President Trump appeared to suggest in a Sunday afternoon tweet that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) could face consequences over reports of a classified intelligence briefing earlier this month warning House lawmakers of Russian interference in the 2020 presidential election.
In his Sunday afternoon tweet, Trump baselessly claimed that Schiff leaked classified information from the briefing and warned that “someday he will be caught.”
Somebody please tell incompetent (thanks for my high poll numbers) & corrupt politician Adam “Shifty” Schiff to stop leaking Classified information or, even worse, made up information, to the Fake News Media. Someday he will be caught, & that will be a very unpleasant experience!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 23, 2020
Trump’s tweet comes days after The New York Times first reported Thursday that the President was angered by a classified briefing earlier this month hosted by intelligence officials. During the briefing, intelligence officials warned House lawmakers that Russia was interfering in the 2020 presidential election in an effort to help the President’s re-election.
Intelligence official Shelby Pierson reportedly told members of Schiff’s House Intelligence Committee during the classified briefing that Russia has “developed a preference” for Trump.
A few minutes after his tweet slamming Schiff, Trump seemed to mockingly suggest in another tweet that Mueller should do another investigation following Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) win in the Nevada caucuses. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Sanders was briefed by U.S. officials that Russia is attempting to help his campaign in the Democratic presidential primary.
Are any Democrat operatives, the DNC, or Crooked Hillary Clinton, blaming Russia, Russia, Russia for the Bernie Sanders win in Nevada. If so I suggest calling Bob Mueller & the 13 Angry Democrats to do a new Mueller Report, Democrat Edition. Bob will get to the bottom of it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 23, 2020
Earlier Sunday, Trump said that he’s “not been briefed at all” about Russian interference in the 2020 presidential election before departing the White House for India.
“I read where Russia’s helping Bernie Sanders. Nobody said it to me at all. Nobody briefed me about that at all,” Trump said. “I have not been briefed on that at all. Nobody told me about it.”
Schiff hit back in a Sunday morning tweet by accusing Trump of “deflection.”
Nice deflection, Mr. President. But your false claims fool no one.
You welcomed Russian help in 2016, tried to coerce Ukraine’s help in 2019, and won’t protect our elections in 2020.
Now you fired your intel chief for briefing Congress about it.
You’ve betrayed America. Again. https://t.co/WlMDaz8stF
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 23, 2020
This isn’t the first time that Trump threatened Schiff. Last month, Trump tweeted that Schiff “has not paid the price yet” for his impeachment manager role in the Senate trial.
