Democrats cried foul after President Trump confirmed he withheld information about the U.S. raid against Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi from Democratic leaders because of their impeachment efforts.
“Well, I guess the only thing is, they were talking about why didn’t I give the information to Adam Schiff and his committee. And the answer is because I think Adam Schiff is the biggest leaker in Washington. You know that. I know that. We all know that. Iâve watched Adam Schiff leak. Heâs a corrupt politician,â the president told reporters.
âHeâs a leaker like nobody has seen before. We had a very good conversation with the Ukrainian president. The conversation was perfect. They donât ever have to talk about the conversation. It started with the whistleblower,â Trump said.
Democrats took offense to the president keeping their top caucus leaders, half of the congressional âgang of eightâ who receive regular classified briefings, in the dark.
âJust speaking generally, most intelligence leaks don’t come out of Congress. They come out of the administration. I’m just talking generally â any administration. So regardless, the amount of trust between this administration and Democrats, intelligence issues and national security, issues are more important than those issues,â Rep. Max Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who sits on the Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Examiner.
âCongress is a coequal branch of government. The president has never, in my opinion, seemed to understand that or accept that,â House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said.
âThat the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress wasn’t notified beforehand, it’s just unfathomable to me. I just don’t understand it. There are plenty of leaks on both sides all the way around,â the New York Democrat said, calling Trumpâs actions unprecedented.
âLook, the impeachment hearings make it tough, but the president has his responsibilities and we have ours. And I think that not calling her is not only a disrespect to her personally, but it’s a disrespect to the entire Congress,â Engel said.
However, Sen. Jim Lankford, a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, says it’s obvious the mistrust between the White House and Democrats has grown since impeachment proceedings launched.
âThat’s been an ongoing concern for a while. That’s not just this past weekend. I mean, they both made that pretty obvious just in the way they’ve spoken about each other and to each other at some point for the sake of the American people. We’ve got to be able to resolve it,â the Oklahoma Republican said.
âThere were 200 Democrats on record saying, âI want to start an impeachment inquiry.â But that’s a pretty bold statement. And it’s hard to be able to build trust after that. That’s not, hey, let’s find a way to work together. That’s I’m working to find a way to get you removed entirely,â he said.
