Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice has criticized President Donald Trump over his handling of the successful US military operation that killed the leader of ISIS.
Appearing on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Rice claimed President Trump should have had the “courtesy” to provide Barack Obama with advance warning about plans for the raid in which al-Baghdadi was killed.
President Trump reportedly chose not to brief prominent Democrats in Congress about the operation, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) over fears they would leak information and compromise the operation.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
When asked if he informed Pelosi of the raid beforehand, he said “no” because “leaks” would have cost the lives of US forces.
According to Rice, however, Trump should have consulted with his predecessor about the raid.
“Do you know, was President Obama informed of the death of al-Baghdadi by the administration?” host Margaret Brennan asked.
“There’s no reason why I should know,” Rice responded.
“There is a tradition of common courtesy of presidents informing their predecessors of things of significance like this.
“Since the White House seemingly didn’t feel it necessary to inform the leadership of the intelligence committees on a bipartisan basis, I’m quite confident that they didn’t do the normal protocol with respect to predecessors either.”
Rice continued by saying that Trump should have informed Obama “as a matter of courtesy,” despite the fact that Obama has proved himself hostile to most Trump endeavors.
Rice has been in the news recently after a podcast appearance where she repeatedly called Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) a “piece of s**t.”
