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President Donald Trump told reporters in Washington on Oct. 28 that the White House did not notify the House Intelligence Committee about a raid on the leader of the ISIS terrorist group due to a concern that the information would be leaked by Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.
“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,” Trump said.
“You know that. I know that. We all know that. I’ve watched Adam Schiff leak. He’s a corrupt politician. He’s a leaker like nobody has ever seen before.”
American forces killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder of ISIS, during a midnight raid on Oct. 26 in Syria’s Idlib province. He was arguably the most wanted terrorist in the world. Baghdadi’s death marked a major blow to ISIS, which has already lost all of its territories in the Middle East since Trump took office.
“Last night, the United States brought the world’s No. 1 terrorist leader to justice,” Trump said when announcing the killing of the terrorist. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead. He was the founder and leader of ISIS, the most ruthless and violent terror organization in the world.”
The president has repeatedly accused Rep. Schiff (D-Calif.) of leaking. In February last year, Trump wrote on Twitter that Schiff “is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington.” In March this year, Trump wrote, “Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress!”
Unauthorized leaks to the media had potentially contributed to al-Baghdadi’s slipping away from U.S. forces, Gen. Tony Thomas said in 2017. During a raid that killed ISIS oil minister Abu Sayyaf in 2015, U.S. forces captured Sayyaf’s wife. She provided a trove of valuable information on Baghdadi’s recent whereabouts.
“That was a very good lead. Unfortunately, it was leaked in a prominent national newspaper about a week later and that lead went dead,” Thomas said at the Aspen Security Forum.
“The challenge we have [is] in terms of where and how our tactics and procedures are discussed openly. There’s a great need to inform the American public about what we’re up to. There’s also great need to recognize things that will absolutely undercut our ability to do our job.”
Thomas was likely referring to a June 2015 New York Times article that disclosed details of the Sayyaf raid, including the information U.S. forces seized.
“Abu Sayyaf’s wife, Umm Sayyaf, who was captured in the operation, has also provided information to investigators, one senior American official said,” the newspaper reported.
Schiff is leading the Democrat-run impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives. The investigation is being conducted behind closed doors and has been characterized by a number of selective leaks of information damaging to Trump.
Schiff had said that the congressional Gang of Eight was not notified about the raid. The Gang of Eight consists of the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the White House for not notifying Congress in her statement on the killing of al-Baghdadi. Trump had previously said the White House planned to notify Congress “but we decided not to do that because Washington leaks like I’ve never seen before.”
This article is from the Internet:Trump: We Did Not Notify Schiff of ISIS Raid Because He ‘Is the Biggest Leaker in Washington’
House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff Says He Wasn’t Told About al-Baghdadi Raid