Report: Former press secretary for Jill Biden forced to RESIGN after bringing “gay date” to a secure hotel floor
The former press secretary for First Lady Jill Biden was forced to resign after bringing a male partner to a secure hotel floor in Spain where the first family was staying.
Insiders told the Daily Mail that openly gay Michael LaRosa, who served as press secretary to the first lady from 2021 to 2022, brought a male date he just met at the InterContinental Madrid twice on the same trip. A source from the Secret Service attested to this, adding that the incident happened during the June 2022 summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
"He was caught by [the] Secret Service not once, but twice bringing dates to a secure floor – obviously putting the first lady's safety at risk," said a senior White House staffer. "You're not supposed to bring people in who are not fully vetted."
"Even if it's just for a platonic cup of coffee, there are serious issues with bringing someone up to a secure floor," a second source added. "The biggest thing is that he was warned, and then he did it again."
A third source chimed in, telling the Mail: "As someone that has traveled with the president, when you are on those trips, it is just unfathomable [that] you would break the security bubble – especially for something like a hookup with a random person. That is a deeply dangerous security faux pas."
LaRosa defended himself when asked by the tabloid, admitting that the date did take place. "We met at the [NATO] conference; he worked for another country's delegation," he said. "And we went out for drinks."
The former press secretary also reiterated that the incident only happened once, contrary to what insiders claimed. "There was no violation," he insisted.
LaRosa's gay date was the last straw
Because of the breach of security protocol, LaRosa stepped down as the first lady's press secretary in July 2022 to work in the private sector. White House officials publicly lauded him for his more than a year of service in the executive branch. However, his erstwhile colleagues were anxious to see him depart.
Some of them spoke to the Mail, telling the tabloid that LaRosa was becoming increasingly unreliable before his resignation. They claim he'd inexplicably disappear from work for hours, missing calls and meetings. Worse, he would often leak information to the media – with one instance putting the First Lady's trip to Ukraine at risk.
"He tipped off reporters to the off-the-record movement into [Ukraine] before it was announced – putting the entire trip, operation, staff [and the] first lady's security at risk," said a White House official. "[LaRosa] admitted afterward that he had tipped them off."
Another White House source described LaRosa's erratic temperament, recounting: "There were frequent times when he would storm out of meetings and call everybody f***ing ridiculous, and things like that. He was talked to about his behavior and told you can't yell at colleagues, that you have to modulate your temper."
A third source commented: "The real broader problems started to come toward the end of his tenure when he would randomly snap at people including junior staff." A fourth staffer concurred, saying: "It was clear that he was not happy, and I think he took that out on others, and it made for him not being a great colleague toward the end."
Ultimately, the June 2022 incident in Madrid served as the last straw. As remarked by a senior staffer, it wasn't like he was fired the next day, but it was made clear to him that it was time for him to leave."
No comments