WASHINGTON — The White House responded to what it called a “bombshell” report accusing Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., of intentionally leaking classified information to attack President Donald Trump. It marks the latest in what’s been a yearslong war between the two prominent politicians.
The latest allegations were revealed in a Just The News report showing testimony from a Democratic whistleblower — who previously worked for the House Intelligence Committee for more than a decade under then-Rep. Schiff — who said the California lawmaker personally greenlit the leaking of classified documents about the “Russiagate” investigation.
The leaks were intended to smear Trump, the former staffer alleged, according to FBI memos obtained by the outlet and sent to Congress by FBI Director Kash Patel earlier this week.
“This is obviously a bombshell whistleblower report,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday. “Hopefully more people in this room will cover it as such.”
The push to release classified information allegedly occurred in 2017 when Schiff was among those in Congress demanding to investigate whether Russia interfered with the 2016 election resulting in Trump’s first victory. The staffer first warned the FBI about the leak in 2017, according to the memos, and then again in 2023.
The staffer said he personally attended a meeting during which Schiff “stated 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,” according to the documents obtained by Just The News.
Schiff denied the allegations, telling the Deseret News in a statement that the allegations are “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.”
“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,” Schiff said. “Even Trump’s own Justice Department and an independent inspector general found this individual to not be credible, have ‘little support for their contentions’ and was of ‘unknown reliability,’ and concluded that his accusations against Members of Congress and congressional staff ‘were not ultimately substantiated.’”
Trump and Schiff have history of feuding
The scuffle is the latest in a long line of attacks between Trump and Schiff, who even received his own nickname from the president years ago: Shifty Schiff.
Their feud largely began in 2017, when Schiff raised calls to investigate the 2016 election for interference by the Russian government to help the president, prompting Trump to call the then-California representative “sleazy” and “totally biased.”
Schiff was later censured by his Republican colleagues in the House in 2023 over accusations that he intentionally misled the country with the Trump-Russia investigation.
Their feud intensified in 2019 when Schiff helped launch an impeachment inquiry into Trump over allegations he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s family while they ran against each other in the 2020 election. Trump was later impeached by the House in December 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Trump was later acquitted by the Senate. But that didn’t stop him from railing against Schiff on Twitter, now known as X, calling him “a CORRUPT POLITICIAN, and probably a very sick man.”
“He has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!” Trump wrote.
Aside from the whistleblower report, Schiff is also currently facing an investigation by the Department of Justice for alleged mortgage fraud.
“Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social in July. “Mortgage Fraud is very serious, and CROOKED Adam Schiff (now a Senator) needs to be brought to justice.”
Schiff seems to relish Trump’s anger, telling late night host Stephen Colbert last month it’s a “deliberate campaign to frighten people into submission.”
“Ever since I led his first impeachment, he’s threatened me with jail and prosecution and called me a traitor, accuse me of treason,” Schiff said. “Blah, blah, blah. He coerced Republicans into censuring me in the House, and now this is the latest attack on me.”