Full Breakdown
Former DHS Official Claims President Trump Sought Wiretap of Own Staff
7/21/2026, 12:35:14 AM
Alleged Wiretap Request by President Trump
In October 2018, former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor said President Donald Trump asked a White House aide whether he could wiretap members of his own administration. Taylor described the discussion as occurring during a meeting of several officials in a rural Virginia cabin, where participants placed their electronic devices in a Faraday bag to block signals. Taylor’s account was published in a Substack post on Thursday.
Background and Context
Taylor, who resigned from the Trump administration after anonymously authoring a 2018 New York Times op-ed about a “quiet resistance” inside the government, said the wiretap idea emerged amid concerns about leaks concerning a Qatari-jet security review. CNN reported that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and FBI Director Kash Patel oversaw a crackdown that required some officials to turn over phones on White House grounds.
Official Statements and Responses
The White House, through spokesperson Abigail Jackson, dismissed Taylor as “a hack” and asserted that he is “wholly unqualified to speak about anything related to the President or his administration.” A senior White House official told CNN that leaks endangering the President, staff, and the traveling press pool are “a threat to national security” and that the administration will pursue legal means to identify the source.
Criticism and Opposition
Jackson’s remarks labeled Taylor an “irrelevant loser” who allegedly betrayed the American people by disclosing sensitive information. Taylor countered that Trump’s advisers began quietly sharing the wiretap claim with trusted confidants, warning staff that “the president wants to wiretap us.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “He wanted to know if he was being critiqued behind his back and who was leaking bad stories about him.” — Miles Taylor, Substack post
- “He raised the idea with the aide and, from what I know, was gently waved off—treated as if he’d said it by accident,” — Miles Taylor, Substack post
- “Leaks that jeopardize the safety of the President, his staff, and the traveling press pool are dangerous and a threat to national security. The White House takes these leaks seriously and will do everything legally to ensure the individual or individuals are caught and it does not happen again.” — White House official, CNN interview
- “He always has been and always will be an irrelevant loser who betrayed the American people by disclosing sensitive information through unauthorized methods and he is wholly unqualified to speak about anything related to the President or his administration,” — Abigail Jackson, White House spokesperson
- “The careerists have been purged. The loyalists are very firmly in place, though they shouldn’t get too confident that Trump believes they’re true ‘loyalists.’ He wants them to be watched, and now, they know that they are being watched,” — Miles Taylor, Substack post
