Pence defends withholding Soleimani intel amid Lee, Paul criticism

Vice President Pence defended the Trump administration’s withholding of intelligence it says justified the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani after Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called a White House briefing on the matter “insulting.”

In an appearance on NBC’s “Today,” the vice president was asked why the administration could not share the intelligence with senators.

Pence defended the administration withholding the evidence as necessary to protect sources and methods, saying “some of the most compelling evidence that Qassem Soleimani was preparing an imminent attack against American forces and American personnel also represents some of the most sensitive intelligence that we have.”

“Why not in a classified setting can our briefers from this administration share what it was, this threat that you talk about in a classified setting?” @savannahguthrie asks Vice President @Mike_Pence about Sen. Mike Lee’s frustrations from Iran briefing pic.twitter.com/4ptf5AU0gl

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 9, 2020

Pence was then pressed on whether the potential threat to sources and methods still applied to classified briefings, which Pence did not answer, saying “those of us who have seen all the evidence, that saw the evidence in real time, know that President Trump made the right decision,” adding “America is safer, the world is safer.”

Paul and Lee on Wednesday claimed after a briefing from Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, CIA Director Gina Haspel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley that the officials warned against supporting a resolution curtailing Trump’s war powers, saying it would “embolden Iran.”

“I find this insulting and demeaning … to the office that each of the 100 senators in this building happens to hold. I find it insulting and demeaning to the Constitution of the United States,” Lee said. Both Paul and Lee said they would support the resolution after the briefing.