Team of Vipers

{{Short description|2019 memoir by Cliff Sims}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}

{{Use American English|date=November 2018}}

{{Infobox book

| name = Team of Vipers

| image = Team of Vipers cover.jpg

| author = Cliff Sims

| country = United States

| genre = Memoir

| subject = Trump Administration

| pub_date = January 29, 2019

| publisher = Thomas Dunne Books

| media_type = Print, e-book, audiobook

| pages = 384

| isbn = 978-1250223890

| isbn_note = (Hardcover)

| oclc = 1082864961

}}

Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House is a book-length memoir written by former Trump administration Special Assistant to the President and Director of Message Strategy{{Cite web|last=Laviola|first=Erin|date=2019-01-21|title=Cliff Sims: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know|url=https://heavy.com/news/2019/01/cliff-sims/|access-date=2021-01-29|website=Heavy.com|language=en-US}} Cliff Sims who had previously operated the conservative Alabama news site Yellowhammer News. Team of Vipers was released on January 29, 2019.{{cite news |last1=Swan |first1=Jonathan |title=Trump disavows Cliff Sims on "Team of Vipers" release date |url=https://www.axios.com/trump-tweets-cliff-sims-team-of-vipers-5ccceefd-f6d5-4068-9c7a-e4c237bb2239.html |accessdate=January 30, 2019 |website=Axios |date=January 29, 2019}}{{Cite web| last = McLaughlin| first = Aidan| title = Team of Vipers: Ousted Trump Aide Reportedly Nabs Seven-Figure Advance For White House Tell-All| work = Mediaite| accessdate = November 19, 2018| date = November 19, 2018| url = https://www.mediaite.com/print/team-of-vipers-ousted-trump-aide-reportedly-nabs-seven-figure-advance-for-tell-all-about-white-house/ }} Sims worked on Trump's presidential campaign and then in the White House communications office{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| last = Haberman| first = Maggie |author-link=Maggie Haberman| title = Book Offers Firsthand Account of a Venomous Den Inside the White House| work = The New York Times| accessdate = November 19, 2018| date = November 19, 2018| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/19/us/politics/team-of-vipers-book-cliff-sims.html }} from January 2017 to May 2018.{{Cite web| last = Karni| first = Annie| title = Another Trump aide tell-all due to hit shelves in January| work = Politico| accessdate = November 19, 2018| date = November 16, 2018| url = https://politi.co/2Fu5vF9 }} The White House said Sims was fired, while he said he left to find work in "a really strong team environment".{{cite news| url = https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-aide-cliff-sims-describes-team-vipers/story?id=60674788 | website= ABC News | accessdate = January 28, 2019 | date= January 28, 2019 | title = Former White House aide Cliff Sims describes 'team of vipers' under Trump in interview on new book }}

On January 29, 2019, President Donald Trump tweeted that the book is "boring" and "fiction" and that Sims was a "low level staffer" who "pretended to be an insider when in fact he was nothing more than a gofer".{{cite tweet |last= Trump |first= Donald |author-link= Donald Trump |user= realDonaldTrump |number= 1090244651578204160 |date= January 29, 2019|title=A low level staffer that I hardly knew named Cliff Sims... |access-date= January 29, 2019}} Trump's campaign committee announced that same day that it was planning to sue Sims for violating a non-disclosure agreement.{{cite news |first= Alexandra |last=Hutzler| work= Newsweek | accessdate = January 29, 2019 | date= January 29, 2019 | url = https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-campaign-sue-cliff-sims-1309410 | title = Trump Campaign to Sue Ex-White House Aide Cliff Sims for Violating NDA Despite President Saying Book is 'Fiction' }} The Trump White House routinely required staff to sign non-disclosure agreements, though Sims said he did not remember whether he signed one.{{cite news | newspaper=The Washington Post | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-disses-former-aide-cliff-sims-as-he-dishes-about-his-new-tell-all-book/2019/01/29/f9d5d5bc-23d0-11e9-90cd-dedb0c92dc17_story.html | accessdate = January 29, 2019 | date= January 29, 2019 |title=Trump disses former aide Cliff Sims as he dishes about his new tell-all book| first1 = John | last1 = Wagner| first2= Josh | last2 = Dawsey}} Legal observers said that Sims' experiences while a federal employee could not be covered by a non-disclosure agreement.{{cite news | accessdate = January 29, 2019 | date= January 29, 2019 | url = https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/if-trump-campaign-sues-former-staffer-cliff-sims-over-tell-all-book-they-could-hit-a-brick-wall/ | website= Law & Crime | title = If Trump Campaign Sues Former Staffer Cliff Sims Over Tell-All Book, They Could Hit a 'Brick Wall' | first= Ronn | last = Blitzer}}

In February 2019, Sims filed a civil suit against Trump in his official capacity as president for allegedly attempting to enforce a nondisclosure agreement that Sims may have signed upon joining the Trump administration. Sims contends his book contained only information he gained as an employee of the federal government and hence any nondisclosure agreement is unenforceable and violates his First Amendment rights.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/us/politics/cliff-sims-book-lawsuit.html|title=Cliff Sims, White House Tell-All Author, Sues Trump for Going After Him Over Book|first1=Maggie|last1=Haberman|authorlink1=Maggie Haberman|first2=Annie|last2=Karni|date=February 11, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times}} After a short legal dispute, Trump realized that the book actually put him in a positive light while criticizing senior staff. As a result. the suits were dropped and Sims has remained a close ally to the Trump family.{{cite news |last1=Lippman |first1=Daniel |title=Cliff Sims, who wrote tell-all White House memoir, joins spy office |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/02/cliff-sims-white-house-odni-425579 |work=Politico|date = October 2, 2020 |language=en}}

In August 2020, it was reported by several outlets{{Cite web|first1=Jonathan|last1=Karl|first2=Will|last2=Steakin|first3=Terrance|last3=Smith|date=August 24, 2020|title=Former Trump staffer who penned tell-all book and sued the president, back working on Republican Convention|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-staffer-penned-book-sued-president-back-working/story?id=72568745|access-date=October 23, 2020|website=ABC News|language=en}} that Sims was once again working for the Trump administration, performing speech writing duties for the 2020 Republican National Convention. In October 2020, it was reported that he had rejoined the Trump administration as a senior adviser to the director of national intelligence.