In a message to those defying State Department and White House wishes by testifying before the secret House impeachment inquiry, former CIA Director James Woolsey told Newsmax TV these people should resign before they turn on their bosses.
"If you can't carry out your boss's orders, I think you need to go look for another job," Woolsey said Tuesday on "Newsmax Now."
"They should go to their boss and say, 'do you really insist, sir, that I do not talk about this even though it is not privileged.'
"If the answer is, 'yes, I insist on that,' then their response should be, 'well, sir, I'm afraid I am going to have to look for other work,'" Woolsey, a veteran of Democrat and Republican administrations, told host John Bachman.
"You've either got to follow your boss's orders or you've got to change jobs."
Woolsey is firm on the illegality of violating attorney-client or executive privilege.
"I think it's a very big deal if they are disclosing any privileged communications, such as a lawyer who represents the relevant people," Woolsey said.
"If they feel they have to talk and it's not violating a privilege, such as lawyer-client privilege, then I think their resort is to resign."
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