Mike Pence's office takes rare step of publicly denying he was author of New York Times op-ed amid wild speculation

Vice President Mike Pence's office on Thursday denied that he wrote a controversial New York Times op-ed written by an anonymous senior Trump administration official.

After the op-ed was released, many in the media began speculating who might've written it.

Some theorized the vice president wrote it due to the inclusion of the word "lodestar," which has been employed by Pence in a number of speeches.

But Pence has been known to be deferential to the president, leading many skeptics to dismiss the notion he was the author.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also denied writing the op-ed.

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As of Thursday morning, the only people who know the author's true identity were a small group of editors at The New York Times.

And later on Thursday, Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, also denied writing the op-ed.