Utah Republican rep and answer to the question “who is a more craven character than Bram Stoker’s Renfield” Jason Chaffetz is finally getting around to asking for an investigation! I’m sure that all of his constituents’ protests and our national security has led to see the light? No.
Campaign Action
The Honorable Michael E. Horowitz Inspector General Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Mr. Horowitz: Over the last several days, there have been a series of news articles recounting potentially classified national security information. These include reports on communications of or regarding the President's former National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn (ret.). Another report cited "current and former U.S. officials," and detailed a meeting between then-Acting Attorney General Sally Q. Yates and White House Counsel Donald McGahn.
According to some of the reports, the information may come from classified intelligence products. In one case, reports indicate the National Security Division of the Department of Justice applied for a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to intercept electronic records from Russian banks. Other reports cite to a U.S. intelligence agency's monitoring of Flynn's call or calls with Russia Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Generally, collection activities by intelligence agencies are classified, as are the products that result from those activities. This is to ensure the continued integrity of the sources and methods used. Therefore, it seems probable that the fact that an intelligence agency monitored the call, if it did, as well as any recording of the call, would also be classified. Similarly, the Department of Justice's reported application for and receipt of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant would likely be classified.
We have serious concerns about the potential inadequate protection of classified information here. Federal laws, and the Constitution, distinguish law enforcement investigation authorities from intelligence collection authorities for good reason, and in neither case is
collection intended to enable the government's publication of conversations surreptitiously
recorded by intelligence agencies. Similarly, the release of classified national security information can, by definition, have grave effects on national security. In light of this, we request that your office begin an immediate investigation into whether classified information was mishandled here.
Rep. Chaffetz is going to investigate the whistleblowers in this case. Not the obvious national security issue of having high-ranking and clearly compromised leadership, the people behind the scenes who have exposed this corruption of our government. As Rep. Chaffetz’s overlord would say: “pathetic.”