West Wing aides and operatives in close contact with the White House said the administration did not have a war room readied to fight back against Woodward's harrowing depiction of the Trump presidency or a well-honed response strategy.

The usual pushback to unflattering books, one White House official said, is to discredit the author -- a tactic the White House deployed with mixed success following the publication of Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury" and Manigault Newman's "Unhinged." But that playbook is unlikely to work with Woodward, a veteran chronicler of presidencies and a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, the official added. 

Conway, for instance, told others in the White House before Tuesday that Woodward was credible and that his book could be damaging.

A number of current and former White House aides said the book's depiction rang true, even if they were not sure of every detail. "I'm not sure why everyone is acting so shocked," one former senior administration official said. 

Several officials who spoke to Woodward said he showed up to interviews with documents and memos, as well as vivid accounts of scenes inside the White House.