Leon Panetta is a Democrat. The real deal, not an outsider or some TV talking head.

I’m reiterating that obvious fact simply for emphasis. As the former Chief of Staff to President Clinton and both Director of the CIA and Secretary of Defense under President Obama, he’s what you call an insider. He has, in other words, no ill-willed interest in smearing other Democrats.

That’s why this interview from Wolf Blitzer today is so intensely interesting.

That is quite a series of statements. To break it down, first let’s get it typed out.

BLITZER: So it’s very awkward. How could both the chair of the DNC and the Clinton campaign not know about these papers?

PANETTA: Well, it’s obviously something that the Intelligence Committee is going to have, have to look at. 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: But if the lawyer who was representing the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton Campaign Marc Elias is sitting next to John Podesta, he was asked do you know about the funding, he says no. Wouldn’t it at least be his responsibility to at least whisper in his ear ‘yes, yes you…’ and tell him what was going on so if he wasn’t lying, John Podesta, he would be able to clarify all that before the committee on a sensitive issue like this?

PANETTA: Well, it certainly makes the situation very awkward. If you’re testifying and saying you have no knowledge and the attorney sitting next to you is one of those that knew 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.

That they both use “awkward,” as opposed to, say, “incredibly dishonest,” is pretty funny. But Panetta is right, obviously. They clearly have to take a deeper look. Indeed, it’s so obvious, and so given that it will happen, that you have to ask why Panetta is even bothering to say and repeat it.

It’s more than just the fact that Wolf asked him about it. Remember all the dishonest dealing that Hillary’s campaign undertook with the DNC against Bernie Sanders? Remember how Debbie Wasserman Schultz had to resign and there was a big schism and scandal? Remember how every other thing the Clintons have ever done has smacked of dishonesty, underhandedness, and a willingness to go to any length in their own interest?

Exactly. That they would get in bed with Russia to shovel dirt on any Republican, including but not limited to Trump, should therefore be no stretch of the imagination for anyone. But it’s especially no stretch for an insider like Leon Panetta.

The fact is that longtime Clinton allies know exactly who they are and what they are capable of. Leon Panetta is just implying what every other Clinton ally current and past is thinking: she did it, and she made people lie about it for her.

It’s the Clinton way.

And if you’re not 100% clear on whether we’re talking about lying, here, just read this from Sara Gonzales at The Blaze:

What did Podesta and Wasserman Schultz tell Congress?

Podesta told Senate Intelligence Committee investigators in September that he was not aware of a contractual agreement between the Clinton campaign and Fusion GPS, the company who hired British Intelligence Officer Christopher Steele to compile politically damaging information  about Donald Trump during the campaign.

The dossier compiled by the investigators became the subject of controversy when media outlets, led by CNN, reported that outgoing Obama-era officials had briefed the Trump team about the existence of the dossier, and that the Russians might attempt to compromise Trump using the material therein. The dossier contains a significant amount of material that is extremely salacious in nature, of dubious plausibility, and factually unverified.

Wasserman Schultz also reportedly told investigators on the panel earlier this month that she had no knowledge of the dossier, even though she was head of the DNC at that time.

We already know Debbie will lie and spy on behalf of Hillary. We know the same about Podesta. In light of the fact that Elias was sitting right next to them, is there any doubt we’re talking about lies, here?

The committee should investigate and make a conclusion about who knew what and when. Get it on the record. Make it official.

But come on. We know what’s up. And so does Leon Panetta.