Four charged over leaks from White House
FOUR people have been charged with leaking information from the Trump administration, the US attorney general announced yesterday.
Jeff Sessions, taunted by the president for being weak on the matter, has now taken an aggressive stand against the deluge of leaks that have plagued the first six months of the presidency, adding that he would leave no stone unturned in finding the culprits.
His remarks came after the highly damaging, and highly unusual, leak of transcripts of Donald Trump’s telephone calls with the leaders of Mexico and Australia.
“No one is entitled to surreptitiously fight their battles in the media by revealing sensitive government information,” said Mr Sessions. “No government can be effective when its leaders cannot discuss sensitive matters in confidence or to talk freely in confidence with foreign leaders.”
He did not provide details of the four, but he announced that his department had more than tripled the number of active leaks investigations compared with the number pending when Barack Obama left office. “This nation must end the culture of leaks,” he said, in remarks guaranteed to please his boss. “We will investigate and seek to bring criminals to justice. We will not allow rogue anonymous sources with security clearances to sell out our country any longer.”
Kellyanne Conway, a White House adviser, yesterday raised the possibility of using lie detector tests to root out leakers. “It’s easier to figure out who’s leaking than the leakers may realise,” she said. Asked on Fox News if lie detectors might be used, she replied: “Well, they may, they may not.” Mr Sessions made his remarks as the Russian elec- tion hacking investigation – the subject of many of the leaks – gathered pace.
America was yesterday digesting the implications of a decision by Robert Mueller, the special counsel, to appoint a grand jury to assist his investigation.
The convening of a grand jury, a standard prosecution tool in criminal investigations, suggests that Mr Mueller and his investigative team will likely hear from witnesses and demand documents in the next few weeks and months. It was also reported yesterday that two Republicans on the House intelligence committee travelled to London earlier this summer to speak to Christopher Steele, the British former intelligence officer behind the “dodgy dossier” detailing some of Mr Trump’s alleged activities in Russia.
The unnamed House aides visited at least two addresses that were associated with Mr Steele, who worked for intelligence firm Fusion GPS, including the office for Mr Steele’s lawyer.
The Americans, following instructions from Washington, did not meet the former spy. But their attempts to track down Mr Steele – without informing their Democrat colleagues, the Senate or Mr Mueller – have infuriated Washington investigators hoping to get to the bottom of the story. “What is clear is that the president and his allies are desperately trying to smear Fusion GPS,” said Tracy Schmaler, a representative of Fusion GPS.
♦ The US state department officially informed the United Nations it will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement in a document issued last night, but left the door open to re-engaging if the terms are changed.
It said in a press release that the US would continue to participate in UN climate change meetings during the withdrawal process, which is expected to take at least three years.