Transition team ‘ incidentally’ gets intelligence check

House chair reports findings to Trump

WASHINGTON The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that communications involving members of President Trump’s transition group — possibly including the president’s — were “incidentally collected” by U. S. intelligence officials following the November election.

Rep. Devin Nunes, RCalif., did not identify other transition members swept up in the surveillance, adding that he has viewed “dozens” of such intelligence reports that appeared “legal” but perhaps “inappropriate.”

“What I’ve read bothers me, and I think it should bother the president himself and his team, because some of it appears to be inappropriate,” Nunes told reporters at the White House after briefing the president on the findings.

The chairman said the intelligence reports were not part of a criminal investigation or the FBI’s ongoing investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 election. Rather, he said the collection was related to broader intelligence gathering activities.

The disclosure comes two days after an extraordinary House hearing where FBI Director James Comey rejected Trump’s prior claims that the Obama administration had wiretapped the president’s New York offices in advance of the 2016 election.

At the same hearing, Comey confirmed for the first time pub- licly that the FBI is in the midst of an investigation into Russia’s interference in the election, including whether any activities were coordinated by Trump associates and Russian officials.

Nunes also rejected the president’s claims that Trump Tower had been wiretapped. And he said “none” of the newly disclosed surveillance was related to “any investigation of Russian activities or of the Trump team.” “Details about U. S. persons associated with the incoming administration — details with little or no apparent foreign intelligence value — were widely disseminated in intelligence community reporting,” Nunes told reporters Wednesday.

Trump, while meeting Wednesday with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, told reporters that he felt “somewhat” vindicated by Nunes’ statements.

“I very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found,” the president said.

Before briefing the president, Nunes said he also notified House Speaker Paul Ryan, R- Wis., of the information.

Nunes suggested that the information came from one or more whistle- blowers.

“It came through the proper channels and the proper clearances,” Nunes said. “This was information that I thought the president needed to see.” He said the National Security Agency has been cooperative, but the FBI so far has not.

Nunes said the surveillance appeared to be legal — presumably through a warrant from Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

EPA Devin Nunes