December 16, 2017 by Joshua Caplan 103 Comments
In a letter sent to Congressman Michael Conaway (R-TX) this week, Donald Trump Jr. attorney Alan S. Futerfas, called for an investigation into leaks from the House Intelligence Committee, suggesting the individual who leaked the false WikiLeaks story did so knowingly.
But first, here is a recap of the “story.”
The mainstream media embarrassed itself once again after it was caught pushing ‘Trump-Russia’ fake news. Both CNN and CBS fell for inaccurate reports alleging a WikiLeaks email was sent to Donald Trump Jr. with an encryption key to access future leaks.
However, WikiLeaks had tweeted a link to the information to the general public days before the email reached Trump Jr. inbox.
Washington Post reports:
A 2016 email sent to President Trump and top aides pointed the campaign to hacked documents from the Democratic National Committee that had already been made public by the group WikiLeaks a day earlier. The email — sent the afternoon of Sept. 14, 2016 — noted that “Wikileaks has uploaded another (huge 678 mb) archive of files from the DNC” and included a link and a “decryption key,” according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post. The writer, who said his name was Michael J. Erickson and described himself as the president of an aviation management company, sent the message to the then-Republican nominee as well as his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and other top advisers. The day before, WikiLeaks had tweeted links to what the group said was 678.4 megabytes of DNC documents. The full email — which was first described to CNN as being sent on Sept. 4, 10 days earlier — indicates that the writer may have simply been flagging information that was already widely available.
“The Sept. 14 email to Trump campaign advertising WikiLeaks emails promoted publicly available info, was riddled with typos and came from a Trump backer who had given $40 to the campaign months earlier, per email viewed by @WSJ,” confirmed Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Ballhaus.
✔@rebeccaballhaus
The Sept. 14 email to Trump campaign advertising WikiLeaks emails promoted publicly available info, was riddled with typos and came from a Trump backer who had given $40 to the campaign months earlier, per email viewed by @WSJ.
Rebecca BallhausNow back to Futerfas’ letter to Conaway:
“From the moment the Erickson email story broke at 8 a.m. on Dec. 7 until the moment [CNN] issued [its] retraction at about 4 p.m. that same day, the individuals responsible for disseminating this inaccurate information to the press stood by and did nothing, all the while knowing that the story they had leaked was inaccurate and that the implications thereby suggested were grossly misleading,” wrote Futerfas.
“Republicans suspect that the staff of Rep. Adam Schiff, California Democrat, leaked the erroneous “scoop” to CNN. They say his staff regularly leaks, with CNN being a favorite, with a spin that is not accurate,” wrote Rowan Scarborough of The Washington Times.
All eyes are on ranking member of the House Select Intel Committee Rep Adam Schiff as being the leaker.
James Freeman of the Wall Street Journal asked Monday, “Is CNN protecting Adam Schiff?”
That’s the hope anyway. In practice Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) rarely misses an opportunity to publicly characterize the non-public information that he claims to have seen. This raises the question of whether he’s violating the rules of the committee by discussing classified intelligence, or perhaps misleading the public about what he’s seen. Before giving him yet another platform to hurl allegations of treasonous behavior, journalists should first demand that he show up with some facts.
As previously reported, Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint against Ranking Member of the Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Jackie Speier for violating House ethics rules in April for disclosing “classified information to the public in violation of House ethics rules.”
As The Gateway Pundit‘s Cristina Laila pointed out on Friday, Schiff came unhinged after Mueller, Rosenstein and co. came under fire following reports about FBI agent Peter Strzok’s anti-Trump text messages and revelations concerning Justice Department Bruce Ohr’s demotion for his contacts with Fusion GPS. It’s also plausible Schiff’s meltdown down is in part because of an effort by Trump Jr. to find the leaker.
Below is Schiff’s tweetstorm:
I’m increasingly worried Republicans will shut down the House Intelligence Committee investigation at the end of the month. Here’s why:
✔@RepAdamSchiff
I’m increasingly worried Republicans will shut down the House Intelligence Committee investigation at the end of the month.
Here’s why:
Adam Schiff“Since March, our investigation has made important progress. We’ve interviewed numerous key witnesses behind closed doors, held public hearings, reviewed thousands of documents, identified new leads — all to understand and expose Russia’s meddling and protect our democracy.”
✔@RepAdamSchiff
I’m increasingly worried Republicans will shut down the House Intelligence Committee investigation at the end of the month.
Here’s why:
✔@RepAdamSchiff
Since March, our investigation has made important progress. We’ve interviewed numerous key witnesses behind closed doors, held public hearings, reviewed thousands of documents, identified new leads — all to understand and expose Russia's meddling and protect our democracy.
“Yet, Republicans have scheduled no witnesses after next Friday and none in 2017. We have dozens of outstanding witnesses on key aspects of our investigation that they refuse to contact and many document requests they continue to sit on.”
✔@RepAdamSchiff
Since March, our investigation has made important progress. We’ve interviewed numerous key witnesses behind closed doors, held public hearings, reviewed thousands of documents, identified new leads — all to understand and expose Russia's meddling and protect our democracy.
✔@RepAdamSchiff
Yet, Republicans have scheduled no witnesses after next Friday and none in 2017. We have dozens of outstanding witnesses on key aspects of our investigation that they refuse to contact and many document requests they continue to sit on.
“It appears Republicans want to conduct just enough interviews to give the impression of a serious investigation.”
✔@RepAdamSchiff
Yet, Republicans have scheduled no witnesses after next Friday and none in 2017. We have dozens of outstanding witnesses on key aspects of our investigation that they refuse to contact and many document requests they continue to sit on.
✔@RepAdamSchiff
It appears Republicans want to conduct just enough interviews to give the impression of a serious investigation.
“Next week, they scheduled critical witness interviews out of state, when we are voting on the tax bill and vital government funding bills and no Members will be able to ask questions, in an effort to squeeze them in before end of year. These witnesses are willing to come to DC.”
✔@RepAdamSchiff
It appears Republicans want to conduct just enough interviews to give the impression of a serious investigation.
✔@RepAdamSchiff
Next week, they scheduled critical witness interviews out of state, when we are voting on the tax bill and vital government funding bills and no Members will be able to ask questions, in an effort to squeeze them in before end of year.
These witnesses are willing to come to DC.
“Despite our repeated urging, Majority has declined to issue subpoenas in numerous avenues of the investigation, where there’s simply no other way to get the information. Some refusals we’ve made public, like witnesses hiding behind nonexistent privileges, many others we haven’t.”
✔@RepAdamSchiff
Next week, they scheduled critical witness interviews out of state, when we are voting on the tax bill and vital government funding bills and no Members will be able to ask questions, in an effort to squeeze them in before end of year.
These witnesses are willing to come to DC.
✔@RepAdamSchiff
Despite our repeated urging, Majority has declined to issue subpoenas in numerous avenues of the investigation, where there's simply no other way to get the information. Some refusals we’ve made public, like witnesses hiding behind nonexistent privileges, many others we haven’t.
“The responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation, or to prevent one, ultimately falls on @SpeakerRyan. I’m concerned he’s heeding the calls of Bannon and @POTUS to “DO SOMETHING” by closing down the Russia investigation & opening up another investigation of Hilary Clinton.”
✔@RepAdamSchiff
Despite our repeated urging, Majority has declined to issue subpoenas in numerous avenues of the investigation, where there's simply no other way to get the information. Some refusals we’ve made public, like witnesses hiding behind nonexistent privileges, many others we haven’t.
✔@RepAdamSchiff
The responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation, or to prevent one, ultimately falls on @SpeakerRyan. I’m concerned he's heeding the calls of Bannon and @POTUS to “DO SOMETHING” by closing down the Russia investigation & opening up another investigation of Hilary Clinton.
“Beyond our investigation, here’s what has me really concerned: The attacks on Mueller, DOJ and FBI this week make it clear they plan to go after Mueller’s investigation. Aggressively and soon,” added Schiff.
✔@RepAdamSchiff
The responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation, or to prevent one, ultimately falls on @SpeakerRyan. I’m concerned he's heeding the calls of Bannon and @POTUS to “DO SOMETHING” by closing down the Russia investigation & opening up another investigation of Hilary Clinton.
✔@RepAdamSchiff
Beyond our investigation, here’s what has me really concerned: The attacks on Mueller, DOJ and FBI this week make it clear they plan to go after Mueller’s investigation.
Aggressively and soon.
“By shutting down the congressional investigations when they continue to discover new and important evidence, the White House can exert tremendous pressure to end or curtail Mueller’s investigation or cast doubt on it. We cannot let that happen,” Schiff concluded.
✔@RepAdamSchiff
Replying to @RepAdamSchiff and 2 others
Beyond our investigation, here’s what has me really concerned: The attacks on Mueller, DOJ and FBI this week make it clear they plan to go after Mueller’s investigation.
Aggressively and soon.
✔@RepAdamSchiff
By shutting down the congressional investigations when they continue to discover new and important evidence, the White House can exert tremendous pressure to end or curtail Mueller’s investigation or cast doubt on it. We cannot let that happen.
As Chuck Ross of the Daily Caller pointed out, CNN has yet to provide a full explanation as to why they published the story, opting instead to protect its sources. Reporters, some more direct than others, pointed to Rep. Schiff as being the source for the false story.
Jeffrey Blehar of Decision Desk HQ says sources have told him ‘Dems on the House Intelligence committee intentionally misled CNN to affect news cycle,’ in respect to the ‘massively botched,’ Donald Trump Jr. / WikiLeaks story. Some were more direct than others.
✔@EsotericCD
.@ChuckRossDC drills down into what informed ppl are already telling me was source of CNN's massively botched DJT Jr/Wikileaks: Dems on the House Intelligence committee intentionally misleading CNN to affect news cycle: http://dailycaller.com/2017/12/08/cnn-botches-major-bombshell-alleging-contacts-between-don-jr-and-wikileaks/ …
3:47 PM - Dec 8, 2017
CNN Botches Major ‘Bombshell’ Alleging Contacts Between Don Jr. And WikiLeaks Via @dailycaller
Oops!
dailycaller.com
Jeff B/DDHQ
The Federalist’s Sean Davis tweeted, “If CNN is worried about its credibility, it will burn its source. If it wants to protect Adam Schiff and his political agenda, it’ll stay mum about who lied.”
✔@seanmdav
If CNN is worried about its credibility, it will burn its source. If it wants to protect Adam Schiff and his political agenda, it'll stay mum about who lied. https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/939246887676317696 …
Sean DavisFormer NYPD officer and The Rebel radio host John Cardillo noted Rep. Adam Schiff “seems awfully nervous that his leaking might be investigated.”
“We see how well being a leaker went for Reince’s career,” added Cardillo.
The tweet was retweeted by Trump Jr., seemingly suggesting the president’s son believes the Democrat lawmaker was the leaker.
Nick Short of Michelle Malkin Investigates tweeted Fox News correspondent Ed Henry’s report about how “Schiff was seen leaving the room multiple times,” during Trump Jr.’s closed door testimony before House investigators.
✔@PoliticalShort
.@edhenry last night reported that during the closed door testimony by Trump Jr. before the House Intel Committee on Dec 6th, Adam Schiff was seen leaving the room multiple times, stories then started popping up on CNN about the testimony while it was ongoing...
Nick Short 
“As Trump Jr. and his attorney said in a letter to the House Intel Committee this week, while DTJr was still being interviewed, “members of the committee and/or staff began selectively leaking information provided during the interview to various press outlets, most notably CNN,” tweeted Short.
✔@PoliticalShort
.@edhenry last night reported that during the closed door testimony by Trump Jr. before the House Intel Committee on Dec 6th, Adam Schiff was seen leaving the room multiple times, stories then started popping up on CNN about the testimony while it was ongoing... pic.twitter.com/oRel4b1BpB
✔@PoliticalShort
As Trump Jr. and his attorney said in a letter to the House Intel Committee this week, while DTJr was still being interviewed, “members of the committee and/or staff began selectively leaking information provided during the interview to various press outlets, most notably CNN.”
“Moreover, after the interview, several members of the Minority, including Schiff, Speier and Swalwell, appeared on the news to discuss certain details of the interview in an attempt to discredit Trump Jr,” added Short.
✔@PoliticalShort
Replying to @PoliticalShort @edhenry
As Trump Jr. and his attorney said in a letter to the House Intel Committee this week, while DTJr was still being interviewed, “members of the committee and/or staff began selectively leaking information provided during the interview to various press outlets, most notably CNN.”
✔@PoliticalShort
Moreover, after the interview, several members of the Minority, including Schiff, Speier and Swalwell, appeared on the news to discuss certain details of the interview in an attempt to discredit Trump Jr. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/12/donald-trump-jr-requests-inquiry-into-committee-leaks.html …pic.twitter.com/mLKQnd5Uyg
The lawmaker’s office vehemently denied the charges, stating “Ranking Member Schiff and his staff do not leak classified or confidential information, and any disclosure of non-public information by the congressional committees undertaking investigations is singularly unhelpful.”
A frantic tweetstorm coupled with savvy media folks pointing the finger at Schiff amid an ongoing ethics complaint brought by justice-seeking missile Judicial Watch, makes it increasingly obvious that the old adage “where there’s smoke there’s fire,” applies to the Democrat lawmaker’s case as being the source of the false Trump Jr.-WikiLeaks story.
Cory Doctorow
Brendan Bordelon