Close Trump Aide Jettisoned from the White House Because He’s Under Investigation for “Serious Financial Crimes”

It’s quite the coincidence how many financial criminals and money launderers pop up in Trump’s orbit, huh? Lost in the chaos of Rex Tillerson’s unceremonious firing via Twitter today was a close Trump aide getting expelled from the White House “without being allowed to collect his belongings.” The Wall Street Journal was the first to break the story:

President Donald Trump’s personal assistant, John McEntee, was escorted out of the White House on Monday, two senior administration officials said. The cause of the firing was an unspecified security issue, said a third White House official with knowledge of the situation.

CNN soon followed up with the rationale behind McEntee’s abrupt dismissal:

President Donald Trump’s longtime personal aide John McEntee was fired because he is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes, a source familiar with his firing told CNN.

The charges are not related to the President, the source said.

Minutes after news of his departure broke, the Trump campaign announced McEntee would be joining the reelection effort as a senior adviser for campaign operations.

Axios’s Jonathan Swan touched on how devastating this will be for morale inside the White House.

Trump family loves Johnny McEntee.. became like family. This was sudden and shocking to inner circle. https://t.co/X1yLR08C2r

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) March 13, 2018

It’s impossible to speculate what kind of potential financial crimes jettisoned McEntee from the White House, but they must be pretty serious if the Department of Homeland Security is running point on the investigation.

McEntee is 27 years old. This is the entirety of his White House financial disclosures. Does not scream “serious financial crimes.” pic.twitter.com/2BahVWsGLP

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) March 13, 2018

Only time will tell whether McEntee is actually guilty of anything, but the fact that he was escorted from the premises without being allowed to gather his belongings is proof that some in the federal government view him as a potentially serious threat to law and order.

Jacob Weindling is a staff writer for Paste politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling.