Adam Schiff, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, allegedly leaked highly classified information so frequently that a former CIA director was compelled to limit the amount of information he provided to him and his staff.
In an interview with Fox News from earlier this year, Mike Pompeo, who held that position for a year before being appointed secretary of state by then-President Donald Trump, made the accusations and claims.
“During my time as CIA director and secretary of state, I know that he leaked classified information that had been provided to him,” Pompeo, who is rumored to be considering a run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said.
“Outnumbered” co-host Emily Compagno, after emphasizing what a huge problem that is, asked Pompeo why there hadn’t been any accountability if leaking that kind of information is “a felony at a minimum, up to treason.”
“It’s a complicated process, right? It’s difficult to pin down precisely what happened,” Pompeo said. “But I could tell you that when we provided information to him and to his staff, it ended up in places it shouldn’t have been with alarming regularity. We could see it. In the end, I decided I held back information from them as a result.”
Schiff stated in a recent interview with The Harvard Gazette that not all “leaks” are negative, lending credibility to Pompeo’s accusations against the California Democrat.
During a conversation with Paul Kolbe, a senior fellow at the Belfer Center’s Intelligence Project at Harvard Kennedy School, made a number of oblique remarks about the permissibility of leaking sensitive information.
In one exchange, Schiff stated that revealing sensitive information about U.S. surveillance of key allies is “harmful” to national security and U.S. alliances, but that “profound mutual interests” should be able to surmount the friction they’ve caused.
Schiff suggested that a leak may initially cause damage, but that in time, everyone will simply move on and recover.
When Republicans gained control of the lower chamber earlier this year, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy removed the Democrat from the House Intelligence Committee.
Schiff, who no longer has access to intelligence briefings, indicated that it has been difficult for the United States to keep Europe and Congress on the same page regarding Ukraine. He appeared to be implying that his removal from the committee had some effect on U.S. allies in the midst of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“What has made it even more difficult to keep Congress together is that the intellectual thought leader of today’s GOP is Tucker Carlson. And on his program, he does nothing but peddles Kremlin talking points,” Schiff said.
This year has already been difficult for Schiff.
Schiff is facing an ethics complaint regarding a campaign video he created when he launched his campaign for the seat of retiring Senator Dianne Feinstein.
The video contains a recording of Schiff arguing for the second impeachment of then-President Donald Trump on the Senate floor, which according to the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) is a violation of congressional rules.
WATCH:
Our democracy is at great risk. Because GOP leaders care more about power than anything else.
And because our economy isn’t working for millions of hard working Americans.
We’re in the fight of our lives—a fight I’m ready to lead as California’s next U.S. Senator. pic.twitter.com/H0Pa0EhhMu
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) January 26, 2023
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“Federal law states that ‘appropriations shall be applied only to the objects for which the appropriations were made except as otherwise provided by law,’” FACT wrote in a letter to the House Ethics Committee. “To enforce this law, the ethics rules prohibit Members from using any official resource for campaign or political purposes. CONTINUE READING…
