On Monday, CNN falsely reported that the U.S. withdrew a spy from Russia because President Donald Trump mishandled classified information. After it was debunked by New York Times reporting, Americans are left to wonder which intelligence officials leaked this false information and why.
Mollie Hemingway joined Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” Tuesday morning to react to the intelligence leaks laundered by CNN reporter and Obama appointee Jim Sciutto.
"This has nothing to do with Trump. So why was someone trying to make it sound like it has something to do with Trump?" – @MZHemingway pic.twitter.com/UqLGe82Ab4
— The Federalist (@FDRLST) September 10, 2019
Hemingway suggests the leaks are coming from someone in the Obama administration, from an outside opposition firm such as Fusion GPS, or perhaps from both.
“There are two likely scenarios. One is inside the government: You had Obama’s intel chiefs running this Russia operation. You also had people outside the government, such as Fusion GPS, which was claiming that it had sources highly placed in the Russian government,” Hemingway said. “We know that these people were talking to the media to set forth this Russian collusion narrative. … Perhaps they’re both trying to point fingers, and they might be trying to distract people by mentioning Trump.”
Hemingway noted the leaks and stories may be part of a cover-up tied to ongoing investigations such as the DOJ inspector general’s report or U.S. Attorney John Durham’s criminal investigation.
“[They] are starting to expose some shenanigans or misbehavior by intelligence chiefs or those people outside the government who put forth this false and dangerous Russian collusion narrative,” she said.