Trump said whoever leaked information about stay in White House bunker should be ‘executed,’ author claims

After media outlets reported in May 2020 that then-President Trump was rushed to the White House underground bunker amid protests outside the building, Trump reportedly told some of his advisers that whoever leaked the information to the press “should be charged with treason” and “executed,” according to a new book.

The New York Times and other news outlets in May reported that Trump was held in the White House’s underground bunker, which was previously used during terrorist attacks, as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the building, shouting expletives at the president and hauling bricks and bottles following the police killing of George Floyd.

Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender writes in his new book, “Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost,” that the president complained about the leak of information regarding the bunker during a meeting with top military, law enforcement and West Wing advisers.

“Trump boiled over about the bunker story as soon as they arrived and shouted at them to smoke out whoever had leaked it. It was the most upset some aides had ever seen the president,” Bender writes, according to an excerpt obtained by CNN.

The book says that Trump yelled, “Whoever did that, they should be charged with treason!” and “They should be executed!”

The book is set to be released on Tuesday.

Bender writes that then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows “repeatedly tried to calm the president as startled aides avoided eye contact.”

“I’m on it. We’re going to find out who did it,” Meadows reportedly told Trump. 

According to Bender, Trump “repeatedly asked Meadows if he’d found the leaker.” 

Meadows reportedly became “obsessed” with tracking down the source.

Bender wrote that people who heard Trump’s warning “had interpreted the outburst as a sign of a president in panic.”

Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington rejected Bender’s reporting, calling it “completely false.”

“President Trump never said or suggested this to anyone, and this fact was given to the book’s author during the fact-checking process for this book,” she added.

This story is completely false.

President Trump never said or suggested this to anyone, and this fact was given to the book’s author during the fact-checking process for this book pic.twitter.com/HW3QK3Sz0i

— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) July 13, 2021

CNN reported at the time of the incident that Trump was held in the bunker for slightly less than an hour.

Trump, after reports circulated regarding the bunker stay, said he visited the room for only a short amount of time to “for inspection.”