A White House employee has been placed on administrative leave after undercover footage released by James O’Keefe’s media organization captured the official criticizing President Donald Trump and describing the administration as “chaotic.”
Benjamin Ellisten, identified as a senior budget analyst and funding manager for the White House, was recorded in conversations with an undercover journalist expressing frustration with Trump’s leadership and questioning the administration’s decision-making process.
According to footage published by O’Keefe Media Group, Ellisten described Trump as a “madman” and claimed the president was “f*cking it up for everybody.” He also reportedly said, “We gotta get rid of him.”
A White House official confirmed to the Daily Caller that Ellisten was subsequently placed on administrative leave. The official said Ellisten “has no direct access to the President or Senior Staff” and “does not work on the White House campus.”
The official also stated that Ellisten’s remarks were “not reflective of patriots who admirably serve in the Administration.”
In the undercover footage, Ellisten criticized Trump’s leadership style, calling the president “erratic” and “scary.” He also questioned Trump’s handling of international affairs and speculated about the president’s influence on oil prices and financial markets.
“The president knows that he affects how people react to the stock market,” Ellisten said in the recording.
The recordings also featured Maxim Lott, a special assistant on domestic policy in the White House, discussing disorder inside the administration.
Lott reportedly told the undercover journalist that “the decision-making processes are a little bit chaotic” and described the federal government as “a little bit uncontrolled.”
He also suggested that lower-level officials sometimes make policy judgments based on what they believe Trump would support, rather than receiving direct presidential guidance on every issue.
“In theory, everything should sort of come from the president,” Lott said in the footage. “But it might come from the level below him.”
After the footage became public, Lott issued a statement defending his comments and reaffirming his support for the administration.
“I went out with an individual I thought was a genuine person, but it goes to show how insidious politics and this city can be,” Lott said. “Nothing I said was contradictory of this Administration, and I remain fully committed to carrying out its agenda.”
The incident is the latest in a series of undercover political sting operations conducted by James O’Keefe and O’Keefe Media Group, which utilizes hidden-camera recordings obtained through undercover meetings.
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