Scaramucci foul-mouthed attack on White House rivals

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Anthony Scaramucci has launched a series of foul-mouthed attacks on his White House colleagues as he pursues a campaign to stop leaks from the Trump administration – throwing the future of Reince Priebus as the president's chief of staff into further doubt.

The new White House communications director described Priebus as a "paranoid schizophrenic" in an interview with The New Yorker in which he used a number of profane terms to denounce the chief of staff, as well as criticize Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

Who's leaking?

On Thursday evening it emerged that Scaramucci had called The New Yorker the previous day, after details of a dinner he attended with President Donald Trump were leaked.

Scaramucci spoke to New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza about White House leaks. /Ryan Lizza Twitter

According to New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza, Scaramucci demanded the name of the leaker before threatening to fire the White House communications team. Lizza writes that Scaramucci then implored: “You’re an American citizen, this is a major catastrophe for the American country. So I’m asking you as an American patriot to give me a sense of who leaked it.”

Scaramucci attacked Bannon but withheld most of his ire for Priebus. Using a vulgar term, Scaramucci claimed that Priebus had blocked him from taking on a role in the White House for several months. Politico reported that Scaramucci has openly declared his desire to get rid of Priebus.

Lizza summarized that Scaramucci saw the leak – revealing that President Donald Trump was dining with Fox News host Sean Hannity and former Fox News executive Bill Shine -- as an attempt to undermine him.

Scaramucci tweets in response to uproar over his New Yorker interview

Scaramucci later said he was wrong to have trusted a reporter, but promised he would pull back from using "colorful language." Lizza noted in his story that Scaramucci had not requested the interview be off-the-record.

Stop the leaks!

In a CNN interview on Thursday morning, Scaramucci followed up a tweet (since deleted) in which he appeared to suggest Priebus was to blame for leaking his financial disclosure form.

"If he wants to prove he's not a leaker, let him prove it," he said. It later emerged that the form had been released after a public records request by Politico.

Scaramucci announced his intention to pursue leakers on his first Sunday show appearances last weekend.

Scaramucci has‍ pledged to clamp down on leaks

"One of the first things I want to do is to get the leaks stopped,” Scaramucci told Fox News Sunday.

"It’s Washington, so it’s going to be impossible to stop all of them, but I think what’s going on right now is a high level of unprofessionalism and it’s not serving the president. I will take dramatic action to stop those leaks.”

Goodbye, Priebus?

The attacks on Priebus suggest the former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman's time at the White House is nearing an end. His appointment as chief of staff was seen as an attempt by President Trump to bring the establishment on board after a highly populist presidential campaign.

Trump and Priebus celebrate victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. /China Daily Photo

Priebus has since lost his deputy Katie Walsh and ally Sean Spicer – both of whom worked with him at the RNC. He is even said to have struck up an unlikely alliance with Steve Bannon, the anti-establishment Trump adviser, against a White House power bloc led by Jared Kushner.

“Some brothers are like Cain and Abel," Scaramucci told CNN of his relationship with Priebus. "Other brothers can fight with each other and get along. I don’t know if this is reparable or not, that will be up to the president.”

The future for Priebus looks bleak, but it is clear the departure of Sean Spicer won't lead to a more traditional communications strategy. After just a week in the job, the fireworks under Scaramucci look like to be even more spectacular.