Rep. Jackie Speier (D., Calif.) said Thursday on MSNBC that because former FBI Director James Comey was making his memos available to the public after being fired, he was not engaging in a government leak.
MSNBC's Ali Velshi pointed out that Comey admitted in his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee that he was passing along his memos to have them leaked to the press, with the goal being an appointment of a special council to investigate President Donald Trump's campaign's connections to Russia.
"A lot of people are saying, '[Comey's] a leaker, this is the problem in government, that people are leakers and that's compromising the ability of government to do it’s job.' What's your response?" Velshi asked.
Speier denied that what Comey did was a leak.
"Well, he quote 'leaked.' He made that memo available after he was no longer an employee of the federal government. He did that as a private citizen," Speier said.