Did Kentucky congressman threaten to reveal national secrets on C-SPAN?

Olivia Krauth, Louisville Courier Journal
Updated ·1 min read
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U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is bringing Gabriel Shipton, the brother of Julian Assange, as his guest for President Joe Biden's State of the Union address.
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This story has been clarified to reflect that U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie said in the tweet that he believes he can read top secret information on the floor of Congress. There was no indication that he plans to read any such information.

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie said on Twitter that he could reveal national secrets by reading them aloud in Congress.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican who tends to embrace Tea Party and Libertarian ideals, believes a clause in the U.S. Constitution enables him to read top secret information included in documents involved in former President Donald Trump's latest indictment tied to his handling of classified information aloud in committee hearings, which are broadcast live on C-SPAN.

"For what it’s worth, under the Constitution, no member of Congress can be prosecuted for reading aloud on the floor any of the documents Trump allegedly has copies of," Massie tweeted Monday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Massie has not acted on his reading of the law by revealing top secret information.

Massie, who represents Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, has accused President Joe Biden's administration of weaponizing government with Trump's indictment. Biden has said he's never pressured the Department of Justice in the case and has not and will not speak with Attorney General Merrick Garland about it.

As part of his indictment, Trump faces 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act. The documents were described as some of the country's most important secrets, including "top secret," requiring special handling, the originator determines who receives the documents and not for release to foreign nationals, according to the indictment.

More: Gerth: Why Cameron, Massie and Barr will one day feel shame for supporting Donald Trump

Reach Olivia Krauth at okrauth@courierjournal.com and on Twitter at @oliviakrauth. USA Today contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Trump indictment: Did Thomas Massie threaten to read secrets in Congress