The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee has “no idea” about findings his House counterpart presented Wednesday that Trump transition officials’ communications were incidentally collected before the inauguration and potentially improperly disseminated.
“I’m going to let him stand on whatever he said and what he’s got. I have no idea what it is,” North Carolina senator Richard Burr told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Thursday in a Capitol hallway interview.
Nunes told reporters Wednesday that Trump transition officials’ communications were caught in pre-inauguration incidental collection. These communications were then shared in intelligence reports, despite their having little apparent foreign intelligence value. Incidental collection occurs when a U.S. person’s communications are swept up during legal surveillance of a foreign target.
“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,” Nunes said.
The California congressman stressed that the surveillance was not related to Russia or an investigation of illicit Russian activities.
Some additional Trump transition members’ names were unmasked, Nunes said. The names of U.S. persons are usually redacted or “masked” in foreign intelligence reports. Names can be “unmasked” in certain circumstances, for example, if doing so is necessary for context.
Schiff said Wednesday that, according to conversations he had with Nunes after the press conference, most of the names in reports were masked. Nunes was concerned that he could still infer the identity of the individual, Schiff said.
“Most of the names in the intercepts were in fact masked, and the chairman’s concern was that he could still figure out the identities of some of the parties even though the names were masked,” Schiff said.
Nunes briefed House Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House on his findings Wednesday prior to informing other House Intelligence Committee members about them.
Schiff, and other members blasted Nunes for not informing them of his findings prior to those briefings. Nunes has since apologized to committee members.
The House and Senate intelligence committees are conducting investigations into Russian election interference. The House investigation includes the leaks that precipitated the resignation of former national security adviser General Mike Flynn, whose communications were reportedly incidentally collected.
