A forthcoming book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, Regime Change, has prompted the White House to initiate a “massive leak hunt,” according to CNN’s Brian Stelter, as reported by Poynter. The book, due June 23, details internal White House tensions over Donald Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Excerpt Details White House Response to Epstein Fallout
The New York Times published an excerpt from Regime Change describing how Trump’s administration handled the fallout from Epstein’s ties to the president. According to the report, senior officials met in the Situation Room—where Obama’s team monitored the Osama bin Laden raid—without Trump to manage the crisis. The president “made clear to his aides that he had no interest in releasing anything related to Epstein,” the authors wrote, adding that he “snapped at anyone who raised the issue.”
The excerpt also states that Trump attempted to suppress a Wall Street Journal story about his Epstein ties by contacting the paper’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, and editor-in-chief Emma Tucker. “Practically shouting, the president told Tucker… that she must ‘hate America,’” the New York Times reported. A staff member later delivered printed copies of the story to the group, who “sat quietly reading” it before issuing a public denial.
Leak Hunt Amid Internal Tensions
The book’s release has triggered “a massive leak hunt,” a source told Stelter, as officials worry about information disclosed by the authors. Haberman and Swan’s reporting is based on “hundreds of interviews” with White House staff, including Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The authors also cited Vance’s push to release “everything—even unsubstantiated material—to earn credit for transparency.”
The New York Times noted lingering distrust between then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI officials over the Epstein story, including accusations of media leaks. The book’s release has intensified scrutiny of how information flowed within the administration, with one source suggesting the leak hunt could involve “multiple agencies.”
Book’s Scope and Controversy
Regime Change is described as “based on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented reporting from deep within the administration’s most closely guarded rooms.” The authors conducted 1,000 interviews with “campaign officials, White House staff members, officials serving in government departments and agencies, former aides, donors, lawmakers, friends and business associates,” including Trump himself.
The book’s focus on Epstein aligns with previous reporting by Haberman and Swan, who previously revealed how Trump’s team navigated the Iran war crisis. The latest excerpt has drawn sharp reactions, with Trump criticizing the authors on Truth Social and calling the Wall Street Journal story a “total disaster.”
The White House has not commented publicly on the leak hunt or the book’s claims. The authors’ access to internal conversations underscores the challenges of maintaining secrecy in high-stakes political environments.
Find more reporting in our World section.
