The secret plan to replace the unwanted press secretary was undertaken last fall and involved attracting outside allies, the report said.
“There were a number of people she asked to engage Karine,” one source with experience working in several administrations said. He also added that White House chief of staff Jeff Zients was aware of the situation.
The officials tried to involve people whom Jean-Pierre knows and trusts, according to the report, adding that Zients and Dunn were trying to find Jean-Pierre a graceful exit.
One source stressed that the press secretary sometimes does not understand the issues that she has to discuss with reporters during press briefings. “Karine doesn’t have an understanding of the issues and she reads the book [binder] word-for-word,” said the source.
However, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates rejected the allegations about his boss. He called the claims in the report “false,” adding that the reality is absolutely different.
“Karine was never approached by anyone with such a message. She spends four hours preparing every day. And neither Jeff nor Anita did any such thing; both have been unflinchingly supportive of her,” Bates said, according to the report.
The report also said that Jean-Pierre received and rejected in December an offer to become a President of EMILYs List, an organization that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office.