Donald Trump is apparently still mad about the recent congressional briefing from intelligence officials who warned that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election to help him win — even after he ousted his top intelligence official and replacing him with an inexperienced loyalist.
On Sunday, he launched a baseless attack on House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff.
“Somebody please tell incompetent (thanks for my high poll numbers) & corrupt politician Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff to stop leaking Classified information or, even worse, made up information, to the Fake News Media,” Trump said, despite having no evidence that Schiff (D-CA) leaked anything. “Someday he will be caught, & that will be a very unpleasant experience!”
Earlier this month, the intelligence community’s top election official, Shelby Pierson, told the House Intelligence Committee repeatedly that Russia had “developed a preference” for Donald Trump and wants to see him reelected in November, according to the Washington Post.
After learning of the briefing, Trump fired his acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, and replaced him with Twitter troll Richard Grenell.
Trump reportedly incorrectly believed that only Schiff had been briefed — when it was indeed the bipartisan House Intelligence Committee — and worried that Schiff would “weaponize” this information against him.
Since the start of the House impeachment inquiry in September, Trump has made Schiff a constant target, mocking him with insulting nicknames, claims of corruption, and accusations of “criminal” behavior.”
He even went to so far as to demand the congressman be arrested for treason for paraphrasing Trump’s July 2019 phone call with the Ukrainian president.
Schiff said Thursday that Trump appeared to be “again jeopardizing our efforts to stop foreign meddling. Exactly as we warned he would do.”
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
