Chief of Staff John Kelly has excluded Democrats from a meeting planned for Thursday to provide more information about the FBI informant that President Donald Trump claims infiltrated his 2016 campaign, according to a Tuesday Politico report.
Kelly reportedly arranged the meeting, which was an idea borne from Monday’s meeting on the same topic with Trump, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.
Democrats are furious about the exclusion. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer lashed out on Twitter after White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that as Democrats were not requesting information about the informant, they should not expect an invite.
The only thing more outrageous than this meeting occurring at all is the fact that it’s now partisan. It is crystal clear that Chairman Nunes’ intent is to interfere with the investigation, and @SpeakerRyan is allowing it to happen. https://t.co/vuMelocctF
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 22, 2018
Sen. Adam Schiff, ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, joined in the chorus, tweeting “this is another serious abuse of power. There’s a bipartisan mechanism called the Gang of 8. They need to use it.”
Per Politico, the meeting will include Wray, Coats, DOJ official Ed O’Callahan, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC).
