His statements were condemned as “disgusting” by figures across the political spectrum, including CNN’s Jake Tapper and former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson.
A White House official told MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) earlier this week that Ms Lucey had “behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way toward her colleagues on the plane”.
“If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take,” the official added.
Two days later, and after months of calling the frenzy surrounding the files a “Democrat hoax”, the US president abruptly reversed course and urged his party to vote to release the files related to the paedophile financier.
The US Congress overwhelmingly passed the resolution, which Mr Trump signed on Wednesday night.
During a press briefing on Thursday, Natalie Allison, a White House reporter for the Washington Post, asked Ms Leavitt what the US president meant when he called Ms Lucey a “piggy”.
