'It's Very Awkward': Panetta Says Intel Committee Has to Investigate DNC-Dossier Link

Cortney O'Brien | October 27, 2017 10:00 AM

Reports this week suggested that the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund research that the firm Fusion GPS conducted into possible collusion between Donald Trump and the Kremlin during last year's presidential election. Yet, both Clinton Campaign Chair John Podesta and former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz claim they had no clue about the payments.

If it comes to light that they lied to the Senate intelligence committee, they could be in serious trouble.

Former CIA Director Leon Panetta said those are enough red flags to warrant an investigation.

"Well, it's obviously something that the intelligence committee is going to have, have to look at," Panetta told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Thursday. "You know, knowing presidential campaigns, their big operations and somehow the left hand may not know what the right hand is doing. And that could be the case here, but I really do think that the committee is going to have to get into this, determine just exactly what happened. Who knew what and when."

Blitzer pressed the issue, noting that the Clinton lawyer who retained Fusion GPS, Marc Elias, was sitting right next to Podesta when he spoke with the intelligence committee. Perhaps he should have briefed him?

"Well, it certainly makes the situation very awkward," Panetta nodded. "If you're testifying and saying you have no knowledge and the attorney sitting next to you is one of those that knew what, what was involved here, I think it does raise an issue that the committee is going to have to look at and determine just exactly who knew what."