Trump: ‘Schiff is the biggest leaker in Washington’

President Trump called Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) “the biggest leaker in Washington” to explain why he did not inform the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee ahead of time about the raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 

Trump made his comments during a press gaggle as he arrived in Chicago on Monday, one day after he confirmed al-Baghdadi died in a U.S. raid. The president said he didn’t tell Schiff about because “he’s a corrupt politician” and “a leaker like nobody has ever seen before.”

{mosads}“Well, I guess the only thing is they were talking about why didn’t I give the information to Adam Schiff and his committee,” Trump told reporters. “And the answer is: Because I think Adam Schiff is the biggest leaker in Washington.”

Schiff is a member of the Gang of Eight, a group of intelligence leaders typically informed of classified raids before they occur. The president had announced Sunday that some Washington leaders were not kept in the loop for fear of “Washington leaks,” saying “leaks could have caused the death of all of them,” referring to the special forces troops carrying out the operation.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was also not told of the raid in advance. The president did report telling Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) after the raid was successful.

Schiff has led the initial hearings of the impeachment inquiry against the president, increasing the animosity between the two. In an early hearing, Schiff exaggerated the conversation between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A whistleblower’s report detailing how Trump asked Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden sparked the impeachment inquiry.

“Adam Schiff went before Congress, and Adam Schiff, what he did, will never be forgotten,” Trump told reporters. “He made up a conversation that was a phony fabrication. It was a fraud. And people shouldn’t be allowed to get away. They say he has immunity because he’s a member of Congress.”  

Schiff has defended his comments, saying they were partly made in jest.