A career intelligence officer who worked for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for more than a decade repeatedly warned the FBI beginning in 2017 that then-Rep. Adam Schiff had approved leaking classified information to smear then-President Donald Trump over the now-debunked Russiagate scandal, according to bombshell FBI memos that Director Kash Patel has turned over to Congress.
The FBI 302 interview reports obtained by Just the News state the intelligence staffer — a Democrat by party affiliation who described himself as a friend to both Schiff, now a California senator, and former Republican House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes — considered the classified leaking to be “unethical,” “illegal,” and “treasonous,” but was told not to worry about it because Schiff believed he would be spared prosecution under the Constitution’s speech and debate clause.
No publicly-disclosed opinion from the Attorney General or the Solicitor General can be found making that determination as a matter of law.
But officials told Just the News that DOJ officials showed little interest in pursuing Schiff when the allegations were brought to them years ago, citing the very same excuse the lawmaker had offered.
In his most recent interview with the bureau in 2023, the whistleblower, whose name is redacted, told agents from the FBI’s St. Louis office that he personally attended a meeting at which Schiff authorized leaking classified information.
“When working in this capacity, [redacted staffer’s name] was called to an all-staff meeting by SCHIFF,” the interview report said. “In this meeting, SCHIFF stated the group would leak classified information which was derogatory to President of the United States DONALD J. TRUMP. SCHIFF stated the information would be used to indict President TRUMP.”
The whistleblower told investigators that he “stated this would be illegal and, upon hearing his concerns, unnamed members of the meeting reassured that they would not be caught leaking classified information,” the 2023 interview report stated.
The staffer made similar claims to agents in the FBI’s Washington field office as early as 2017, shortly after Trump took office for his first term.
You can read the FBI interview reports here:
Democratic HPSCI Staffer – FBI Interview Notes
Schiff did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
The alleged leaks fall outside the statute of limitations for prosecution on most legal theories, but the revelations nevertheless come at a sensitive time for Schiff, who recently was referred to the Justice Department for possible prosecution for potential mortgage fraud, based on a story first written by Just the News.
Officials also said some of the DOJ officials who declined to prosecute a rash of classified leaks during the Russiagate affair remain employed in positions of power, a matter that may be of interest to lawmakers in Congress.
“For years, certain officials used their positions to selectively leak classified information to shape political narratives,” Patel told Just the News on Monday. “It was all done with one purpose: to weaponize intelligence and law enforcement for political gain.
“Those abuses eroded public trust in our institutions,” he added. “The FBI will now lead the charge, with our partners at DOJ, and Congress will have the chance to uncover how political power may have been weaponized and to restore accountability,” he said.
Schiff, who previously served as the ranking member and then chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) before ascending to the Senate, pushed false allegations of Trump-Russia collusion for many years, and touted British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited dossier — even reading multiple baseless claims from it into the congressional record in March 2017.
The whistle-blower began approaching the FBI that same year.
In one meeting, the Democratic HPSCI staffer told the FBI that retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn — Trump’s first national security adviser — was to be a specific focus of the committee as part of a broader effort to target Trump. The whistleblower also specifically pointed to Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., as a likely source of classified leaks, the memos state.
Punishment for duty to law instead of party loyalty
The Democratic staffer also allegedly told a former Republican colleague on the committee that he was terminated because Schiff’s staff did not believe he had adequate “party loyalty” after he raised concerns about the leaks strategy, the FBI memos show. (Read much more: Just the News, 8/11/2025) (Archive)