Dem senator: ‘Absolutely no national security issues’ with anonymous op-ed

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Sunday said he sees “absolutely no national security issues” with last week’s New York Times op-ed by an anonymous author claiming to be part of the “resistance” against President Trump within the administration.

“I wish that whoever had written the op-ed would have revealed their identity, but I see absolutely no national security issues,” Warner said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

{mosads}Warner’s comments came after Trump last week called on the Department of Justice to investigate the identity of the writer of the op-ed, arguing that it is a matter of national security.

Warner added on Sunday that he believes the White House is “in chaos” and that Trump is “becoming more and more untethered.”

He pointed to a number of incidents in recent months, including Trump’s summit in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the convictions of Trump’s former associates Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort and the president’s reactions to the op-ed and journalist Bob Woodward’s upcoming book about the Trump administration.

“It appears the walls are closing in on this president,” Warner said.  

The op-ed published in the Times last week roiled the White House and prompted Trump to call for the investigation into the identity of the author, which the Times described only as “a senior official in the Trump administration.”

In the op-ed, the official bashed Trump’s “amorality” and praised the work of “unsung heroes” who coordinate to thwart some of the president’s impulses.