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Boehner ‘Baffled’ by Reports of Israeli Intelligence Leaks to House Members (Video)

Speaker John A. Boehner said he was “a bit shocked” by Wall Street Journal reports that Israeli officials were actively working to undermine U.S. efforts to curtail Iran’s nuclear program through diplomacy.  

In particular, Boehner said he was “baffled” by allegations Israelis were spying on closed-door talks and leaking intelligence to members of Congress.

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

“There’s no information revealed to me whatsoever,” the Ohio Republican said at a Tuesday morning news conference.  

In a follow-up question, Boehner clarified that he was surprised by the report, saying, “I’m not aware of that at all.” He added he was “not sure what the information was” that Israelis were presumably passing on to fellow lawmakers.  

The allegations come a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won re-election, and a few days short of a month since the head of state delivered a controversial address to a joint meeting of  Congress — at GOP leadership’s invitation — in which he railed against President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats who didn’t want to pass tougher sanctions against Iran.  

Related: Boehner, House Delegation to Meet Netanyahu in Israel (Updated) Steve Cohen: Netanyahu’s Campaign Ad Turns Congress Into ‘Theater’ (Video) The 114th: CQ Roll Call’s Guide to the New Congress Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call in your inbox or on your iPhone.

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