant to the president in January 2017, and was promoted to Director of Oval Office Operations in February of this year.

Westerhout, although not in the public eye as much as, say, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway or Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, was said to have the president’s ear as his ultimate gatekeeper.

Trump reportedly referred to the staffer as the secret channel between him and the outside world.

“Madeleine is the key. She’s the secret. Because she’s the person..,” the Washington Post reported Trump saying during his conversations with author Bob Woodward last September. Madeleine started as a “greeter girl” at Trump Tower, swarmed with high-profile visitors after Trump’s stunning victory in the 2016 election.

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At the time, Westerhout served as an assistant to Republican National Committee (RNC) Chief of Staff Katie Walsh. 

While Trump has been waging a crackdown on leakers and whistleblowers since the beginning of his presidency, the quest has been largely unsuccessful, with reports citing “anonymous officials” on sensitive policy issues making their way into the media on a daily basis.

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