White House chief of Staff John Kelly in December fired Omarosa Manigault-Newman, then the director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison, for abusing the White House car service, according to a new report.
Kelly dismissed Manigault-Newman, now a contestant on the latest season of the reality television show "Celebrity Big Brother," after she used the car service, known as "CARPET," as an "office pickup and drop-off service," Politico reported Tuesday, citing three Trump administration officials.
Using the White House car service as a private taxi system is strictly forbidden by the federal government.
Manigault-Newman tried to enter the White House residence to appeal her firing to Trump after Kelly dismissed her, according to one of the administration officials. In the process, Manigault-Newman accidentally tripping an electronic Secret Service wire that "monitors entry and egress from the residence," Politico reported.
Manigault-Newman has denied previous reports that she was escorted out of the building while cursing and shouting, a statement that was backed up by the Secret Service.
Reporting regarding Secret Service personnel physically removing Omarosa Manigault Newman from the @WhiteHouse complex is incorrect.
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) December 13, 2017
Manigault-Newman first became a household name after appearing on NBC's "The Apprentice," where she earned the confidence of Donald Trump. She went on to serve as director of African-American outreach for the Trump campaign in 2016, before receiving an appointment to the West Wing, where she worked for about a year.
Since leaving the White House, Manigault-Newman has returned to her reality television roots, becoming a guest contestant on CBS's "Celebrity Big Brother." Although the show is only a few episodes in, Manigault-Newman has already opened up about her time in the Trump administration, claiming that she was "haunted by tweets every single day."