Susie Wiles Reportedly Arranged Disastrous Katie Zacharia Interview on Hannity: ‘Sanctioned Hit’

The call was coming from inside the house.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles reportedly pulled the strings that put White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia in the line of fire on Fox News this week, a day before Zacharia was given the boot.

Zacharia’s disastrous debut on Tuesday — in which she took the White House briefing room podium for just 14 shaky minutes — was followed up with an equally concerning appearance Thursday on Hannity, where anchor Sean Hannity grilled the California mother of four over her performance.

It marked a serious pivot for Hannity, who initially defended Zacharia against the “abusively biased corrupt news media.”

One source told Politico  Zacharia’s appearance with the normally Trump-friendly anchor amounted to a “sanctioned hit,” while a second person told the outlet that Wiles and White House Spokesperson Danielle Alvarez “fed” Zacharia to Hannity.

Hannity and Wiles, 69, are friendly — and Zacharia was not Wiles’ first choice to succeed outgoing press secretary Karoline Leavitt, according to the report.

Another official disagreed.

“Susie and Sean do talk, but Susie did not need to feed her to Sean or anybody else. It’s not her style.”

“And Hannity wasn’t the nail in her coffin; her hit [on Fox & Friends] this morning was, as well as her weird answer on being a lawyer,” the official speaking to Politico on the condition of anonymity, said.

The report comes days after Politico claimed President Donald Trump was thinking of replacing Wiles.

Zacharia, 41, was also facing intensifying criticism over claims she was an attorney.

While she admitted she never passed the bar exam, Zacharia represented herself on LinkedIn as a “general counsel” and listed herself as an associate at a law firm in China.

The president had described Zacharia, who is believed to be staying with the administration, as an attorney.

The White House did not immediately respond to Mediaite’s request for comment.

On Friday, Hannity appeared to shrug at the firestorm created by his grilling of Zacharia, telling senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy, “I just expected a different answer” from her.

Zacharia declined comment to Politico, while White House communications director Steven Cheung slammed the report as “speculation.”

“All of this breathless speculation is just that— speculation. And it’s fiction that’s not even creative,” Cheung told Politico. “Katie took on a very important job, and she will continue to support the President as she transitions to a new role. She is an amazing teammate and tremendous talent.”

A Fox rep denied the White House had a hand in arranging the interview, saying Hannity alone decides who appears on his show.

“That’s been true for three decades, through several administrations, and that authenticity is why he’s been number one for nearly 30 years,” the network said in a statement to Politico.

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