Public disclosures

Scaramucci claims 'felony' over report of public disclosures

By CRISTIANO LIMA

White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said Wednesday he will contact federal agencies over the "leak" of his financial disclosures, which he called a "felony," despite the forms being publicly accessible.

"In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept #swamp @Reince45" Scaramucci tweeted late Wednesday.

The tweet followed POLITICO’s publication of Scaramucci’s financial disclosures filed in the course of his employment with the Export-Import Bank. The documents are publicly available on request.

Scaramucci subsequently deleted the tweet and replaced it with another disavowing widespread speculation that his message implied that White House chief of staff Reince Priebus should be investigated. “Wrong! Tweet was public notice to leakers that all Sr Adm officials are helping to end illegal leaks. @Reince 45.”

Speaking to CNN's New Day co-host Chris Cuomo Thursday morning, Scaramucci acknowledged that the documents are available publicly but still denounced leaks.

"I understand the law. I know that there was a public disclosure mechanism in my financial forms," he said. "What I'm upset about is the process and the junk pool, the dirty pool, Chris, in terms of the way this stuff is being done, and the leaking won't stop."

The newly appointed White House communications director has made cracking down on White House leaks a staple of his early tenure. On Tuesday, Scaramucci threatened "to fire everybody" to stop the flow of leaks to the press, which have fueled numerous damaging reports about the administration.

During an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity," Scaramucci blasted the "swamp" and "cesspool" of Washington for driving leaks in the West Wing, while praising beleaguered Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his efforts to crack down on would-be leakers at the Justice Department.

A spokesperson for the DOJ responded to Scaramucci's comments on Fox by denouncing the "staggering number of leaks" occurring under President Donald Trump's first six months on office.

"We have seen an astonishing increase in the number of leaks of classified national security information in recent months," spokesperson Sarah Isgur Flores told POLITICO. "We agree with Anthony that these staggering number of leaks are undermining the ability of our government to function and to protect this country.

She added: "Like the Attorney General has said, 'whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail,' and we will aggressively pursue leak cases wherever they may lead.