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But Democrats immediately disputed that claim, asserting that the intercepts appeared to be court-authorized intelligence gathering that did not target Trump or his aides and may not have disclosed their names even in classified intelligence reports.
Rather than confirming Trump’s claims, the disclosures by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., chairman of the House committee, sparked a political uproar that threatened to obliterate attempts to conduct a bipartisan congressional investigation into whether Trump campaign aides coordinated with Russian intelligence agencies during the 2016 presidential race.
Nunes said he had learned of “dozens” of classified reports that recounted communications between members of Trump’s transition team — and possibly the then-president-elect himself — and individuals who were legally targeted for government eavesdropping for foreign intelligence.
When asked by a reporter if he felt vindicated by the disclosure, Trump responded, “I somewhat do. I must tell you I somewhat do, I very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found.”
Although Nunes said the surveillance had picked up Trump transition officials inadvertently and appeared to be authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, he said was alarmed that “details about U.S. persons involved in the incoming administration with little or no apparent foreign intelligence value were widely disseminated in intelligence community reports.”
In response, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House committee, blasted Nunes for going to the White House and briefing Trump on the material before he shared it with other members of the committee.
“The chairman will either need to decide if he’s leading an investigation into conduct which includes allegations of potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians, or he is going to act as a surrogate of the White House. Because he cannot do both,” Schiff said at a Capitol Hill news conference.
He called Nunes’ actions a “profound irregularity,” adding, “I have expressed my grave concerns with the chairman that a credible investigation cannot be conducted this way.”
The unusual brawl between the two Californians came two days after they led a nationally televised House hearing that showed an unusual degree of comity and bipartisan cooperation. That goal now appears in jeopardy.
“Chairman Nunes is deeply compromised and he cannot possibly lead an honest investigation,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
During Monday’s hearing, FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers said they had “no information” to confirm Trump’s claims on Twitter that he was wiretapped.
Comey also disclosed that the FBI is conducting a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump’s aides coordinated with Russian authorities. That investigation began last July and officials said on Wednesday it was separate from the surveillance Nunes disclosed.
Nunes and other Republicans used the five-hour hearing to argue that leaks of classified information, especially those involving U.S. surveillance, were a threat to national security and should be prosecuted.
The actual targets of the surveillance that picked up the Trump team’s conversations were not disclosed. It could have involved foreign diplomats based in the United States or other foreign government officials.
Nunes implied that unidentified sources who provided him the information came from within the intelligence community. Former congressional aides disputed Nunes’ claim that intelligence officials had acted improperly in conducting the surveillance or circulating the reports.
Under the law, identities of Americans whose communications are picked up by intelligence eavesdropping of foreign targets are supposed to be kept confidential unless the conversations relate to espionage or some other potential crime that warrants further investigation.