After a review of the same intelligence reports brought to light by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers and aides have so far found no evidence that Obama administration officials did anything unusual or illegal, multiple sources in both parties tell CNN.
Their private assessment contradicts President Donald Trump's allegations that former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice broke the law by requesting the "unmasking" of US individuals' identities. Trump had claimed the matter was a "massive story."
However, over the last week, several members and staff of the House and Senate intelligence committees have reviewed intelligence reports related to those requests at NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland.
One congressional intelligence source described the requests made by Rice as "normal and appropriate" for officials who serve in that role to the president.
And another source said there's "absolutely" no smoking gun in the reports, urging the White House to declassify them to make clear there was nothing alarming in the documents.
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The lawmakers' assessment comes after Trump, in a New York Times interview last week, accused Rice of breaking the law.
Trump has not revealed which intelligence reports he is relying on to make his charge that Rice may have acted illegally.
"I think it's going to be the biggest story," Trump said. "It's such an important story for our country and the world." He also called it "truly one of the big stories of our time."
Asked by the Times if he believed Rice's actions were criminal Trump responded, "Do I think? Yes, I think."
Sebastian Gorka, a Trump foreign policy aide, cast Rice's actions as worse than the Watergate scandal that felled President Richard Nixon in an interview with pro-Trump Fox News host Sean Hannity.
"Losing 14 minutes of audiotape in comparison to this is a little spat in the sandbox in the kindergarten," Gorka said.
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Rice is among the list of witnesses that House and Senate Intelligence officials want to interview as part of its probe into Russian attempts to meddle with the US elections. House Democrats and Republicans on the Intelligence Committee are near agreement on the list of witnesses to interview, with the GOP mostly focusing on people who may have leaked classified information and the Democrats hoping to question Trump associates who may have ties to Russia.
But the House review has been thrown into turmoil after Nunes last month expressed alarm about the unmasking of US persons, including Trump advisors, caught up in incidental collection. He reviewed the documents on White House grounds with the help of White House officials, despite House Speaker Paul Ryan saying Nunes informed him that the information came from a "whistleblower."
Critics said Nunes appeared to be giving political cover to Trump in the aftermath of the president's unsubstantiated tweet last month that Obama ordered wiretaps of Trump Tower to spy on him during the campaign.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/11/p...contradicts-nunes-unmasking-claims/index.html
Their private assessment contradicts President Donald Trump's allegations that former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice broke the law by requesting the "unmasking" of US individuals' identities. Trump had claimed the matter was a "massive story."
However, over the last week, several members and staff of the House and Senate intelligence committees have reviewed intelligence reports related to those requests at NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland.
One congressional intelligence source described the requests made by Rice as "normal and appropriate" for officials who serve in that role to the president.
And another source said there's "absolutely" no smoking gun in the reports, urging the White House to declassify them to make clear there was nothing alarming in the documents.
....
The lawmakers' assessment comes after Trump, in a New York Times interview last week, accused Rice of breaking the law.
Trump has not revealed which intelligence reports he is relying on to make his charge that Rice may have acted illegally.
"I think it's going to be the biggest story," Trump said. "It's such an important story for our country and the world." He also called it "truly one of the big stories of our time."
Asked by the Times if he believed Rice's actions were criminal Trump responded, "Do I think? Yes, I think."
Sebastian Gorka, a Trump foreign policy aide, cast Rice's actions as worse than the Watergate scandal that felled President Richard Nixon in an interview with pro-Trump Fox News host Sean Hannity.
"Losing 14 minutes of audiotape in comparison to this is a little spat in the sandbox in the kindergarten," Gorka said.
....
Rice is among the list of witnesses that House and Senate Intelligence officials want to interview as part of its probe into Russian attempts to meddle with the US elections. House Democrats and Republicans on the Intelligence Committee are near agreement on the list of witnesses to interview, with the GOP mostly focusing on people who may have leaked classified information and the Democrats hoping to question Trump associates who may have ties to Russia.
But the House review has been thrown into turmoil after Nunes last month expressed alarm about the unmasking of US persons, including Trump advisors, caught up in incidental collection. He reviewed the documents on White House grounds with the help of White House officials, despite House Speaker Paul Ryan saying Nunes informed him that the information came from a "whistleblower."
Critics said Nunes appeared to be giving political cover to Trump in the aftermath of the president's unsubstantiated tweet last month that Obama ordered wiretaps of Trump Tower to spy on him during the campaign.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/11/p...contradicts-nunes-unmasking-claims/index.html
