President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn as he arrives at the White House, Sunday, June 30, 2019, in Washington. Trump returns from a visit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea as well as the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

If you’ve been wondering how so much of what Trump says in the privacy of the Oval Office manages to make its way to The New York Times and other outlets, we might have an answer.

Over the years, we’ve seen more stories than I can keep up with leaked to the press centering on something Trump supposedly said in private. Often they center on harmless, off the cuff statements (such as the “nuke hurricanes” flap) that are then printed to try to embarrass the President. Context, whether something was actually a joke, or whether it’s even being presented truthfully never seems to matter and since everything is anonymous, it can never be countered.

Now, Trump’s most trusted executive assistant has been caught leaking details, not just about happenings in the Oval Office, but also about his family.

Trump’s personal asst. Madeleine Westerhout is gone after “indiscreetly shared details about his family and the Oval Office operations she was part of during a recent off-the-record dinner with reporters” @anniekarni and @maggieNYT report. https://t.co/8Pp7rQdqSX

— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) August 30, 2019

Westerhout’s departure followed reports that she had attended an off-the-record dinner with reporters at the president’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, sharing inside information about what went on the Oval Office as well as personal details about the Trump family.

This isn’t something that just happens once. You can bet your savings that she’s being doing this for a very long time. She just happened to get caught this time.

In fact, it’s no surprise that many media members are painting her in a sympathetic light after the resignation. They just lost what was probably their main source into the President’s inner circle. Outlets like Axios and The New York Times have seemingly had a direct line into the Oval Office since Trump was inaugurated. Westerhout may not be the only source, but she appears to be a major one and it explains so much about how the press got ahold of personal comments that only a handful of people would have heard.

Westerhout will now learn a hard lesson, namely that the press didn’t really care about her. I’m sure they flattered her and made her feel special while she had the goods. Now that she’s gone, she’ll be cast aside as worthless. She could have kept her job for decades to come, long after Trump left the White House and now that’s gone. All to get some plaudits from Maggie Haberman and company. I have a feeling she’s regretting that decision.

Perhaps she can earn a bit role on MSNBC for a few months though.

I’ve got a new twitter! Please help by following @bonchieredstate.