OAN Staff Blake Wolf and Brooke Mallory
4:23 PM – Tuesday, August 12, 2025
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt drew attention to a newly declassified report by FBI Director Kash Patel, claiming that California Democrat Senator Adam Schiff leaked and exploited classified information in a deliberate effort to smear President Donald Trump’s reputation.
A whistleblower, described as a “Democrat staffer” with extensive experience, purportedly told the FBI in 2017 that then-Rep. Adam Schiff had authorized the leaking of classified information in order to undermine now-President Trump and facilitate his prosecution.
“I understand Kash Patel, last night, declassified a 302 FBI document showing that a whistleblower, who is a Democrat, a career intelligence officer who worked for Democrats on the House Intel Committee for more than a decade, repeatedly warned the FBI in 2017 that then-Rep. Adam Schiff had approved leaking classified information to smear then-President Donald Trump over the Russiagate scandal,” Leavitt said on Tuesday.
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The unidentified male source worked in the intelligence community for over two decades prior to becoming a Democrat staffer on the House Intelligence Committee for 12 years.
Members of Congress are entrusted with access to classified information to fulfill legislative and oversight duties, not to score political points or undermine political enemies. If leaks were proven to be intended to influence an investigation or prosecution, that raises even more legal concerns.
The press secretary went on to cite a quote from Patel, which read: “For years, certain officials used their positions to selectively leak classified information to shape political narratives.”
“It was all done with one purpose: to weaponize intelligence and law enforcement for political gain,” Leavitt continued. “Those abuses eroded public trust in our institutions. The FBI will now lead the charge with our partners at DOJ, and Congress will have the chance to uncover how political power may have been weaponized and to restore accountability.”
In the report, the whistleblower also informed FBI agents that the sentiment among the committee’s panel members was “beyond description” following President Trump’s victory in the 2016 election.
“Ranking member [Schiff] was particularly upset, as he had believed he would have been appointed as the director of the CIA had candidate [Hillary Clinton] won the election,” according to a summary of the interview obtained by the New York Post.
“Schiff believed Russia hijacked the election and the United States was in the middle of a constitutional crisis. Classified information began leaking to the media. The Democratic minority leadership of [the Intelligence Committee] 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,” the summary read, according to the outlet.
Additionally, the whistleblower went on to recall a meeting called by Schiff, where it was decided that “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].”
The whistleblower further claimed that he voiced his objection during the meeting to the deliberate disclosure of classified information, citing legal concerns. In response, other participants reportedly assured him that “they would not be caught leaking classified information.”
He was also allegedly approached for a second time about leaking classified information to target Trump, to which he responded that he “believed this activity to be unethical and treasonous.”
Meanwhile, Leavitt was asked by reporters if President Trump is now looking into charging Schiff, prompting her to respond that the president “has already said he wants to see Adam Schiff held accountable for the countless lies he told the American people in relation to the Russiagate scandal.”
Soon after the report was released, Schiff’s office responded, arguing that it is “absolutely and categorically false.”
“Kash Patel’s latest smear against Senator Schiff is absolutely and categorically false, and is just the latest in a series of defamatory attacks from the President and his allies meant to distract from their plummeting poll numbers and the Epstein files scandal,” a Schiff spokesperson stated.
“These baseless smears are based on allegations that were found to be not reliable, not credible, and unsubstantiated from a disgruntled former staffer who was fired by the House Intelligence Committee for cause in early 2017, including for harassment and potentially compromising activity on official travel for the Committee,” the spokesperson added.
The news follows a July report by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. She stated that Obama-era officials engaged in a “treasonous conspiracy” to weaponize the intelligence community in order to craft a damaging narrative targeting Trump, despite receiving a prior intelligence assessment that contradicted their desired narrative.
Although nothing has materialized legally from the leak allegations, Schiff is also currently facing a separate federal investigation tied to alleged mortgage fraud.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) referred Schiff to the DOJ, citing potential misuse of his Maryland property status by claiming it as primary residence for favorable loan terms while maintaining California residency for tax purposes.
The investigation is active and being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland. Schiff has denied all wrongdoing in this case as well, labeling the investigation as politically motivated.
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