Allegation (labeled). On January 22, 2020, Paul Sperry wrote in RealClearInvestigations that unnamed former colleagues said Eric Ciaramella — identified in that reporting as the anonymous whistleblower — was overheard at the White House in early 2017 discussing with Sean Misko how to remove President Trump. RCI attributed the scene to a staff-wide NSC meeting called by then–National Security Adviser Michael Flynn in the south auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. One anonymous staffer, described as a military detailee seated in front of the two men, is quoted as recalling: “After Flynn briefed [the staff] about what ‘America First’ foreign policy means, Ciaramella turned to Misko and commented, ‘We need to take him out.’” And, the same account continues, “Misko replied, ‘Yeah, we need to do everything we can to take out the president.’” The source told RCI that by “taking him out” they meant removing him from office. Daily Wire the same week recapped the RCI piece as reporting.
Those quoted sentences are second-hand. They come from anonymous sources speaking to a reporter. This site has no audio, no official transcript, and no contemporaneous memo of the alleged exchange. RCI also wrote that sources said Misko later “offered ‘guidance’” to the whistleblower after joining Schiff’s committee. That, too, is an anonymous-source allegation. It is not a finding.
Denial (labeled). On January 3, 2021, HPSCI Democrats issued a statement naming Misko. They said the attacks published by the Washington Examiner, RealClearInvestigations, and Breitbart “are all false.” They said Misko “never met with or provided guidance to any whistleblowers regarding complaints they wished to file, including the anonymous Ukraine whistleblower.” They added that “the conspiracy theory that the unknown Ukraine whistleblower ‘colluded’ with Committee staff to ‘hatch an impeachment’ or ‘coup’” is “totally baseless and false,” as is “the equally fanciful claim that Grace, Misko, or any other Committee staff plotted with other U.S. officials to ‘take out’ the President.” RealClearInvestigations, in a February 4, 2021, follow-up, appended that committee line after asking for comment.
Judicial Watch announced on January 19, 2024, a FOIA lawsuit, Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Defense, No. 1:24-cv-00068, seeking any report a military officer submitted about that alleged 2017 conversation. A FOIA complaint is a request for records. It is not a court finding that the conversation occurred. As of this writing, this page does not treat a later production — if any — as read unless a public document is cited. Allegation. Denial. No transcript. No invented crime.