As the saying goes, “shit happens,” and shit rolls downhill.

The death of VA nurse Alex Pretti sparked such intense backlash that President Trump refused to label him a domestic terrorist, even though his subordinates—Kristi Noem, Bovino, and Stephen Miller—thrashed Pretti on news broadcasts and social media, referring to him as an insurrectionist eager to inflict “maximum damage” on people and kill law enforcement.

Videos of the slaying, however, appeared to contradict DHS’s narrative and showed a disarmed Pretti being tackled to the pavement by five officers, after which one drew his sidearm and directly fired eight to ten rounds into Pretti, killing him. He instantly became a martyr for the tens of thousands of violent rioters who have been impeding ICE’s immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. So compelling was the video that Trump distanced himself from DHS’s rationale for killing Pretti; when the president’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, was asked during a press briefing whether Trump considered Pretti a domestic terrorist, she said she had not heard him “characterize Mr. Pretti in that way.”

Yesterday, the president held discussions with Noem, Bovino, border czar Tom Homan, Stephen Miller, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, which culminated in a shocking attack on Bovino. Per a West Wing source speaking under promise of anonymity, Trump told his team, “You know, Greg, you know Kristi, this Pretti thing isn’t looking good for us at all. A total disaster. I have to clean up this mess. Someone’s getting fired; you decide.”

Noem reportedly said, “I wasn’t even in Minneapolis, so it’s not my fault.” Beside her sat her confidante, Cory Lewandowski, who nodded in agreement.

Homan purportedly intoned, “I warned this could happen and galvanize opposition.”

“Someone’s taking one for the team,” Trump said, “and it’s not me. Greg—”

Bovino, our source said, realized he was the scapegoat and asked if he could be demoted and return to his earlier assignment as chief of border operations in El Centro, California, instead of being fired. Trump and team agreed his request was a fair compromise.

“Until I retire, I’ll serve the nation in Minneapolis or California, Mr. President,” Bovino told Trump. “I appreciate the trust you’ve placed in me.”

No sooner had the meeting ended, though, than Bovino found his government social media accounts and cell phone deactivated.