Former White House aide and “Apprentice” alum Omarosa Manigault Newman released audio clips that she claims to have recorded during interactions with President Donald Trump and Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Here are the latest updates:
Update 7:28 a.m. EDT Aug. 13: "Apprentice" alum Omarosa Manigault Newman has released an audio clip that she says was taken during a phone call with President Donald Trump the day after she was fired from her White House job in December.
ate that Trump did not know White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had fired Newman the day before.
"Omarosa, what's going on? I just saw on the news that you're thinking about leaving. What happened?" a man, purportedly Trump, says in the clip.
He later adds: “Nobody even told me about it. You know they run a big operation, but I didn’t know it. I didn’t know that. [Expletive] it. I don’t love you leaving at all.”
>> Listen to the clip here (WARNING: Audio includes profanity.)
#Breaking: @OMAROSA provides @NBCNews with this exclusive excerpt of a recording of a phone call that she says she received from President Trump the day after White House Chief of Staff John Kelly fired her. pic.twitter.com/OJe47RdcDC
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 13, 2018
Original report: "Apprentice" alum Omarosa Manigault Newman claims that she taped the moment she was fired from her job as an adviser to President Donald Trump – and released the audio to NBC's "Meet the Press."
EXCLUSIVE: @OMAROSA releases secret audio recording of meeting when Chief of Staff John Kelly fired her. #MTP
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 12, 2018
Omarosa: “Is the president aware of what’s going on?” pic.twitter.com/ZTeS7fzz5b
On Sunday, the news show aired the clips, which Newman said were taken in the White House Situation Room as Chief of Staff John Kelly fired her in December.
"It's come to my attention over the last few months that there's been some pretty, in my opinion, significant integrity issues," a man, purportedly Kelly, can be heard saying in the recording.
He later adds: "I think it's important to understand that if we make this a friendly departure ... you can look at your time here in the White House as a year of service to the nation, and then you can go on without any type of difficulty in the future relative to your reputation."
Newman told "Meet the Press" that she believed the latter was a threat.
"He goes on to say that 'things can get ugly for you,'" said Newman, whose book, "Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House," hits stores Tuesday. "The chief of staff of the United States, under the direction of the president of the United States, threatening me on damage to my reputation and things getting ugly for me – that's downright criminal."
EXCLUSIVE: @OMAROSA tells @chucktodd that John Kelly firing was a "threat." #IfItsSunday pic.twitter.com/z66GFI03YX
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 12, 2018
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement Sunday night condemning Newman's actions.
"The very idea a staff member would sneak a recording device into the White House Situation Room shows a blatant disregard for our national security – and then to brag about it on national television further proves the lack of character and integrity of this disgruntled former White House employee," Sanders said.
CNN reported that electronic devices such as cellphones are not allowed in the Situation Room.
White House officials are exploring "legal options" to prevent Newman from sharing more audio, ABC News reported Sunday evening.
Cox Media Group
