Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) gave a full-throated defense of the numerous leaks from President Donald Trump's White House on "The View" Friday.
Waters, who has frequently called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, was asked to respond to the recent leaking of phone conversations between Trump and the presidents of Mexico and Australia to the Washington Post.
"There's a lot of Democrats that are disturbed by this because it threatens our national security. Are you disturbed by it?" asked "View" co-host Paula Faris.
"No, not at all," Waters said. "I am so glad they're telling us what's going on."
"I need to hear these conversations," she said to applause.
She blamed the president for the leaks, saying that they represented a failure of leadership.
"Unfortunately, this is his fault," Waters said. "He is in a White House where he's got people working for him that don't believe in him, don't like what he's doing, and they're trying to tell the American public something."
Faris remained unconvinced, pointing out the threat to national security and international relations that the leaks pose.
"America loses here, though. He cannot have a candid conversation with the leader of another country. Mexico's not gonna want to have a conversation with us anymore, because it could get leaked. Australia, countries are not going to want to get on the phone with the leader of the free world," she said.
Waters contradicted Faris, claiming that "Mexico is glad to have it leaked."
"And I tell you why: he tried to convince the President that somehow he should not be talking about the fact that they're not going to fund this wall. And he's trying to convince him to go along with him to do harm to his country," she said.
"Let me tell you, the leadership starts at the top," Waters said. "And it is this president that his own people have no confidence in. They're undermining him because they want to see him stop, they want us to do something. Not every president would be treated this way. This man has no value. He lies, they know it, and he's the danger, and they want us to do something about it."
Waters is not the only prominent Democrat to comment on the leaks. On Thursday night, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) seemed to justify the leaks during an appearance on MSNBC. Opposite Waters and Shaheen, Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for an investigation into the leaks.