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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in Zürich
The Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle