White House Leak Policy Memo Itself Leaked to Press

An internal White House memo from senior aide Susie Wiles, instructing staff to halt unauthorized leaks to the press, was leaked to Politico on Friday. The March memo, published by Politico’s West Wing Playbook, outlined strict new media contact rules for the Executive Office of the President.

In the memo, Wiles stated:

"No staff member within the Executive Office of the President is permitted to speak with members of the news media without the explicit approval of the White House Communications Office. Unauthorized leaks will not be tolerated and are subject to sanction up to and including termination."

Wiles also framed compliance as a matter of national importance, warning:

"Violation of this policy can result in significant disruption to ongoing operations and can potentially endanger missions and activities of national significance."

Her push for tighter operational discipline comes amid ongoing tensions between the administration and the press. White House spokesperson Liz Huston defended the memo to Politico, emphasizing a "zero-tolerance policy against speaking to the media without explicit authorization."

The development follows recent clashes between Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the press, as well as continued criticism from former President Donald Trump targeting individual reporters and news networks.

Meanwhile, the administration’s disputes with Vanity Fair over its interviews with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles have taken another turn. While Trump’s team criticized the magazine’s framing, co-hosts of The View offered a contrasting perspective, arguing Wiles was deliberate in her remarks.

Wiles authored the memo just months after her own Vanity Fair interview, where she described the president as having "the personality of an alcoholic," called JD Vance’s political shift toward Trump "politically motivated," and referred to Elon Musk as an "avowed" ketamine user.