Entertainment
Report claims Susie Wiles steered Katie Zacharia into the Hannity grilling that sank her
Politico sources claim Susie Wiles arranged Katie Zacharia's rough Hannity interview as a sanctioned hit. A White House official says that is not her style.
Katie Zacharia's brief stint as White House press secretary may not have ended by accident. A new Politico report claims her bruising Fox News sit-down was arranged by President Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Two unnamed sources told the outlet that Wiles set up Zacharia's Thursday appearance on "Hannity" as what one called a "sanctioned hit."
The interview that went wrong
On the show Zacharia struggled to explain why she had described herself as an attorney in several social media posts even though she never passed the bar. She tried to separate the word "lawyer" from "attorney" while still calling herself a lawyer. Sean Hannity pushed back hard.
Trump let her go the next day after only five days on the job. Shortly before she was dismissed the president said he had told her to rethink taking the role.
What the sources claim
According to one source Wiles approved the move because Zacharia was never her pick for the podium. The second source said Wiles worked with White House spokesperson Danielle Alvarez to put Zacharia in front of Hannity.
The White House pushes back
A senior White House official rejected that account. The official said Wiles had no need to set anyone up for Hannity or anyone else and that such a tactic is not how she operates.
The same official said it was Zacharia's Friday turn on "Fox & Friends" that sealed her fate.
The White House has not named who will take over the briefing room next.
More like this
Hannity presses Katie Zacharia on why she called herself a lawyer
Katie Zacharia was pulled from the press secretary job mid-interview with the Journal
Trump taps conservative commentator Katie Zacharia to be his next press secretary
Katie Zacharia greets White House reporters by refusing to answer anything