No, your eyes do not deceive you. That is the claim that Omarosa Manigault Newman, of The Apprentice fame and now former White House aide, is making in her new book Unhinged. She claims that Donald Trump, after a meeting with his lawyer Michael Cohen, actually ate a paper note that she assumed might be a sensitive document.

Here’s how it allegedly happened, according to the account in her book:

Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman has said she walked in on President Donald Trump eating paper after a meeting with lawyer Michael Cohen, in what she believed was an effort to destroy sensitive information.

In her new book—Unhinged: An Insider Account of the Trump White House—Newman makes a series of disturbing, and amusing, allegations about the president’s conduct.

According to an excerpt of the book obtained by The Washington Post, Newman recalls, “I saw him put a note in his mouth. Since Trump was ever the germaphobe, I was shocked he appeared to be chewing and swallowing the paper. It must have been something very, very sensitive.”

So, according to Omarosa, it went down something like this:

(Hat tip to Victory Girl Darleen for bringing up the “Get Smart” clip.)

It needs to be noted that Omarosa is having some credibility problems with her book. (Hmmm, where have we heard that before when it comes to a Trump administration tell-all book?) First, people who are mentioned by name within her book are denying that the things she describes ever took place.

I’m in @Omarosa’s book on page 149. She claims to have heard from someone who heard from me that I heard Trump use the N-word.

Not only is this flat-out false (I’ve never heard such a thing), but Omarosa didn’t even make an effort to call or email me to verify. Very shoddy work.

— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) August 10, 2018

https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1027990447589748736

It seems like certain book publishers these days care more about getting a release out than getting the facts down.

This is why people don’t trust these “exposés,” which is especially bad for authors who actually are good and reliable. https://t.co/tkFyrtdOMW

— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) August 10, 2018

I can't believe legal would allow for this. I used to get dinged in FICTION for things that could be factually incorrect or disparaging.

— Allison Winn Scotch (@aswinn) August 10, 2018

In the name of taking down Trump all rules have gone out the window

— AK (@NyackTrader) August 10, 2018

No, this has nothing to do with Trump. If publishing companies put out factually-incorrect information in books, they open themselves up to litigation. The lawyers at these companies are interested in protecting their clients, not taking down Trump. Ppl are just being sloppy.

— Allison Winn Scotch (@aswinn) August 10, 2018

I realize I am not going to convince you otherwise but they put out books like this quickly because of profits not because of politics. They want to capitalize on public sentiment, not change the public's mind.

— Allison Winn Scotch (@aswinn) August 10, 2018

If so, then Gallery Books (the publisher) is going to have some problems. And it’s not the only one.

hooooooo boy https://t.co/glGyXWouMy pic.twitter.com/bYfsASWP2p

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) August 10, 2018

The allegation is not credible, and indeed is ridiculous, particularly in light of the timing of her departure from the White House—December 12, 2017. It’s absurd all around.

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 10, 2018

Hi George. CNN, WaPo and others published articles in June 2017 about your tweets criticizing the travel ban. Is it possible Omarosa heard Trump reacting to one of those articles? She was still in the White House in June 2017.

— Alison Frankel (@AlisonFrankel) August 10, 2018

No. There was one tweet, it didn’t criticize the travel ban, and it was clear at the time from my and others’ personal interactions with him that he didn’t hold it against me—not one bit. From what I saw and heard, any suggestion he would have used such slurs is preposterous.

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 10, 2018

She makes a huge claim in the book that she has now contradicted in an interview.

this is excellent work by NPR. called Omarosa out in realtime on the air. https://t.co/uFfGXmt2gT pic.twitter.com/iN4mOKGWeO

— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 10, 2018

Oh, so now Omarosa says she HEARD Trump using the N-word, and we'd know that if we read the page in her book about it (which definitely says she heard *about it* from other people). Got it. https://t.co/b6ZZWmp17o

— David Martosko (@dmartosko) August 10, 2018

Tune in to @npratc at 4:35 to hear the audio. Omarosa Manigault Newman sat down for an interview with @rachelnpr and what she said throws doubt on a central claim in "Unhinged." https://t.co/m5IK2Z0Xks

— Tamara Keith (@tamarakeithNPR) August 10, 2018

So, you’ll forgive me if Omarosa’s claim of Trump actually eating a paper note after a meeting with his lawyer sounds more like a comedy bit from an old TV show than reality.