PRESS RELEASE
House Intelligence Committee’s King Calls for Investigation of CIA Chief Brennan
Dec. 18, 2016 (EIRNS)—Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), on the House Intelligence Committee said today on ABC News’ "This Week" that CIA Director John Brennan should be investigated for "the hit job he seems to be orchestrating against the President-elect" and for refusing to testify before the committee concerning his claims about Russian attempts to influence the presidential election.
When asked by ABC anchor Martha Raddatz, "Why don’t you buy the consensus of the intelligence community on that?" King replied,
"Because we haven’t been shown that consensus. What we’ve been told all along is that it was virtually definite that the Russians did hack the Democratic National Committee. I’m willing to accept that. I have no reason not to. But as far as John Podesta, it was uncertain whether or not that could be directly traced to the Russians. And I haven’t seen anything since then.... We have John Brennan ... leaking to the Washington Post, to a biased newspaper like the New York Times, findings and conclusion that is he’s not telling the Intelligence Committee."
King said that Brennan, in a meeting this week with Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA), had shown Nunes no real evidence and had not agreed to testify to Congress on it. And President Obama, in his Dec. 16 press conference, told reporters, concerning this hacking evidence, "It’s classified; you will not see it."
Asked, "So you think this is all political by John Brennan?" King said, "
I take that ... when he comes out and leaks to the newspapers that the entire intelligence community has concluded that the Russians were targeting Hillary Clinton and favoring Donald Trump, when we’ve never been told that before—certainly Director Comey didn’t tell us that. I have not heard that from Director Clapper.
"So if he—if that is such a dramatic finding, such a dramatic conclusion, then what he should have done is gone before the entire Intelligence Committee, briefed us on it. If that’s the case, I’ll accept it.... If they have evidence, show it. They have not shown it yet."
King concluded,
"And if it’s not Director Brennan that gave it to the Washington Post, then he should be carrying out a full-scale investigation to find out who in the intelligence community is talking to the media on this issue, when they’re not talking to the elected representatives."
