Despite ‘Aggressive’ Manhunt For ‘Executive Time’ Leaker, More Leaks Expose Trump’s Private Schedules
The Inquisitr reported on Sunday morning that the White House had launched an “aggressive” manhunt for the person who was leaking Donald Trump’s private schedules. The president has reportedly been embarrassed by the leaks, which showed that in the period from the midterms to the end of January, Trump had spent roughly 60 percent of the time watching TV and making calls, among other things. In his private schedules, this time is marked as the “executive time.”
Officials familiar with the investigation said that they suspected one of the career White House staffers and not one of the staff members appointed by Trump behind the leaks. The investigators were reported to have narrowed down on a list of suspects, and with the knowledge of the investigation becoming public, there were expectations that the leaks will stop.
But the manhunt does not seem to have bothered the leaker(s). As reported by Business Insider, Axios has once again released Trump’s private schedules of the last four days. Once again, more than half of the entire four days is marked “executive time” — a term which is fast becoming infamous for its negative connotations.
JUST IN: Leaked schedules show Trump spent 50 percent of four days last week in "Executive Time": report https://t.co/rDxvNF5qyW pic.twitter.com/4TnRCleMlo
— The Hill (@thehill) February 11, 2019
Experts believe that whoever is behind the leaks is fully aware of the ongoing investigation and has decided to ignore it. Cliff Sims, the former Director of White House message strategy told CNN that the leaker’s actions amount to a level of insubordination rarely seen in past administrations. The leaker is actively trying to undermine Trump’s claim that he works harder than his predecessors.
“When the term Executive Time is used, I am generally working, not relaxing,” Trump has said in the past.
It has been noted by Axios that not the entirety of the “executive time” mentioned in Trump’s schedules refers to downtime and it is more than possible that the president is actively taking calls in that time. Even so, the amount of “executive time” is much more than past presidents, leading experts to believe that the effort by the leaker is to contrast his schedule with that of his immediate predecessor, Barack Obama.
The schedules show that Trump starts his days with three hours of “executive time” from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., at which point he usually has a meeting with his Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, to plan for the events of the day.
“This one seems to be a direct shot at the President of the United States. That is a level of insubordination that is … rarely seen at this level,” fmr. director of White House message strategy @Cliff_Sims says on Trump’s leaked “executive time” schedules https://t.co/8Ka4RmBORZ pic.twitter.com/13CMengEsq
— Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) February 10, 2019
It remains to be seen if the person is discovered by the White House quickly, because if that doesn’t happen, more leaks might well be on their way.
