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White House press secretary Sean Spicer departs after a briefing at the White House June 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. Spicer answered a range of questions from reporters on various subjects including Republican efforts to reform health care and the recent death of American college student Otto Warmbier during the briefing. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Amid new rounds of reporting about the breadth of information being sought from current and former White House officials by Robert Mueller, the special counsel now probing possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia, political reporter and Axios co-founder Mike Allen suggests that a potential "honey pot" of information might also be found in the copious notes taken by former press secretary Sean Spicer.
As Allen reports Thursday, "Former colleagues of [Spicer] tell Axios that he filled 'notebook after notebook' during meetings at the Republican National Committee, later at the Trump campaign, and then at the White House."
But after reaching out to Spicer himself for comment on the existence of his notebooks, Allen--instead of a "no comment"--was given a cease and desist.
In a subsequent email, sent in response to an earlier request for comment, Spicer accuses Allen of "harrassment" and repeats his warning that if contacted again he "contact the appropriate legal authorities."
\u201cOPERATOR: 911, what's your emergency?\n\nSPICER: Mike Allen just sent me a text and I'm scared\n\nOPERATOR: Sir, remain calm, help is on the way https://t.co/bmmsFrExOH\u201d— Judd Legum (@Judd Legum) 1505995221
And while Allen is not without critics for his style of political journalism, it seemed clear from social media postings that Spicer was taking the brunt for this exchange.
\u201cPretty much every person talking about Mike Allen right now knows he's a deeply unethical journalist, but is ignoring it to bash Spicer.\u201d— Alan Smithee (@Alan Smithee) 1505995557
\u201cWait, what? @seanspicer threatens to report @mikeallen to the "appropriate authorities" for, uh, texting him? https://t.co/BdSGyeFOsb\u201d— Oliver Darcy (@Oliver Darcy) 1505995775
\u201cThe Spicer-Allen email spat leads me to believe Young Sean is hearing Muellersteps behind him.\nAlso, do I really have to pick a side here?\u201d— Charles P. Pierce (@Charles P. Pierce) 1506002420
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Amid new rounds of reporting about the breadth of information being sought from current and former White House officials by Robert Mueller, the special counsel now probing possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia, political reporter and Axios co-founder Mike Allen suggests that a potential "honey pot" of information might also be found in the copious notes taken by former press secretary Sean Spicer.
As Allen reports Thursday, "Former colleagues of [Spicer] tell Axios that he filled 'notebook after notebook' during meetings at the Republican National Committee, later at the Trump campaign, and then at the White House."
But after reaching out to Spicer himself for comment on the existence of his notebooks, Allen--instead of a "no comment"--was given a cease and desist.
In a subsequent email, sent in response to an earlier request for comment, Spicer accuses Allen of "harrassment" and repeats his warning that if contacted again he "contact the appropriate legal authorities."
\u201cOPERATOR: 911, what's your emergency?\n\nSPICER: Mike Allen just sent me a text and I'm scared\n\nOPERATOR: Sir, remain calm, help is on the way https://t.co/bmmsFrExOH\u201d— Judd Legum (@Judd Legum) 1505995221
And while Allen is not without critics for his style of political journalism, it seemed clear from social media postings that Spicer was taking the brunt for this exchange.
\u201cPretty much every person talking about Mike Allen right now knows he's a deeply unethical journalist, but is ignoring it to bash Spicer.\u201d— Alan Smithee (@Alan Smithee) 1505995557
\u201cWait, what? @seanspicer threatens to report @mikeallen to the "appropriate authorities" for, uh, texting him? https://t.co/BdSGyeFOsb\u201d— Oliver Darcy (@Oliver Darcy) 1505995775
\u201cThe Spicer-Allen email spat leads me to believe Young Sean is hearing Muellersteps behind him.\nAlso, do I really have to pick a side here?\u201d— Charles P. Pierce (@Charles P. Pierce) 1506002420
Amid new rounds of reporting about the breadth of information being sought from current and former White House officials by Robert Mueller, the special counsel now probing possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia, political reporter and Axios co-founder Mike Allen suggests that a potential "honey pot" of information might also be found in the copious notes taken by former press secretary Sean Spicer.
As Allen reports Thursday, "Former colleagues of [Spicer] tell Axios that he filled 'notebook after notebook' during meetings at the Republican National Committee, later at the Trump campaign, and then at the White House."
But after reaching out to Spicer himself for comment on the existence of his notebooks, Allen--instead of a "no comment"--was given a cease and desist.
In a subsequent email, sent in response to an earlier request for comment, Spicer accuses Allen of "harrassment" and repeats his warning that if contacted again he "contact the appropriate legal authorities."
\u201cOPERATOR: 911, what's your emergency?\n\nSPICER: Mike Allen just sent me a text and I'm scared\n\nOPERATOR: Sir, remain calm, help is on the way https://t.co/bmmsFrExOH\u201d— Judd Legum (@Judd Legum) 1505995221
And while Allen is not without critics for his style of political journalism, it seemed clear from social media postings that Spicer was taking the brunt for this exchange.
\u201cPretty much every person talking about Mike Allen right now knows he's a deeply unethical journalist, but is ignoring it to bash Spicer.\u201d— Alan Smithee (@Alan Smithee) 1505995557
\u201cWait, what? @seanspicer threatens to report @mikeallen to the "appropriate authorities" for, uh, texting him? https://t.co/BdSGyeFOsb\u201d— Oliver Darcy (@Oliver Darcy) 1505995775
\u201cThe Spicer-Allen email spat leads me to believe Young Sean is hearing Muellersteps behind him.\nAlso, do I really have to pick a side here?\u201d— Charles P. Pierce (@Charles P. Pierce) 1506002420