White House officials believe that the personal cell phone of President Donald Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly was compromised, Politico reported late Thursday.
Politico reported, citing three unnamed U.S. government officials, that Kelly’s personal cell phone was compromised potentially as early as December 2016.
According to the report, tech support staff examined Kelly’s phone for several days this summer when he told them his phone would not update software properly and had not been working properly for months. The staff ultimately concluded that it should no longer be used and was compromised, according to Politico.
Aides in September prepared a one-page memo on the subject, according to the report, and circulated the document through the White House.
An unnamed White House official told Politico that Kelly “relied on his government-issued phone for most communications” and “hadn’t used the personal phone often” since joining Trump’s administration, but did not dispute other details.
According to Politico, the official said Kelly no longer had the phone but did not say where the device is.
