Fred Fleitz, President and CEO of the Center for Security Policy and a former member of the National Security Council under Donald Trump, gave his thoughts on the whistleblower complaint and questioned if the individual coordinated with members of the House Intelligence Committee.
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1/ As a former CIA analyst and former NSC official who edited transcripts of POTUS phone calls with foreign leaders, here are my thoughts on the whistleblower complaint which was just released. . . https://t.co/MdMdanGME4
— Fred Fleitz (@FredFleitz) September 26, 2019
2/ This is not an intelligence matter. It is a policy matter and a complaint about differences over policy. Presidential phone calls are not an intelligence concern. The fact that IC officers transcribe these calls does not give the IC IG jusrisdiction over these calls.
— Fred Fleitz (@FredFleitz) September 26, 2019
3/ It appears that rules restricting access and knowledge of these sensitive calls was breached. This official was not on this call, not on the approved dissem list and should not have been briefed on the call.
— Fred Fleitz (@FredFleitz) September 26, 2019
.3/ The way this complaint was written suggested the author had a lot of help. I know from my work on the House Intel Commitee staff that many whistleblowers go directly to the intel oversight committees. Did this whistleblower first meet with House Intel committee members?
— Fred Fleitz (@FredFleitz) September 26, 2019
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.4/ It is therefore important that Congress find out where this complaint came from. What did House and Senate intel committee dem members and staff know about it and when? Did they help orchestrate this complaint?
— Fred Fleitz (@FredFleitz) September 26, 2019
5/ My view is that this whistleblower complaint is too convenient and too perfect to come from a typical whistleblower. Were other IC officers involved? Where outside groups opposed to the president involved?
— Fred Fleitz (@FredFleitz) September 26, 2019
6/ This complaint will further damage IC relations with the White House for many years to come because IC officers appear to be politicizing presidential phone calls with foreign officials and their access to the president and his activities in the White House.
— Fred Fleitz (@FredFleitz) September 26, 2019
7/ Worst of all, this IC officer — and probably others — have blatantly crossed the line into policy. This violates a core responsibility of IC officers is to inform, but not make policy.
— Fred Fleitz (@FredFleitz) September 26, 2019
8/ This is such a grevious violation of trust between the IC and the White House that it would not surprise me if IC officers are barred from all access to POTUS phone calls with foreign officials.
— Fred Fleitz (@FredFleitz) September 26, 2019
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