The FBI has declassified interview memos that may shed light on how fake Russiagate leaks came into being. The witness or witnesses whose interviews are memorialized in these memos laid the blame squarely on Adam Schiff, who at the time was the ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. You can read the memos here, and draw your own conclusions.
These are some of the good parts:
(U//FOUO) When working in this capacity, XXXXXXX was called to an all-staff meeting by SCHIFF. In this meeting, SCHIFF stated the group would leak classified information which was derogatory to President of the United States Donald J. TRUMP. SCHIFF stated the information would be used to Indict President TRUMP. XXXXXXX stated this would be illegal and, upon hearing his concerns, unnamed members of the meeting reassured that they would not be caught leaking classified information.
More:
According to the account given to XXXXXXX, the staffer met with XXXXXXX for a drink later that evening, during which XXXXXXX provided the same detailed description of the leaking process within the HPSCI minority. XXXXXXX emphasized that this was not a one-time thing. Under the system established by XXXXXXX, notes would be run up to the ranking member, ADAM SCHIFF, after which a decision was made as to who would leak the information.
The Russia collusion hoax predated the 2016 election, but it gained force after Donald Trump unexpectedly (to some) defeated Hillary Clinton. It became the principal means through which the Democratic Party sought, with great success, to undermine the fledgling Trump administration:
Following the U.S. presidential election in November 2016, the mood within HPSCI was indescribable, said XXXXXXX. Ranking Member Schiff was particularly upset, as he believed he would have been appointed as the Director of CIA had candidate HILLARY CLINTON won the election. The HPSCI minority viewed the election and its aftermath as a constitutional crisis and, by February 2017, XXXXXXX stated that all hell broke loose. During a meeting on 13 February 2017, XXXXXXX instructed the staff that he wanted to drive the “Russian involvement” issue into a joint inquiry, similar to the 9/11 commission. To do so, XXXXXXX instructed the staffers to use any sources they had developed [in] the [U.S. Intelligence Community] to gather information, which would then be made public through the media in order to compel public opinion.
Further:
The Democratic minority leadership of HPSCI was aware of the leaks but was under the impression that leaking the information was one way to topple the administration and fix the constitutional crisis.
Nothing in these documents comes as a surprise. The Democrats’ plot to use the fabricated Russia Collusion Hoax to bring down the Trump administration has been amply documented, and Schiff himself not only leaked, he lied: he claimed publicly to have seen intelligence documents implicating Trump that did not, in fact, exist. Apart from these most recent documents, Adam Schiff is one of the most despicable people to have served in the federal government in the last 50 years.
Schiff has, of course, denied the truth of what was reported to the FBI in these interviews. He says the principal source was fired and has been discredited. I have no idea whether that is true or not.
These documents indicate that Schiff said he thought he would be immune from criminal prosecution for his leaks under the Constitution’s speech and debate clause, which is ridiculous. Nevertheless, for whatever reason, the FBI chose not to pursue Schiff and others some years ago. On his last day in office, Joe Biden (or someone) pardoned Adam Schiff, but only with regard to his role on the committee that investigated the January 6 protest.
