White House chief of staff Susie Wiles sent an email to staff warning them not to leak information to the media in late March. That email was then leaked to Politico.
Wiles said in the email that “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,” according to Politico.
“Unauthorized leaks will not be tolerated and are subject to sanction up to and including termination,” the email said.
White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in an email to Politico that White House staffers are held to strict policies, including a “zero-tolerance policy against speaking to the media without explicit authorization from the Communications Office.”
This is “to ensure the President’s message is communicated clearly, accurately and directly to the American people,” she added.
