Erin Burnett Outfront: Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) Is Interviewed On Leak Of Classified Intelligence And About The War In Ukraine
Interview
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We did have a brief, unclassified briefing by telephone today with officials from the Department of Defense. And no, it didn't -- I'm not exactly sure why we had the briefing because it's a little early in the investigation for them to know anything. I suspect it was to try to calm the waters and to out -- to do a little outreach to Congress.
But, no, I mean, I must say -- I'm glad to know that the State Department is reaching out to our allies and I'm glad to know that there's an investigation underway. But this is really serious stuff.
And, you know, what I didn't hear was something I expect to hear in the coming week or so, which is, you know, who did this? How were they able to do this? And most importantly, how can we make sure it never happens again? And this is pretty key for our allies, right? You know, we rely on our allies to share intelligence and they need to trust us. And right now, for all the soothing tones that I heard from the secretary of state, if I were an ally right now, I would be wondering whether the United States can keep their secrets safe.
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Well, you know, I'm not going to be soothed until we know what happened, and have fixed the problem. And part of the reason I've got some energy around this is that, you know, I started doing intelligence work in the Congress here when Edward Snowden did a catastrophic leak, and it just keeps happening.
Of course, the American public is aware of the classified documents that were found in Mar-a-Lago, and at two former vice president's residences. Now, we have this.
You know, this is -- this is -- you know, guarding our classified intelligence is truly a matter of life and death for our sources. It's a matter of life and death for soldiers on the Ukrainian battlefield right now. So we just need to do better and no, I'm not going to be mollified until I hear what the plan is to do better.
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Well, first of all, I should just say right up front, we don't know to this date which of those documents are authentic, which are not. Some of them apparently may have been altered in some way.
So this is not a moment to launch a big diplomatic effort around, understanding what Turkey maybe doing or what Egypt maybe doing. I know there's allegations with respect to Egypt. We will ask those questions. But again, I really do emphasize that right now, we just don't know what's out there in its totality, and we just don't know what is -- what is authentic and what is not.
Now, we better know soon. I'm not apologizing for anybody at the Department of Defense, but right now, it's a little too early to, you know, start drawing conclusions from what may or may not be authentic intelligence.
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You know, I would disagree, and this is just my own opinion. I would disagree with the concept that it's a stalemate. I mean, obviously the lines are static, but you know the entire might of the Russian army, this is an army that we have spent generations and spent tens of billions of dollars thinking about fighting, hasn't been able over a period of six months to take a town in eastern Ukraine called Bakhmut that nobody had ever heard of. They couldn't take a town.
Now, the Ukrainians are training up. They're getting new equipment. They are -- they are becoming ever more capable every single day. If and when a Ukrainian counteroffensive materializes, that newly capable Ukrainian military will be moving on a spent Russian force.
So I don't think it is a stalemate. Obviously, time will tell. But I would much rather be, you know, on the Ukrainian side right now than on the Russian side.
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No, I don't think we're slowing down, and I know that we've been arguing for the last 13 months ever since the invasion over the pace and the timing and the types of weapons that gets sent to Ukraine. For my part, I wish it had come faster.
You know, there was always this concern, and the concern is a fair one, that you don't want a guy with access to nuclear weapons to, you know, to go over the edge, right? But I do believe that we have -- we have been too conservative and providing weapons to the Ukrainians. They have shocked us by their ability to use the weapons that they have to beat the Russians.
And I think we should be providing them with whatever it is that they think that they need. They're the ones who are fighting on the battlefield and dying on the battlefield. I'm not sure that if you work in the Pentagon or in this building, the United States Capitol, you should be second-guessing the people who are winning this war in Ukraine.
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Yeah, I do. Look, I think inside the White House there are differing views and over time, the United States has provided more and more weapons. I do think that there is a case to continue to be more aggressive.
Look, I think there's a moral case, right? Stalemate is not an acceptable thing here. Stalemate is a world in which thousands of people are dying every single week, and we need to provide the Ukrainians the tools to push the Russians back.
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Thank you.
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