Rep. Scott Perry delivered a blistering response to a whistleblower's claim that Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., then a congressman, instructed staff members to leak classified information in 2017 as part of an effort to undermine President Donald Trump during his first term.
In an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Republican called the revelations "outrageous" and said they validated public mistrust of both government institutions and the intelligence community.
Perry joined Newsmax's "Wake Up America" to react to documents obtained by Newsmax on Tuesday that revealed a Democrat whistleblower told the FBI that Schiff, as a House member, approved leaking classified information in order to discredit Trump over the since-debunked Russia collusion scandal.
"How courageous of Rep. Adam Schiff to get his staff members to leak classified information," Perry said, referring to Schiff's tenure in the House at the time. "It's no wonder that the American people don't trust their government, certainly the intelligence agencies."
Perry accused Schiff of knowingly misleading the public for years by hiding behind his access to classified information.
"This particular individual ... went out for literally years knowing it was wrong and lying to the American public with the imprimatur that he had classified information ... which was absolutely made up and false," Perry said.
He also condemned the Justice Department and FBI, alleging they were aware of the misconduct since 2017 but allowed it to continue while Trump faced relentless political and legal attacks — both as president and later as a private citizen.
"You wouldn't believe this if it were written in a novel," Perry said. "Unfortunately, real life is more intriguing than fiction."
Perry suggested Schiff could face legal consequences if the allegations are proven but raised concerns about whether the statute of limitations might shield him.
He also criticized what he called a "double standard" in the Justice Department's use of legal protections, noting that while "speech and debate" was invoked to shield Schiff, the same protections were denied to other lawmakers, himself included, during politically charged investigations.
"Once again, double standard by the Department of Justice based on politics. So outrageous," Perry said.
The surfacing of the whistleblower's claims have ignited fresh calls from Trump and Republicans for accountability and further investigation into Schiff's conduct during the Trump-Russia probe.
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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