Leaking highly classified foreign intel is "darn close to treason," homeland security secretary says
Leaking highly classified information from foreign intelligence is "borderline, if not over the line" treason, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said Sunday.
Kelly made the comments on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday morning, after the U.K. expressed concern about leaked information regarding last week's deadly bombing in Manchester. The U.K. reportedly suspended intelligence sharing with the U.S. for a brief period. Kelly agreed that British Prime Minister Theresa May had a point when she complained to the U.S. about the leaking.
"I don't know where the leak came from," Kelly said. "But I will tell you this, as I always do in cases like this, I immediately called my counterpart in the U.K. And after offering my condolences about the attack -- and unbelievably the third time in 120 days I've done that; I've called the minister and offered my condolences."
"She immediately brought this topic up," Kelly continued. "And, if it came from the United States, it's totally unacceptable. And I don't know why people do these kind of things, but it's borderline, if not over the line, of treason."
"I think it's darn close to treason," he added.
The White House pledged to find whoever was responsible for leaked information and prosecute them.
Kelly's comments, however, also harkened back to reports of leaking involving the president himself.
The day after firing FBI Director James Comey, Mr. Trump reportedly shared "inappropriate" and possibly highly classified Israeli intelligence about an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plot with Russian diplomats.
