‘Thousands of emails obtained illegally’

WASHINGTON: A group established for US President Donald Trump’s transition to the White House said Saturday the special counsel probing Russian meddling in the 2016 election had obtained tens of thousands of emails unlawfully.

Kory Langhofer, counsel to the transition team known as Trump for America (TFA), wrote a letter to congressional committees to say Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team had improperly received the emails from the General Services Administration (GSA), a government agency.

Staff members at the agency “unlawfully produced TFA’s private materials, including privileged communications, to the Special Counsel’s Office,” according to the letter.

It said the materials included “tens of thousands of emails”.

Asked for comment, White House spokesman Sarah Sanders said: “We continue to cooperate fully with the special counsel and expect this process to wrap up soon.”

The special counsel’s office waved off the transition team’s complaint.

“When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner’s consent or appropriate criminal process,” said Peter Carr, spokesman for the special counsel’s office.

The GSA did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Democrats say there is a wide-ranging effort by the president’s allies on Capitol Hill and in some media outlets to discredit Mueller’s investigation. – Reuters