OCTOBER 27, 2019
(Pictured) In this handout photo provided by the White House, President Donald J. Trump is joined by Vice President Mike Pence (2nd L), National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien (L), Secretary of Defense Mark Esper (2nd R) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Army General Mark A. Milley in the Situation Room of the White House on Oct. 26, in Washington, D.C. The President was monitoring developments as U.S. Special Operations forces close in on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s compound in Syria with a mission to kill or capture the terrorist.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday called on the White House to brief lawmakers on the raid that targeted Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, noting that President Trump informed the Russians of the Islamic State leader’s apparent death before telling congressional leadership.
The statement from Pelosi (D-Calif.) came after Trump told reporters at a lengthy news conference that he did not inform the House speaker of the raid because he “wanted to make sure this kept secret.”
U.S. presidents typically follow the protocol of contacting congressional leaders, regardless of their political party, when a high-level military operation is conducted.
“The House must be briefed on this raid, which the Russians but not top congressional leadership were notified of in advance, and on the administration’s overall strategy in the region,” Pelosi said. “Our military and allies deserve strong, smart and strategic leadership from Washington.”
Trump said Sunday that he had contacted two Senate Republicans, Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (N.C.) and Judiciary Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), ahead of his announcement in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House. He called Burr “a great gentleman” and Graham “a very strong hawk” who “agrees with what we’re doing now.”
President Trump speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on Oct. 27, 2019. Asked whether he had informed Pelosi, Trump replied, “No, I didn’t. I didn’t do that. I wanted to make sure this kept secret. I don’t want to have men lost, and women. I don’t want to have people lost.” – Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
At another point in his remarks, Trump said he was “going to notify [congressional leaders] last night, but we decided not to do that, because Washington leaks like I’ve never seen before.”
“Washington is a leaking machine,” he said. “And I told my people, we will not notify them until our great people are out — not just in, but out. I don’t want to have them greeted with firepower like you wouldn’t believe.”
In an interview on ABC News’s “This Week,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said Trump did not contact Pelosi, himself or any of the other congressional leaders with whom the White House typically shares information on national security and intelligence matters.
“In terms of notifying the Gang of Eight, that wasn’t done,” Schiff said, referring to the House speaker and minority leader, the Senate majority and minority leaders, and the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
Courtesy/Source: Washington Post
