National security adviser Jake Sullivan admitted Tuesday that he has not been briefed on the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.
The admission raises questions, considering that Sullivan is the principal adviser to the president on national security matters.
What did Sullivan say?
At the White House press briefing, Sullivan was asked whether he has been briefed on the situation. He confirmed that he remains in the dark.
“I have not been briefed,” Sullivan said.
“The investigation is obviously being handled by the Justice Department, led by the attorney general, who, of course, is a member of the National Security Council,” he explained. “The director of national intelligence, also a member of the National Security Council, has indicated that they have been pursuing their own analysis, their own assessment.
“It’s being handled in those channels and not in my channel. And I have not been briefed,” he reiterated.
Jake Sullivan Asked Point Blank If He’s Been Briefed About The FBI Raid Of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Home www.youtube.com
The question comes after President Joe Biden disclosed in his “60 Minutes” interview that he has not been briefed about the investigation into former President Donald Trump and purported national security implications.
But, Biden claimed, the National Security Council is fully informed.
“I have not personally spoken to anyone on that in that regard,” Biden said. “I’m sure my administration is aware of all of that, and so is the National Security Council.”
He also explained of the seized documents, “I have not asked for the specifics of those documents because I don’t want to get myself in the middle of whether or not the Justice Department should move or not move on certain actions they could take. I agreed I would not tell them what to do and not, in fact, engage in telling them how to prosecute or not.”
What is the significance of his admission?
The government alleges in court filings that the highly classified documents that Trump allegedly retained at Mar-a-Lago may have compromised national security.
Considering the seriousness of the allegations, why has Biden’s top national security adviser not been briefed about this possible national security leak?
And if that is true, then why did Biden suggest the National Security Council is fully aware of the situation when the top man on the council says he is not? And how could other individuals on the National Security Council be more aware of potential national security problems than the top man himself?
Unfortunately, Sullivan did not answer any of those questions. It’s not clear why he has not been briefed if, as the government claims, national security may be comprised because of the former president.
(H/T: Katie Pavlich)