The House Intelligence committee issued subpoenas targeting two Trump associates on Wednesday as part of its ongoing investigation into Russian election interference. The panel also reportedly subpoenaed three government agencies for information that could shed light on potential surveillance abuses by Obama officials.
The two sets of subpoenas reflect the twin prongs of the intelligence panel’s work. On the one hand, the committee is probing potential links between Trump associates and the Kremlin. But it is also looking into leaks and any potential instances of improper “unmasking.” (Unmasking occurs when the identity of an individual is revealed in an intelligence report.)
To that end, the committee on Wednesday reportedly issued subpoenas to the NSA, CIA, and the FBI for details on any unmasking requests made by former national security adviser Susan Rice, former United Nations ambassador Samantha Power, and former CIA director John Brennan.
In March, the panel’s chairman, Devin Nunes, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that the FBI was not fully cooperating with the committee’s request for information about unmasking. Nunes eventually recused himself from the Russia probe, but is still reportedly seeking answers about unmasking and reviewing Russia-related intelligence.
Rice in April denied that she had unmasked U.S. persons “for any political purposes.”
Brennan, meanwhile, testified before the House intelligence panel last week. Asked whether he recalled any instances of U.S. ambassadors requesting that names be unmasked, Brennan said, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s ringing a vague bell but I’m not—I could not answer with any confidence.”
The House Intelligence panel is also seeking testimony, personal files, and business records from former national security adviser Mike Flynn and Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, according to a statement released Wednesday.
Flynn was fired in February after misleading the vice president about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Details of those conversations leaked to the press, triggering his resignation.
The Senate Intelligence committee has issued similar subpoenas for Flynn’s business and personal documents. Flynn refused to comply with an initial request for personal files, but reports Tuesday indicated that he would provide the panel with some business-related documents.
Nunes has suggested that Flynn was subject to improper unmasking by Obama aides after his conversations were picked up via “incidental collection,” potentially under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
