Senior congressional Democrats in the Gang of Eight, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, say they weren’t briefed on the Soleimani attack. Meanwhile close Trump ally Lindsey Graham said he was informed ahead of time.
Sources say that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, were not briefed ahead of the Soleimani attack. A spokesman for House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff declined to comment.
It’s unclear whether House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy got advanced notice of the raid while in Florida with Trump, or whether the other GOP members in the Gang of Eight — Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr and House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes — were told ahead of time. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would not comment.
What does this mean: The move is the latest indication that Trump typically keeps his close GOP confidantes in the loop over national security matters that have traditionally been handled more on a bipartisan basis, infuriating Democrats who say such highly sensitive matters should be devoid of partisanship.
Democrats are calling out Trump for breaking protocol by keeping them out of the loop. But keep in mind, this is not the first time the President has acted without talking to congressional leadership.
The latest developments are similar to the end of October when the US military killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Top Democrats, including Pelosi, were left in the dark about the raid. Trump contended he did not tell Pelosi about the raid because he didn’t want news of the operation to leak.
In that October attack, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also was not briefed, but he told CNN at the time he was okay with that.
“I wasn’t [briefed], but I was in the similar position when President Obama ordered the attack on Osama bin Laden. I was not called in advance then, nor do I expect to be called in advance now,” McConnell said in October. “The administration attempted to let me know. I didn’t connect with them before the President’s press conference, but they attempted to let me know before he went public. So the two situations were handled exactly the same from my point of view.”
While McConnell didn’t get notified ahead of the Baghdadi attack, a small group of congressional Republicans — including members who are not on the relevant committees overseeing military operations — were invited to the White House ahead just days ahead of the raid and were told an announcement was coming, according to a source familiar with the matter.