Pelosi: Trump likely unaware of intelligence moves

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that President Trump is likely unaware of the use of unclassified email by the CIA to provide a list of employees recently brought on by the agency to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

“Senator [Mark] Warner, I thought, perfectly addressed the issues that relate to intelligence. Asking for the names of sources …. therefore methods of our intelligence, which is there to protect our men and women in uniform and the American people, is with stiff competition, one of the worst ideas of this administration so far, with stiff competition, the worst idea,” Pelosi told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

“I [don't even] think President Trump knows about it, cause it’s — doesn't even reach the level of his lack of sophistication, [in] terms of intelligence,” she added.

A list featuring CIA employees’ first names and last initials was sent by the intelligence agency to the OPM. The employees on the list were still on probation, which makes the process of dismissing them easier.

“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.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), also criticized the CIA's move.

“I am very concerned that the CIA shared identifying details about its officers on an unclassified system. Those details are secret for a reason — because protecting the identities of CIA employees is critical to their safety and mission, a mission that helps keep Americans safe every day,” Himes said previously.

“From what I have learned, the CIA should not have transmitted these names in this fashion, nor should the White House have insisted on such a clearly irresponsible approach, one that could genuinely put people in danger,” he added.

The Hill has reached out to the White House, CIA and OPM for comment.

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