Nunes ‘Unmasking’ Report Vindicates Trump Claims on Surveillance
House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) announced on Wednesday that he had learned that members of President Donald Trump’s transition team had been under surveillance by the Obama administration, that individual names had been “unmasked” by the intelligence community, and that those names had been leaked to the media.
Nunes’s information — which he said he would deliver to the White House later — vindicates the bulk of Trump’s claims earlier this month.
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Nunes said that while there was no direct “wiretap” by President Barack Obama of Trump Tower, there was indeed surveillance — perhaps collected incidentally — of people close to Trump, possibly including Trump himself.
Much of that had been suspected, on the basis of mainstream media reports, but Rep. Nunes reported something new: that the surveillance did not involve the ongoing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) inquiry into Russia’s alleged involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Indeed, none of the surveillance had intelligence value, he said.
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“I believe it was all done legally,” Nunes told a press conference. The question, he said, was why names of those swept up in the surveillance had been leaked. The collection of the intelligence appeared to have been legal, but the leaking may have been illegal.
Most of the activity occurred during the transition period from November to January. Furthermore, Nunes said, he did not know whether phone calls — including phone calls involving Trump — were among the communications captured.
Nunez added that the new information had come to light after Monday’s hearing with FBI Director James Comey, when the congressman had appealed to anyone with new information to come forward. He said the new revelations had been “legally brought to me by sources who thought that we should know it.
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The new information vindicates earlier reporting by Breitbart News, Mark Levin, and others, and which President Trump may have relied upon in tweeting the wiretapping claim Mar. 4.
Following Monday’s hearing, the mainstream media appeared to celebrate Comey’s statement that there was no evidence of wiretapping at Trump Tower. Politicians, too, piled on — including some Republicans, like Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who demanded that Trump apologize to Obama.
However, the only new revelation at the hearing was that senior members of the Obama administration may have been involved in “unmasking” former General Michael Flynn in intelligence reports.
Wednesday’s revelations by Rep. Nunes confirm earlier media reports of surveillance of Trump aides and associates, with the added twist that the revelations were unrelated to investigations of Russian ties to the Trump campaign.
No evidence of any collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign has been found, and former Obama administration intelligence officials have said publicly that such evidence does not exist.
Though the media, and the political opposition, had attacked Trump for his claims about wiretapping, he later clarified that he had used the term to refer to surveillance in a general sense. He also suggested that more evidence would soon emerge.
The result is a vindication of Trump’s controversial claims. Questions remain about whether President Obama himself knew of the surveillance, which other Obama administration officials were involved, and whether Trump was monitored directly. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/22/nunes-unmasking-report-vindicates-trump-claims-surveillance/
Nunes’s information — which he said he would deliver to the White House later — vindicates the bulk of Trump’s claims earlier this month.
VIDEOTrump fans rally in solidarity with president
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
Nunes said that while there was no direct “wiretap” by President Barack Obama of Trump Tower, there was indeed surveillance — perhaps collected incidentally — of people close to Trump, possibly including Trump himself.
Much of that had been suspected, on the basis of mainstream media reports, but Rep. Nunes reported something new: that the surveillance did not involve the ongoing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) inquiry into Russia’s alleged involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Indeed, none of the surveillance had intelligence value, he said.
advertisement
“I believe it was all done legally,” Nunes told a press conference. The question, he said, was why names of those swept up in the surveillance had been leaked. The collection of the intelligence appeared to have been legal, but the leaking may have been illegal.
Most of the activity occurred during the transition period from November to January. Furthermore, Nunes said, he did not know whether phone calls — including phone calls involving Trump — were among the communications captured.
Nunez added that the new information had come to light after Monday’s hearing with FBI Director James Comey, when the congressman had appealed to anyone with new information to come forward. He said the new revelations had been “legally brought to me by sources who thought that we should know it.
advertisement
The new information vindicates earlier reporting by Breitbart News, Mark Levin, and others, and which President Trump may have relied upon in tweeting the wiretapping claim Mar. 4.
Following Monday’s hearing, the mainstream media appeared to celebrate Comey’s statement that there was no evidence of wiretapping at Trump Tower. Politicians, too, piled on — including some Republicans, like Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who demanded that Trump apologize to Obama.
However, the only new revelation at the hearing was that senior members of the Obama administration may have been involved in “unmasking” former General Michael Flynn in intelligence reports.
Wednesday’s revelations by Rep. Nunes confirm earlier media reports of surveillance of Trump aides and associates, with the added twist that the revelations were unrelated to investigations of Russian ties to the Trump campaign.
No evidence of any collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign has been found, and former Obama administration intelligence officials have said publicly that such evidence does not exist.
Though the media, and the political opposition, had attacked Trump for his claims about wiretapping, he later clarified that he had used the term to refer to surveillance in a general sense. He also suggested that more evidence would soon emerge.
The result is a vindication of Trump’s controversial claims. Questions remain about whether President Obama himself knew of the surveillance, which other Obama administration officials were involved, and whether Trump was monitored directly. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/22/nunes-unmasking-report-vindicates-trump-claims-surveillance/
So it is that Trump was right about it all along.
Hey Jefferson, I see cnn is being used as a reliable source. Isn't that funny?
Sorry, but Trump was wrong once again.
IT...does...not...vindicate...Trump...in...any...manner. It...has...nothing...to...do...with...the...charge...of...President...Obama...wiretapping...or...surveillance
...of...Trump...at...all.
I said that slow so it will sink into even your brain.
You above all people should not be taking pot shots at what goes on in other people's brains. Lay off the personal attacks and throwing rocks from glass houses.
Jefferson, it seems you're about to be responsible for a seizure or something with this article. Oh, you just shook em up where they could hardly even type properly.
It does vindicate Trump in any manner It has nothing to do with Trump's bullshit tweets nothing at all nada not a thing it does not change a thing about Trump's lying tweets.
Got it?
No, it does not and Nunez did not say it did. Nothing he said vindicated what Trump heard or what he tweeted in the least. Not one single thing he said. Nothing at all. There is no new information that vindicates what Breitbart or Levin says. None. Nunez did not report any and neither did anyone else. What you are saying did not happen!
He did not report ANY new information which vindicated what Breitbart or Levin said! He did not say anything even close to that! He did not say ANYTHING that vindicated what Trump heard or tweeted! Not a single thing. If he did, then show it to me, because I watched both of his press conferences and he did not even come CLOSE to saying ANYTHING that vindicated ANYTHING that TRUMP did in ANY manner. He simply DID NOT.
"
Nunes: Trump team communications captured by intel community
Members of the intelligence community "incidentally collected" communications from the Trump transition team during legal surveillance operations of foreign targets, a top Republican lawmaker said Wednesday afternoon.
House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said this produced "dozens" of reports which eventually unmasked several individuals’ identities and were "widely disseminated."
He said none of the reports he had read mentioned Russia or Russians and he was unsure whether the surveillance occurred at Trump Tower -- as President Trump has suggested. Nunes also was unsure if then President-elect Trump was captured by the surveillance, which occurred in November, December and January.
“I recently confirmed on numerous occasions the intelligence community incidentally collected intelligence,” Nunes said.
Democrats quickly criticized him for his comments.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released a statement:
"This afternoon, Chairman Devin Nunes announced he had some form of intercepts revealing that lawfully gathered intelligence on foreign officials included information on U.S. Persons, potentially including those associated with President Trump or the President himself. If accurate, this information should have been shared with members of the committee, but it has not been. ... The Chairman also shared this information with the White House before providing it to the committee, another profound irregularity, given that the matter is currently under investigation. I have expressed my grave concerns with the Chairman that a credible investigation cannot be conducted this way."
The revelations could at least partially back up some allegations made by Trump earlier this month, when he tweeted that former President Barack Obama had "wiretapped" him, though top lawmakers have sharply disputed those claims. FBI Director James Comey also testified earlier this week he had no evidence to support the claims.
Nunes said he told House Speaker Paul Ryan earlier Wednesday about his findings. He later said he briefed Trump, calling some of the collection "inappropriate."
Trump commented briefly afterward, saying he felt “somewhat” vindicated by Nunes’ comments.
"There’s a lot of questions that I think his statement raises, and that I hope we can get to the bottom of,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer also said.
He said the NSA had been "very helpful" during the investigation, however, he was unsure if "the FBI is going to comply."
Nunes said the surveillance collection was "legally collected foreign intelligence under FISA incidental collection." But Nunes said he was "alarmed" the intelligence "ended up in reporting channels and was widely disseminated."
It was previously reported that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was "unmasked" in this way, however, Nunes said "additional names" were unmasked as well.
He said he didn't know what foreign intelligence value the surveillance had "and why people would need to know that about President-elect Trump and his transition team." Nunes did not identify which foreign targets were under surveillance.
Asked if he thought Trump was spied on, Nunes replied: "I'm not gonna get into legal definitions here, but clearly I have a concern." http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/22/trump-team-communications-captured-by-intelligence-community-surveillance-nunes-says.html
Nunes vindicates Trump. Period. End of subject.