Lock up the leakers? Sessions to unveil crackdown, as Kelly gets White House staff in line!
Sessions to announce investigations into ‘criminal leaks’
Fox news August 01, 2017
By Barnini ChakrabortyPublished August 01, 2017
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is set to announce a major crackdown on leakers this week, in the latest sign the administration is pushing to run a tighter ship as John Kelly seizes the reins as White House chief of staff.
One of the first tasks facing the retired general and former Homeland Security boss will be plugging the leaks at the White House that his predecessor struggled to stanch.
“If Reince [Priebus] couldn’t control those leaks ... then he was the one who was ultimately responsible, and General Kelly was brought in to make sure those leaks do not continue,” former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.
Kelly, with his apparent role in Monday’s removal of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, already has demonstrated he’ll oust staff members he thinks are causing problems.
But beyond the White House effort to halt nettlesome leaks about behind-the-scenes feuding, Sessions is expected to go further with an announcement on criminal leak investigations — specifically, concerning news reports that published sensitive intelligence material, according to officials who have been briefed on the matter.
Sessions plans to hold a press conference on leaks on Friday. The announcement may provide more of an overview of what the DOJ hopes to accomplish rather than specific prosecutions at this stage, Fox News is told.
Last month, a report written by Republicans on the Senate’s homeland security panel warned that the Trump administration faced an “alarming” amount of media leaks that posed a potential threat to national security.
The 24-page report titled “State Secrets: How and Avalanche of Media Leaks is Harming National Security,” estimated the Trump administration has had about one leak per day.
Perhaps a reservation or two in the graybar hotel will tighten a few sphincters.