The Establishments war on Donald Trump
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Title: Trump Associates Caught Repeatedly in Incidental Surveillance, Intel Chairman Says
Source:
Weekly Standard
URL Source: http://www.weeklystandard.com/trump ... -chairman-says/article/2007318
Published: Mar 22, 2017
Author: Jenna Lifhits
Post Date: 2017-03-22 15:24:33 by Tooconservative
Keywords: None
Views: 282
Trump transition officials were caught in incidental surveillance before the inauguration, the chairman of the House Intelligence committee told reporters Wednesday. These individuals had their communications circulated within the intelligence community and their identities revealed internally, despite their minimal worth to U.S. intelligence, he said. The remarks from California congressman Devin Nunes come as his committee conducts an investigation into Russian election interference. The probe includes the leaks that precipitated the February resignation of former national security adviser Mike Flynn. Nunes told reporters Wednesday that in November, December, and January, a number of Trump associates' communications were picked up during the legal surveillance of a foreign target. These communications were then shared in intelligence reports despite an apparent lack of foreign intelligence value, he said. "On numerous occasions, the intelligence community incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition," Nunes said. "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 reports." The communications were swept up under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act via incidental collection, he said. Incidental collection occurs when the intelligence community targets an approved foreign entity, and the foreign entity communicates with a U.S. person. Those communications are then collected and sometimes distributed within the intelligence community. The names of U.S. persons caught in such collection are typically redacted, or "masked," and only revealed under certain circumstances. A number of Trump associates outside of Flynn had their identities revealed, he said. "Additional names of Trump transition team members were unmasked," Nunes said. He stressed that the surveillance was not related to Russia or an investigation of illicit Russian activities. FBI director James Comey revealed Monday that his agency has been conducting an investigation into Russian election interference since late July, including potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. Poster Comment: This would be a good day to listen to Mark Levin. 
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