Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday made clear that he is still stinging from not being notified of President Donald Trump’s plans to take out ISIS terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — and called it a “mistake.”
Related: Administration’s Takedown of al-Baghdadi Has Dems Scrambling
Schiff said the Trump administration made the mistake of not informing Congress in advance of the deadly overnight strike.
The California Democrat appeared on the Sunday morning program ABC News’ “This Week” to discuss the matter.
Schiff is in charge of the House panel that is conducting an impeachment inquiry of President Trump.
Said Schiff, “The reason to notify the ‘Gang of Eight’ is more important when things go wrong,” he said. “Had something gone wrong, it’s to the administration’s advantage to be able to say, ‘We informed Congress, they were aware of the risks.'”
“That wasn’t done there. I think that’s a mistake. Let’s not lose sight of the fact this was a success. Good riddance. This was a bloodthirsty killer,” he said of al-Baghdadi.
“It’s an operational success. It’s a symbolic victory,” Schiff added.
“He [al-Baghdadi] had the blood of thousands and thousands of people on his hands … This is a great day [because] a ruthless killer has been brought to justice,” added Schiff.
In mentioning the “Gang of Eight,” he was referring to the majority and minority leaders of each chamber of Congress, as well as the chairs and ranking minority members of the intelligence committees.
Schiff added that the successful raid over the weekend is “not the end of ISIS by any means. That struggle is going to have to go on.”
Related: Sen. Lindsey Graham: ‘I Want to Congratulate President Trump’
It was very likely sad but necessary to keep the fewest people in the know to prevent leaks to the media, in our view; leaks could have endangered the success of the operation.
Trump assessed Schiff, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), as security risks, with a likelihood of Schiff’s leaking the raid before it was carried out, it seems to me.
That would have placed our American military personnel in great danger.
A version of this piece by Wayne Dupree originally appeared in The Political Insider; this article is used by permission.
Read more at ThePoliticalInsider.com:
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Washington Post Headline Describes Dead ISIS Leader Targeted by Trump as ‘Austere Religious Scholar
Springsteen Hits at Trump: ‘He Doesn’t Understand How to Be an American’
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