Was Anthony Scaramucci Sacked Over His Relationship With Kimberly Guilfoyle?
Reports of a rumored relationship with Fox News anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle led to the ouster of Anthony Scaramucci as the White House communications director, according to the Mercury News.
Guilfoyle was at the dinner at the White House July 26, which was leaked to the media, TMZ reported.
Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker had tweeted about the dinner. This angered "the Mooch" to such an extent that he called up Lizza and burst into an "obscene-laden tirade," according to the Mercury News.
Lizza published portions of the conversation he had with Scaramucci over the phone, which is also being cited as the primary reason for Scaramucci's removal.
However, President Donald Trump was concerned the relationship between Scaramucci and Guilfoyle was becoming a distraction for the entire White House team, Huffington Post reported. Moreover, the president does not like his subordinates stealing attention from him.
Read: Anthony Scaramucci Offensive May See Reince Priebus Leave White House
Despite the rumors, Scaramucci has denied being involved in any kind of sexual relationship with the Fox News host. Roger Stone, a friend of Guilfoyle’s, said she and the Mooch "are very close friends but nothing more," Huffington Post reported.
Stone also jokingly said: "He [Scaramucci] is way too short for Kimberly.”
Guilfoyle said that she and Scaramucci are “good friends,” according to a Fox News spokesperson quoted by the Huffington Post.
Scaramucci’s personal life has been in turmoil since the past few months. His wife, Deidre Ball, filed for divorce while she was nine months pregnant. When she gave birth to their son July 26, Scaramucci congratulated her by sending a text message, according to reports.
He also tweeted asking people to pray for his family.
Ball filed the divorce papers July 6 in Nassau County Supreme Court, New York. However, she did not initiate the divorce proceedings, her attorney told People.
“I don’t know where that came from, but it is not accurate. It is a false fact,” Jill Stone, a divorce lawyer representing Ball, told the publication.
The pair met while Ball was working at Scaramucci's company, SkyBridge Capital, which he sold earlier this year. They got married in 2014 and their first child, Nicholas, was born in the same year. Their second son was born while Scaramucci was at a Boy Scout jamboree with Trump in West Virginia last month, reports said.
“When James was born, he sent her a text saying: ‘Congratulations, I’ll pray for our child,’” Page Six reported citing a source. The source added: "She’s mad. They aren’t really speaking right now."
Read: Who Is Deidre Ball?
"The pain runs deep. Anthony tells her she’s not that smart, that he’s out of her league.”
Meanwhile, Scaramucci's associate said the couple was trying to separate amicably and that Scaramucci was pursuing “a different career objective that didn’t align with Deidre’s trajectory.”
Another aide of Scaramucci shared that it was he who was a victim in the marriage as Ball would verbally abuse him. The aide said: "She would say, ‘You’re a grifter , you’re this.’ She would mock him for being a Trump sycophant.”
Update 8/3, 3:30 pm: This story was updated to include Guilfoyle's quote via a Fox News spokesperson.
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