Early in January, the Trump administration announced a ban on all personal cell phone use in the White House. The cause of the ban is somewhat of a mystery and staffers have been warned it will reportedly be strictly enforced:
Staff members are encouraged to leave their personal devices in their cars, at home, in offices outside the West Wing or in lockers that have been installed in White House lobby areas, according to the memo.
“Violations of this policy by [Executive Office of the President] staff are security incidents that may indicate knowing, willful, and negligent conduct in violation of security policy and may therefore result in disciplinary action and, for other Federal employees and visitors, may include being indefinitely prohibited from entering the White House complex,” the memo says.
Now a report from the New York Daily News may shed some light on why the cell phone ban came down:
Former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault-Newman may have taped confidential West Wing conversations and fears being caught up in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, sources told the Daily News on Thursday.
The former reality TV star’s official last day in the Trump administration is Saturday — despite the abrupt announcement of her departure last month — and her next step seems to be lawyering up.
The soon-to-be former assistant to President Trump and director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison has held exploratory meetings with several high profile attorneys for potential representation, a source told The News.
Oh, lordy—Omarosa Manigault-Newman might have the tapes. The Hill reports she was widely known for recording conversations:
Sources told the Daily News that Manigault Newman, who abruptly resigned from the White House late last year, “loves” to record meetings. Her official last day in the administration is Saturday.
“Everyone knows Omarosa loves to record people and meetings using the voice notes app on her iPhone,” one source said. “Don’t be surprised if she has secret audio files on everyone in that White House, past and present staffers included.”
In December, Omarosa Manigault-Newman was reportedly fired and escorted out of the White House by security. She and the White House later said she was leaving to pursue other opportunities and yada, yada. She reportedly had her credentials revoked and didn’t have access to the White House, but for reasons unknown, her official separation date wasn't until January 20, 2018, which would get her to her one year anniversary date.
Omarosa later claimed that she resigned, but if she was truly tossed out by security, she doesn’t seem like the type to forget that type of slight.
Stay tuned.