WASHINGTON–House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi denied that President Barack Obama’s rule change on intel sharing had anything to do with the recent intel leaks.
The Daily Caller asked Pelosi if she was concerned about the order, signed by Obama in January, that allowed the National Security Agency to share internationally intercepted personal communications with 16 other U.S. intelligence agencies.
President Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Flynn resigned after his name was leaked to the press as having a conversation that was recorded by unknown individuals in the intelligence community.
Pelosi, one of the eight members of Congress who receives exclusive classified information from the intelligence community on a regular basis, replied, “No. I mean, I think that we all don’t want everybody in pipeline, so we’re not having the benefit of information or intelligence to keep the American people safe. But I don’t think that has anything to do with leaks. No.”
House Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and Ranking Member Adam Schiff expressed concern that the eight members of Congress who receive classified briefings were not told of any Flynn-related investigation.
“The Gang of Eight exists for a reason, and we are supposed to be kept up to speed on any pertinent counterintelligence investigation. If that did not occur last year we need to understand — so in other words, if Trump or any other political campaign that can be associated with Trump was under some type of investigation that clearly should have risen to the Gang of Eight level,” Nunes told reporters.
“These are issues that should have been brought to the gang of eight, at a minimum. If we’re to get quarterly counterintelligence briefings, then we need the confidence of knowing that they’re briefing us on the most significant issues,” Schiff told Roll Call last Thursday.