WASHINGTON DC (October 3, 2019) — Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Charles "Chuck" Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (ICIG) Michael Atkinson Wednesday to request transparency from the ICIG in regards to any actions he has taken to investigate leaks of sensitive information by intelligence community elements during the Russia investigation. In their letter, the chairmen also asked the ICIG if he is investigating leaks of sensitive information relating to the IC complaint and Ukraine call. This follows a May 6, 2019, letter in which the senators spotlighted specific concerning messages referring to the FBI’s apparent awareness of leaks to the media about ongoing investigations.
“The IC complaint’s material and material relating to President Trump’s call with Ukraine were also leaked, and those leaks included classified information. … News reports used anonymous sources to report on information relating to the complaint and phone call that were classified at the time,” the senators wrote.
“In response to our May 6, 2019, letter, although you shared in our concern about the harms posed by leaks during the Russia investigation, you refused to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. … We request that you show the same transparency that you and the White House have shown with respect to making the IC complaint’s allegations and supporting documentation public. Accordingly, we would like to reiterate our request that you provide full and complete answers to our May 6, 2019 letter.”
Full text of the follow-up letter is below, and the letter can be viewed here.
