Ex-John Kelly adviser: More former Trump officials will go on the record against president 'in the coming days'
Miles Taylor, a former Homeland Security Department official who has endorsed Joe Biden for president, predicts a stream of former senior Trump administration will publicly speak out against President Trump in the coming days following a report by the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg that claimed President Trump disparaged fallen soldiers and wounded veterans during a visit to France using anonymous sources. Without naming anyone, Taylor told CNN anchor Ana Cabrera on Saturday that he has been encouraging old colleagues to come forward. He shared particularly effusive praise of John Kelly, a former homeland security secretary and White House chief of staff to whom Taylor was once a counterterrorism adviser.
Taylor said Kelly has "more character than anyone that I've ever worked for," adding that he urges his former colleagues, including old bosses from the administration, to publicly declare "what they have been all too willing to say behind the scenes." Asked why Kelly is being silent, Taylor said, "I don’t want to question the chief’s reasons right now. Look, he’s a very honorable man and I think he takes his responsibility as a former four-star Marine general very seriously, especially as it relates to the civilian-military divide and commenting on political issues." That lines up with a New York Times report that said Kelly has told associates that a retired four-star general such as himself should not speak out against a sitting president during the height of a political campaign. Meanwhile, Trump, who forcefully denied the Atlantic's report, portions of which have been corroborated by other news outlets, assailed Kelly on Friday while acknowledging he could be a source for the story.
Though he declined to speak to Kelly specifically, Taylor did issue a broad plea to former officials that fit Kelly's resume. "I think that the unprecedented times that we are in right now outweigh the precedent of former military officials speaking out against a commander in chief during the election cycle," Taylor said. "I think it’s extremely important for these people to share what they saw. I don’t believe in the notion that’s been suggested that people who serve the president are required to hold their tongues. In fact, I actually think the requirement is the opposite." After mentioning that he believes people who served alongside him, as well as those "in more senior positions," will step forward in the next few weeks and share what they know about Trump, Cabrera asked Taylor if he knows anyone in particular who will speak out. "I hate to tease this, but as you would expect, Ana, I’ve been pretty actively involved in trying to give people the confidence to come out and say what they need to say and not to fear this president. And I do think in the coming days here I’m going to have some news for you in that regard. And I think we will have more folks attaching their names to direct criticism of the president, stepping out of the shadows and not being anonymous sources. We don't need more anonymous sources right now. We need people on the record and I think you’ll see that."
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