US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has denied writing a newspaper article that described Donald Trump as “erratic” and “amoral”.
The anonymous piece in the New York Times said an internal “resistance” was working to thwart some of the president’s “worst inclinations”.
It added that the “erratic behaviour would be more concerning if it weren’t for unsung heroes in and around the White House”.
“The root of the problem is the president’s amorality,” the writer claimed.
“Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making.”
Mr Pompeo told reporters in New Delhi it was “not mine”, adding that “it shouldn’t surprise anyone” that the New York Times chose to print “such a piece”.
The paper should not have opted “to take a disgruntled, deceptive, bad actor’s word for anything”, he said.
Publishing the article was the “only way to deliver an important perspective” to its readers, the paper argued.
But Mr Pompeo claimed the media was trying to undermine the Trump administration – something he found “incredibly disturbing”.
In a tweet, the president described the anonymous writer as “gutless”.
He wrote: “Does the so-called “Senior Administration Official” really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?
“The Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!”