WASHINGTON – Newly revealed text messages reviewed by Breitbart News offer a differing account regarding the arrangement of Katie Zacharia’s Fox News interview, challenging a prior report published by Politico. These communications suggest Zacharia, then a White House press secretary, proactively sought media appearances, including her segment with host Sean Hannity. The texts surfaced as the White House continues to push back against what it describes as inaccurate reporting by Politico concerning internal staff dynamics and media engagements.
Politico published an article on October 16 under the headline “Susie Wiles helped set up Fox interview ahead of press secretary’s exit.” That piece reported that Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff, played a significant role in arranging Zacharia’s appearance on Fox News on Thursday. However, a White House official, speaking to Breitbart News, stated that Politico had already obtained relevant text messages from the White House before running its story. According to this official, those messages indicated that Zacharia herself initiated the booking process for media engagements.
One specific exchange, dated Wednesday morning, shows Zacharia sending a message to a White House official. She wrote, “I’d like to do news hits morning and evening.” She followed this with two additional lines: “If you could book those m-f” and “To the extent possible.” This communication occurred the day before Zacharia’s interview with Sean Hannity aired.
Another thread of text messages, dating to Tuesday afternoon, hours after Zacharia had concluded a press briefing, further supports the White House’s counter-narrative. In this thread, a Fox News producer relayed that Zacharia had offered to appear on Hannity’s program that same evening. The producer wrote, “Katie said she can join us from the rally tonight.” President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak at a rally in Alaska that night. A White House official responded to the producer, stating, “I don’t believe the timing works,” and subsequently explained the conflict. President Trump would either be speaking during Hannity’s 9 p.m. Eastern time slot or would have just finished his remarks, making Zacharia’s live appearance unfeasible. Consequently, the interview did not take place on Tuesday night, but Zacharia did appear on Hannity’s show on Thursday. The following day, President Trump offered Zacharia an off-ramp from her press secretary post, concluding a tenure that had lasted five days.
Politico’s October 16 article did not reference these text messages. Instead, it drew on anonymous sources. One such source claimed that Wiles and White House spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez “fed” Zacharia to Hannity. The White House official also recounted a conversation with a Politico reporter. In this account, the reporter allegedly conceded that editors would not remove Wiles from the story because she served as the “hook” for the narrative.
This October 16 article was part of a series of Politico reports concerning the White House. An earlier Politico piece reported that President Trump was considering replacing Wiles with one of five individuals. President Trump vehemently rejected that report and characterized the narrative as “bullshit.” He provided an on-the-record statement to Politico, which the outlet subsequently published in its article. President Trump stated, “TOTAL FAKE NEWS Politico doesn’t care about facts, integrity, or honest journalism — it’s why I kicked them out of the White House! Susie Wiles is my loyal and longest serving Chief of Staff — there is a reason for that. She has been with me
