Politics

Former NSC Chief Of Staff: Schiff ‘Broke’ Rules, ‘Should Recuse Himself From This Impeachment Inquiry’

(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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Former CIA officer and National Security Council Chief of Staff Fred Fleitz tweeted Tuesday that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff “broke committee rules” and  “should recuse himself” from any impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

“The NYT confirmed what I said last week: Schiff knew about the CIA whistleblower in advance … At a minimum, Schiff should recuse himself from this impeachment inquiry,” Fleitz tweeted.

U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) joins Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to speak about Democratic legislative priorities and impeachment inquiry plans during her weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) joins Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to speak about Democratic legislative priorities and impeachment inquiry plans during her weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., Oct. 2, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Fleitz was referring to a New York Times story reporting that California Democratic Rep. Schiff had prior knowledge of the  whistleblower’s declassified complaint. (RELATED: Report: Whistleblower Was White House-Seconded CIA Agent)

The former NSC chief of staff said Schiff is guilty of breaking Intelligence Committee rules by not sharing the whistleblower complaint with Republican members of the body because “classified info brought to the committee from outside sources MUST BE SHARED WITH BOTH SIDES.”

Fleitz suggested last week in an op-ed for the New York Post, that after analyzing the whistleblower’s complaint he found it too polished and that it had too much in common with the Democratic impeachment agenda — and an Aug. 28, 2019 tweet from Schiff. (RELATED: Rep. Schiff Fabricates What Trump Said In Ukraine Telephone Call Transcript)

U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (R-CA) talks to reporters after testimony from Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Joseph Maguire about the handling of the whistleblower complaint on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis

U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (R-CA) talks to reporters after testimony from Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Joseph Maguire about the handling of the whistleblower complaint on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Sept. 26, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis

“This document looks as if this leaker had outside help, possibly from congressional members or staff,” Fleitz wrote.

Fleitz, currently the President and CEO of the Center for Security Policy, insisted it’s “more than a coincidence that this complaint surfaced and was directed to the House Intelligence Committee just after Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), an outspoken opponent of Trump, expressed numerous complaints in August 2019 accusing the President of abusing aid to Ukraine to hurt Joe Biden.”