Former Republican South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy reminded “Mornings with Maria” viewers Friday that a conviction for leaking classified information can carry a 10-year prison sentence.
As far as any investigation into who leaked a conversation between former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak to the media, Gowdy asked, “How is your 10-year felony investigation going?”
Gowdy was speaking of the recent revelation that 39 different people requested that Flynn’s name be unmasked from a surveillance recording, including former Vice President Joe Biden, former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson: Obama Administration’s Surveillance Of Flynn Was ‘Domestic Spying’)
The conversation was then illegally leaked to the media. Gowdy noted, “Yeah, it is a 10-year felony,” adding that the story of who leaked the information was largely ignored by the national media until now.
“My first thought was ‘thank the Lord for Devin Nunes,’ who went through hell in 2017 and 2018 but he kept pushing this unmasking story despite no help from Democrats and no help from the D.C. media,” Gowdy said, noting that the sheer number and “breadth” of people who sought the unmasking information from the National Security Agency was astounding: “The undersecretary for Micronesia does not need unmasking power.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin holding hearings into the unmaskings in early June, committee chairman and Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham announced Thursday.
“So you’ve got to shrink the sphere of people who can unmask American citizens’ names but then you’ve got to treat a 10-year felony like what it is — which is a serious crime, disseminating classified information.”
GRAND JUNCTION, CO – OCTOBER 18: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) jokes with retired Gen. Michael Flynn as they speak at a rally at Grand Junction Regional Airport on Oct. 18, 2016 in Grand Junction Colorado. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
“So I ask the FBI again: how is your leak investigation going? I know how your Michael Flynn investigation went, I know the time and effort you spent to try to catch someone in a lie. How is your 10-year felony investigation going? It has been four years now,” he said. (RELATED: Senate Votes To Maintain Status Quo Of FISA Courts Authorizing Spying On Americans)
Former Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland said this week that she has never seen a transcript of Flynn’s conversation with the Russian ambassador. “I never saw a transcript. I doubt if Gen. Flynn has seen a transcript. Guess who has seen a transcript or had a transcript read to them? Washington Post reporters.”