Judicial Watch Calls For Investigation Into Rep. Schiff Disclosing Classified Information

Cassandra Fairbanks   |  

Apr 14, 2017

Judicial Watch is demanding an investigation into California Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff and Jackie Speier for disclosing classified information related to allegations of Russian hacking during the 2016 election.

The conservative accountability watchdog hand delivered a letter to the House Office of Congressional Ethics on Friday, alleging that Schiff, a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, disclosed classified information to an audience at the Brookings Institute in March.

Judicial Watch explained that during his speech, Schiff commented on an intelligence community intercept of a conversation between Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and retired US Army General Michael Flynn, who at that point had been chosen to serve as National Security Advisor for then-President Elect Donald Trump.

“And then you have leaks that expose malfeasance or illegality.  Now, I put that kind of leak, I put the Flynn leak in that category.  And what was most disturbing to me, frankly, about that was:  here you had a situation where the president is informed that his national security advisor . . . has lied to the vice president, and probably others . . . about a conversation with the Russians over sanctions imposed over hacking in the election to help the president,” Schiff said in his speech.

The group also notes that the Daily Caller had reported that Rep. Speier commented publicly about the Kislayak-Flynn conversations, as well as Flynn’s unmasking, saying “now, if in fact, it was unmasked and if it was General Flynn.  You have to understand the context in which it was unmasked. We do know that. Ambassador Kislayak and General Flynn were freelancing sanctions relief at the end of December, when he had no portfolio in which to make any kind of negotiations with Ambassador Kislayak.”

Judicial Watch explained in their letter that as ethics complaints have been filed against House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, alleging that he “may have made unauthorized disclosures of classified information, in violation of House Rules, regulations, or other standards of conduct,” Schiff and Speier must be investigated as well.

“At least two leading Democrats, Reps. Schiff and Speier, on the House Intelligence Committee seem to have improperly disclosed classified information,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “While the Ethics Committee examines Rep. Nunes’s innocuous statements on Obama’s surveillance on the Trump team, it ought to expand its investigation to include the other members of the Intelligence Committee who seem to have flagrantly violated the rules.”

Schiff has been one of the loudest voices spreading allegations of Russia meddling in the US election by colluding with the Trump campaign.