It was leaked to the media last week following a classified briefing provided to the House Intelligence Committee that Russia was allegedly attempting to interfere in the 2020 elections, ostensibly in favor of President Donald Trump. Separately, it was leaked that Russia was purportedly attempting to aid the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Those reports have since been denied on record and walked back as not entirely accurate, and suspicion has fallen on House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) as being responsible for the media leaks, a suspicion that prompted former congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) to suggest that intelligence officials need to stop briefing an “epidemic leaker” like Schiff, the Washington Examiner reported.
Latest Russia collusion claimed debunked
The suggestion from Gowdy, a Fox News contributor, came during an appearance on Tuesday on Hannity in which he was asked about the recent leaks about supposed Russian interference in light of so many other leaked stories about alleged Russia-related malfeasance over the past couple of years.
“We spent two years for [Special Counsel] Bob Mueller to tell us there was no evidence — at least two years for Mueller to tell us there was no evidence of collusion. It took two minutes for us this time to find out there was no evidence,” Gowdy said.
“As soon as a Republican asked the briefer in the classified House Intel briefing, ‘What evidence do you have to support that assessment,’ the answer was none,” he continued. “So, praise the Lord, it took two years last time, it took two minutes.”
“Quit briefing him!”
“For over a year, we were lectured by the D.C. media and Democrats that nobody is above the law,” Gowdy said. “Remember that, Sean? How many times have we heard, ‘Nobody is above the law?'”
“Apparently, except whoever leaks classified information out of Adam Schiff’s committee,” he continued. “So what the intelligence community needs to give some thought to is, stop briefing someone who has a history and is an epidemic leaker. Quit briefing him!”
Hannity pointed out the fact that it was already known that Schiff has blatantly lied to the American people on multiple occasions and asked why he wasn’t being held accountable for his dishonesty.
“Unfortunately, Sean, it is not against the law to lie to the American people,” Gowdy replied. “There should be a consequence, and I hope people in the People’s Republic of California will remember it come, come November.”
“But it’s — dirty little secret — it’s not a crime for politicians to lie to the American people but it is a crime for you to lie to Congress,” he added.
Schiff needs to go
As noted, there were immediate leaks to the media following the classified briefing — which the media gleefully trumpeted — that cast President Trump in a negative light by rehashing the tired, old, and debunked Russian collusion conspiracy theory, and though it took longer than the “two minutes” mentioned by Gowdy, the newest story in the Trump-Russia saga was debunked as overblown and misinterpreted within days.
Though not yet confirmed, all indications are that the obviously partisan leak about the briefing originated with Schiff or his staff — it is Schiff’s committee, after all — and while it is nice to think that intelligence officials would simply stop providing briefings to a suspected leaker like Schiff, that almost certainly won’t happen so long as he remains the committee chair, meaning it is incumbent upon the people of California to vote him out of office.
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