Trump Decided Against Briefing Pelosi on ISIS Leader Raid To Avoid 'Leaks'
President keeps some congressional leaders out of the loop
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House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were reportedly not notified ahead of the successful raid on the hideout of the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, because President Donald Trump said 'leaks' could have compromised the mission.
When Trump was asked if he notified Pelosi beforehand, he said "no" because he did not want any members of the U.S. forces to die.
CNN and MSNBC also reported Schiff was also left in the dark.
Trump confirmed the remarks after his address to the nation, stating he had deliberately kept some congressional leaders out of the loop but did not name Schiff directly.
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“We notified some; others are being notified as I speak,” Trump said.
“We were going to notify them last night, but we decided not to do that because Washington leaks like I’ve never seen before,” Trump said.
“There is no country in the world that leaks like we do, and Washington is a leaking machine.”
Citing a "well-placed military source," Fox News reported the Islamic State group leader, who allegedly had a $25 million bounty on his head, was killed in Syria.
The source said that on Saturday night, a “high-value ISIS target” — believed to be al-Baghdadi — was killed by U.S.-led forces in Idlib.
It was just reported on @MSNBC that House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff received no notification or briefing on the Baghdadi operation.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 27, 2019
Something very big has just happened!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2019
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The source’s account was also later confirmed by a senior Trump administration official, according to Fox.
The president indicated that something was afoot earlier on Saturday night when he tweeted without explanation, “Something very big has just happened!”
Trump stated that U.S. forces would have been placed in greater danger due to Washington leaks tipping off terrorists.
“A leak could have caused the death of all of them,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Schiff is currently pursuing an “impeachment inquiry” against Trump, using the secrecy that the House Intelligence Committee to shield witnesses from scrutiny, as well as preventing Republicans from commenting on the testimony.
Schiff is suspected of having leaked material to the media during the investigation into the so-called 'Trump-Russia' collusion, which earlier this year cleared the presdient of any wrongdoing following the conclusion of the Mueller report.
