Trump communications may have been picked up in legal, 'normal foreign surveillance,' House Intelligence Committee chair says

Devin Nunes.
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said Wednesday that it's "possible" President Trump and his transition team's communications were picked up through "incidental collection" by intelligence officials doing "normal foreign surveillance." Nunes said the surveillance was legal and does not seem to be connected to the ongoing FBI investigation into alleged ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. This surveillance is also unrelated to Trump's allegations that former President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower.

Nunes said he learned of the possibility from "sources," and he said he was "alarmed" when he found out. However, Nunes noted it's not yet clear whether the surveillance — which apparently happened in November, December, and January — was "beyond routine foreign surveillance," The Washington Examiner reported.

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