Washington, D.C. -Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement in response to a letter sent yesterday by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, demanding an investigation into who leaked news that Lt. General Michael Flynn lied to Vice President Pence, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, and the American people:
“Chairman Chaffetz appears to be taking his marching orders directly from President Trump’s tweet yesterday-instead of investigating General Flynn’s lies to the Vice President and the American people, as well as his troubling ties with Russia, the Chairman chose to target those who brought them to light. Congress should be doing independent oversight of the Executive Branch and protecting whistleblowers, not running interference while the White House conceals their abuses and misleads the American people for weeks. Chairman Chaffetz said he didn’t want to go on ‘fishing expeditions,’ but that's exactly what he’s doing here."
President Trump tweeted yesterday morning: “The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by ‘intelligence’ like candy. Very un-American!"
Within hours, Chaffetz and Goodlatte sent their letter demanding an investigation of the leaks, while refusing to conduct any investigation whatsoever into Flynn’s lies to the Vice President and others, his security clearance, or his paid trip to Moscow in December 2015.
Coming full circle, this morning, President Trump tweeted : “The spotlight has finally been put on the low-life leakers! They will be caught!"
