GOP lawmaker wants feds to probe intel leaks to media

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) says lawmakers should investigate leaks of U.S. intelligence to the media exposing Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“This is not a trivial matter,” he said on Fox News Friday. “This is supposed to be top secret, classified information, which they won’t even give to the [House] Intelligence Committee but they’re leaking to the press.

“That’s what’s really disgraceful about this,” King added, noting how most lawmakers had not seen a classified report on Russia’s election meddling. “I think there should be a federal investigation into how that was leaked out.”

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Reports emerged Thursday that U.S. intelligence agencies had intercepted top senior Russian officials celebrating President-elect Donald Trump win in November. Trump blasted the NBC report and urged the House and Senate to probe the U.S. intelligence leaks to the network.

King dismissed reports that top Russian officials celebrated Trump’s win.

“That to me means absolutely nothing, other than the fact that they feel they contributed to the election,” he said. “They were going to claim a victory almost no matter what.

“I would think anything they showed that was different on Election Day from what people expected, the Russians would have been happy about it,” added King, who endorsed Trump’s presidential bid. “If that’s all they have to go on, that is a terrible way for the intelligence community or anyone in there to try to disparage the victory of Donald Trump.”

Intelligence community officials have said they concluded that Russian hacks during the election were intended to help Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

But Trump has dismissed those claims, claiming the controversy over Russian hacking is a “political witch hunt.”

President Obama received a classified report Thursday the role Russia played in influencing last year’s election contest. The report could be declassified as soon as Friday.

Trump also received a briefing from intelligence officials on Friday.

After the briefing he said the hacks had “absolutely no effect” on the 2016 race’s outcome.