'Blame game': CNN reporters stunned by 'extraordinary' retreat by Trump official

CNN reporter Jeff Zeleny remarked on Wednesday that deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller is in full retreat mode after spinning a false story about a Minneapolis man was shot and killed by federal agents over the weekend.

Speaking beside Zeleny, senior White House reporter Betsy Klein cited a recent statement from Miller saying The White House "provided clear guidance to DHS that the extra personnel that had been sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors."

Host John Berman crafted a flowchart that shows the "blame game" has begun with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Noem is defending herself, insisting" everything I've done, I've done at the discretion of the president and Stephen Miller," Axios reported on Tuesday.

Miller, in turn, is blaming U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

"Any early comments made were based on information sent to the White House through CBP," Miller told Axios.

The comment came just days after Miller accused Alex Jeffrey Pretti of being an "assassin" who "tried to murder federal agents."

Axios reported that a source briefed on the process claimed Miller "heard 'gun' and knew what the narrative would be: Pretti came to 'massacre' cops."

"Stephen Miller isn't doing this simply because he suddenly had a change of heart. He's doing this because even a few Republicans, a small but growing number of Republicans, are beginning to confront and challenge and question this administration," said Zeleny.

"It is all coming, of course, as the very a mission in Minnesota is being reviewed and it's a funding review from ICE," he continued.

"But Stephen Miller knows the president is unhappy about this," the reporter said. "That's why he is sort of backpedaling here. But the bigger picture, it's not just optics here. Is policy actually going to change? And that is very much unclear. One huge difference from this administration versus the first Trump administration: he's very reluctant to fire anyone. In the first administration, people were being fired all the time, week by week. That has not happened. So I do not expect any firings here."

Still it is a "dramatic change of position here," Zeleny continued.

He urged viewers to "keep your eye on Stephen Miller. He's viewed as a liability in some circles here. He's very close to the president. I don't expect him to go anywhere. But that statement that Betsy was reading is extraordinary because we have never seen a retreat like that from him."

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