Turley: Clapper’s Testimony About Steele Dossier ‘At a Minimum Is Inconsistent’ – ‘Could Be Accused Again of Perjury’

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” George Washington Law Professor Jonathan Turley stated former DNI James Clapper, at best, engaged in conduct that is “highly unprofessional.” He added Clapper’s testimony “at a minimum, is inconsistent. It could be much more serious than that.”

Turley said, “You know, Clapper most certainly did lie to Congress. He was not indicted. In fact, the statute of limitations ran out not long before he took the job at CNN. There’s a serious issue here. You know, Clapper has already admitted that he did speak with CNN. Now, he is insisting that he didn’t speak to any media until January 2oth, but he indicated that he spoke to CNN in early January. The key is that that CNN story ran around January 10th. What’s also interesting is that Comey, the former FBI director, said that CNN was looking for a hook in order to run the story of the dossier. He said that to Trump. That hook ultimately became that briefing with Comey. That was used as the hook. But CNN reported that high-level people had confirmed this information with him. If one of those individuals is Clapper, then he has a serious problem. He could be accused again of perjury.”

He added, “I think the committee was correct. As it stands, Clapper’s testimony, at a minimum, is inconsistent. It could be much more serious than that. And I think the public has a right to know. You know, there is a troubling pattern with both Clapper and Comey. Both of them, at — in the best case scenario, talked about nonpublic information soon after leaving office. Even if that’s not illegal, it’s highly unprofessional. And so, there seems to be a lack of attention at the conduct of both of these individuals. They released this information for personal, perhaps political [reasons], but not for the public interest.”

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