Why the anonymous op-ed on Trump administration sets a dangerous precedent

Regardless of its legality, as a scholar who studies political ethics, I would argue the decision to write this op-ed is likely unethical, and could set a dangerous precedent

The New York Times recently published an anonymous op-ed from a “senior official” in the Trump administration. In the op-ed, the unnamed author describes President Donald Trump as “impetuous, adversarial, petty, and ineffective.” He or she depicts a White House in which the author – together with like-minded colleagues – work to undermine the president’s “half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless” decisions.

A tweet from the president, in what appears to be in reference to the op-ed, asked: Treason?

Some commentators, making clear that they had difference of opinion with President Trump’s policies, nonetheless, condemned the author