In an explosive set of articles in Vanity Fair, journalist Christopher Whipple, author of a book on chiefs of staff, conducted 11 interviews with President Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles over the course of a year. Wiles characterized President Trump as having an “alcoholic’s personality” and said that she urged him not to pardon the most violent rioters from the January 6 insurrection. In the interview, she said that she thought Trump’s efforts to go after his political enemies would end after 90 days, and mentioned that his campaign against New York Attorney General Letitia James “may look like retribution.” Wiles also said that Vice President JD Vance has “been a conspiracy theorist for a decade,” and called Russell Vought, the budget director, “a right-wing absolute zealot.” She also called Elon Musk “an avowed ketamine” user and blasted his dismantling of USAID, saying, “No rational person could think the USAID process was a good one. Nobody.” On immigration, Wiles said, “I will concede that we’ve got to look harder at our process for deportation.” Wiles also criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, saying, “She said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn’t on her desk.” Meanwhile, the deadline for the Justice Department to release the Epstein files is set for Friday, December 19.