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Ben Rhodes, Obamas deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, condemned Grisham and called her accusation a lie.

If this happened I also dont think the entire Trump staff would wait 3 years to tell us, he said. Sad to see the WH press secretary fall this far.

Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama, demanded that Grisham "produce the notes that back this up."

She added: I cannot imagine a single one of my former colleagues who would do this. From @BarackObama on down, we all tried to help facilitate a smooth and orderly transition just as President Bush and his team had done for us."

Former West Wing staffers also countered Grishams claim by recalling the words of advice they left in the White House for their successors or noting they left briefing books in an attempt to smooth the transition of power.

Ned Price, a former CIA intelligence officer, argued Grisham was right about one point.

I left a note -- tucked away in my desk -- for my successor. I wished him success and encouraged him not to grow jaded despite the pace and obstacles. I also left my personal email in case he wished to seek candid advice, he wrote on Twitter, adding: I never heard from him.

Rice also retweeted the CNN reporter, Abby Phillip, who had quoted an excerpt from Rices book recounting how Rice left a note for her successor Michael Flynn: "On a White House stationary card, I reiterate my best wishes for his success in a job so crucial to the nation's security. I offer to help him, if ever I could..."

Peter Boogaard, an Obama-era press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, called Grishams assertion ridiculous.

WH Staff spent countless hours, right up until President Trump Inauguration, preparing memos to facilitate a smooth transition and left notes of encouragement and support for their predecessors, he tweeted. Have to wonder what prompted this outright lie.

And even Grishams predecessor in the East Wing press shop tweeted out the text of the letter she left for Grisham upon assuming her new role in the White House.

Others reacted with humor.

Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, now host of the popular liberal podcast Pod Save America, tweeted that it's appalling that she thinks our notes would have been that lame. Another former speechwriter, Cody Keenan, joked in a tweet that I actually left an iPhone charger if anybodys seen it, but no, nobody left unimaginative notes written at a sixth-grade level.

Grisham told POLITICO just days into the new administration that the outgoing press staff left a variety of books about Obama in the press office space for the incoming team though its not clear she mentioned any kinds of disparaging notes.

The disparaging notes would mark a dark turn for high jinks that have occasionally greeted incoming administrations. White House aides have a history of pulling pranks on their successors. When President George W. Bush took office, his staff discovered Clinton officials had removed the W key from keyboards in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Grisham elaborated on the pushback from Obama officials, saying in an email to POLITICO that "Im not sure where their offices were, and certainly wasnt implying every office had that issue."

"In fact, I had a lovely note left for me in the East Wing, and I tracked the woman down and thanked her. I was talking specifically (and honestly) about our experience in the lower press office nowhere else, " she continued. "I dont know why everyone is so sensitive! At the time we saw it as kind of a prank, and something that always happened. We were so busy trying to learn where the bathrooms were and how to turn on the lights, it wasnt that big of a deal."

But other Obama alums rebuffed that explanation as well.

"Ive known @joshearnest almost my entire career, and not only are these accusations antithetical to the ethos of the @BarackObama administration, they are also the exact opposite of how teams he leads acthed never tolerate that kind of BS," wrote Brent Colburn, who worked in the comms department of various federal agencies.

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Obama alums bristle at Stephanie Grisham's claim that they left 'you will fail' notes - POLITICO