Mike Pompeo, a former secretary of State and CIA director, has accused Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) of being responsible for leaking information from the House Intelligence Committee. Schiff has been blocked from serving on the committee again by new Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Pompeo during a Fox News interview said that Schiff had always leaked information that Pompeo had previously provided while Pompeo was still serving in his previous seats. Pompeo added that Schiff’s time as Intel chairman had almost caused the complete run of the committee.
During the interview, Pompeo was asked why he had never taken action and revealed that Schiff had been leaking classified information before. In response, Pompeo said that the procedure was complicated and one needed to know exactly what had happened.
He further added that during that time he had often “held back” as he was not comfortable with sharing everything with Schiff and the panel he was leading. However, Schiff was quick to oppose Pompeo for his remarks which he called “false and defamatory.”
Schiff spokesperson Lauren French specifically noted that reputable news outlets should not be repeating the lies told by Trump’s allies who frequently use Schiff as their favorite target.
McCarthy had previously voted that both Schiff and fellow Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.) would be removed from the Intel committee.
