Trump and Russia
Colleagues of Devin Nunes have now seen his 'unmasking' intelligence. They're bipartisanly underwhelmed.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) caused something of a stir in March by saying he'd seen classified information suggesting Obama administration officials improperly "unmasked" members of President Trump's transition team — meaning someone in the Obama administration had requested that the NSA identify Trump associates whose names had been redacted in surveillance of foreign officials. Conservative media and Trump pointed the finger at former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, with Trump telling The New York Times he thinks she committed a crime by requesting the unmasking of his team members. Rice and outside experts disagreed.
Now, Republican and Democratic lawmakers have viewed the intelligence Nunes discussed and shared with Trump, and several of them tell CNN they've seen no indication that Rice or any other Obama official did anything unusual or illegal. One congressional intelligence source told CNN that Rice's requests were "normal and appropriate" for a national security adviser, while another said there's no smoking gun, urging the White House to declassify the documents so everyone can see what's in them.
Nunes has temporarily recused himself from the Russia-Trump investigation after the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into his actions involving the documents. Rice is expected to be called to testify in front of the House and Senate intelligence panels. The House Intelligence Committee has agreed to a list of witnesses, CNN reports, with the GOP picks focused on possible leakers of damaging information on Trump and the Democrats calling people who may shed light on any Trump-Russia connections.