The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said that the FBI is still not fully cooperating with the committee’s request for information pertaining to its Russia investigation, which includes the leaks that precipitated the resignation of former national security adviser General Mike Flynn.
About a week before Chairman Devin Nunes alleged that details about Trump transition members were inappropriately disseminated in intelligence reports, the committee sent a bipartisan letter to the directors of the FBI, NSA, and CIA requesting information about their agencies’ practices for handling surveillance data of “U.S. persons” and instances thereof.
Nunes told reporters in mid-March that Flynn was swept up incidentally in his conversations with the Russian ambassador, and that Flynn’s name was then potentially “unmasked.” U.S. persons’ names are typically redacted or masked in intelligence reports and only revealed under certain circumstances. Nunes said he remained concerned about the use of intelligence for political purposes.
Nunes said last Wednesday that the FBI had not said whether it would respond to the committee’s March 15 letter. He told THE WEEKLY STANDARD on Tuesday that the agency was still not cooperating, and that he did not know why.
“We’re still having an issue there,” he said. “I’m trying to get to the bottom of that.”
The agency promised to brief the committee but that has yet to occur, he added. Nunes said the NSA and CIA are cooperating with the request.
The FBI’s press office told TWS on Wednesday that the Bureau was cooperating with the committee but did not provide details.
“We are working with the committee and don’t have any additional comment.”
The committee letter specifically requested the names of any unmasked U.S. persons related to the Trump or Clinton campaigns whose identities were disseminated from June 2016 to January 2017. They also asked for the names of agencies or officials that requested or authorized the unmasking and dissemination of that information. The probe has hit a rough patch since that March 15 letter, which could encompass the allegations that Nunes announced one week later regarding potential surveillance violations linked to the Trump team.
Nunes said last Wednesday he had seen multiple intelligence reports that contain details about Trump transition members despite their having “little or no apparent foreign intelligence value.” These details were picked up during incidental intelligence collection after Election Day, he said.
Democratic lawmakers this week called on the chairman to recuse himself over his handling of those allegations, pointing in part to his decision to brief the press and the White House before some of his committee colleagues. Committee members said early this week that they still had not seen the intelligence that inspired his claims.
The committee was slated to receive a closed briefing from FBI director James Comey and NSA director Mike Rogers on Tuesday in place of an open hearing from former Obama administration officials, but it was postponed on Monday. The delay of the original open hearing, which Democrats have characterized as a cancellation, triggered anger from the committee’s minority.
Connecticut Democrat Jim Himes said on Tuesday that regular meetings have also been cancelled this week.
“First day back, which was yesterday, we have a 5:00 meeting to review the events of the previous week. Meeting canceled. Open hearing tomorrow. Canceled,” he said on Morning Joe. “We were to have a meeting on Thursday to go over something totally separate. Canceled.”
“Not only is this investigation sort of had a shadow cast on it, but the committee has been put into suspended animation,” Himes said.
