Nancy Pelosi, former House Speaker (D-Calif.), said on Thursday that it is unlikely President Trump knows about the use of an unclassified CIA email to send a list of recent CIA employees to the Office of Personnel Management.
“Senator Mark Warner, I thought, perfectly outlined the concerns related to intelligence,” Pelosi told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “Requesting the names of sources—and, by extension, intelligence methods—endangers the very systems designed to protect our men and women in uniform, as well as the American people. Among the many questionable decisions of this administration, this one ranks as one of the worst—if not the worst.”
She added, “I don’t think that President Trump even knows about it because it doesn’t — even reach the level of his lack of sophistication in terms of intelligence.”
The OPM received a list of CIA employees with their first names and initials. The list included employees who were still on probation. This made it easier to dismiss them.
“Exposing the identities of officials who do extremely sensitive work would put a direct target on their backs for China. A disastrous national security development,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said in a post on the social platform X on Wednesday.
Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat of the House Intelligence Committee (D-Conn.), has also criticized the CIA for its move.
“I am concerned that the CIA has shared identifying information about its officers in an unclassified manner. Those details were kept secret because they are vital to the safety of CIA personnel and their mission. This mission helps keep Americans safe each day,” Himes previously stated.
He added, “From what I have learned, neither the White House nor the CIA would have been responsible in insisting on this irresponsible method, which could put people’s lives in danger.”
