I/II. [The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee (Republican Representative Devin Nunes) said on Tuesday he had seen no evidence to support President Donald Trump's allegation he was wiretapped by then-President Barack Obama during the 2016 presidential campaign.]
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-hearing-idUSKBN16E2RS?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=58bf6dd604d3012fba32b5c6&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter Tue Mar 7, 2017 | 7:27pm EST House intelligence chief has seen no evidence to back Trump wiretap charge [Video: House intelligence panel to hold hearing on Russia probe] ***The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee said on Tuesday he had seen no evidence to support President Donald Trump's allegation he was wiretapped by then-President Barack Obama during the 2016 presidential campaign.*** [Emphasis added.] Republican Representative Devin Nunes said if Trump's assertion were true, the leaders of Congress and chairmen of its two intelligence committees, known collectively as the "Gang of Eight," should have been briefed. "I have not seen that evidence," Nunes told a news conference. "I think the bigger question that needs to be answered is whether or not Mr. Trump or any of his associates were in fact targeted by any of the intelligence agencies or law enforcement authorities." Trump made the accusation in tweets on Saturday, providing no evidence. An Obama spokesman denied it. leftright 2/2leftright House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) speaks to the media about President Donald Trump's allegation that his campaign was the target of wiretaps on Capitol Hill in Washington March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein 1/2leftright 2/2leftright 1/2 Trump has since pressed the House and Senate intelligence committees to expand probes into allegations that Russia meddled in the U.S. election to look into his charge. "We are supposed to be kept up to speed on any pertinent counterintelligence investigation," Nunes said. "If Trump or any other political campaign, or anybody associated with Trump, was under some type of investigation, that clearly should have risen to the Gang of Eight level." Adam Schiff, the top committee Democrat, also said it did not appear that the group had been appropriately briefed. Schiff said it was "a scandal" that Trump had levied that accusation against Obama. He said the intelligence panel would address the issue and deal with it quickly. ALSO IN POLITICS Republicans forge ahead on Obamacare repeal despite U.S. budget worries Hawaii issues first challenge to Trump's new travel ban Nunes said his committee planned public hearings as part of its Russia probe, beginning with one on March 20 at which Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey and Admiral Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, were called to testify. Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates were also invited. Nunes said the panel would not issue subpoenas for that hearing. "But if we have to, we will subpoena all information that is pertinent to this investigation if people either ... don't want to appear or if the appropriate agencies do not provide the information we ask for." Schiff addressed speculation that the issue was too partisan for Congress to conduct a credible investigation. "To be honest, we don't know yet. I can't say for certain that will be possible," he said at news briefing several hours after Nunes'. (Reporting by Timothy Ahmann and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Peter Cooney and Richard Chang) II. http://time.com/4695921/senators-want-trump-wiretap-evidence/ Sen. Patrick Leahy (L) (D-VT) confers with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) (R-SC) before the start of a hearing held by the Senate State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee March 7, 2017 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee—Getty Images Senators Ask President Trump to Give Evidence of His Obama Wiretap Claim Richard Lardner / AP Mar 08, 2017 WASHINGTON — The leaders of a congressional inquiry into Russia's efforts to sway the U.S. election called on the Justice Department Wednesday to produce any evidence that supports President Donald Trump's explosive wiretapping allegation. Declaring that Congress "must get to the bottom" of Trump's claim, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., asked Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente and FBI Director James Comey to produce the paper trail created when the Justice Department's criminal division secures warrants for wiretaps. Trump tweeted last weekend that former President Barack Obama had tapped his phones at Trump Tower during the election. But Trump offered no evidence to back up the accusation. Through a spokesman, Obama said neither he nor any White House official had ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Obama's director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said nothing matching Trump's claims had taken place. Following Trump's tweet, FBI Director James Comey privately asked the Justice Department to dispute the president's claim because he believed the allegations to be false. As the chairman and top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary crime and terrorism subcommittee, Graham and Whitehouse said they would take very seriously "any abuse of wiretapping authorities for political reasons." But, they added, "We would be equally alarmed to learn that a court found enough evidence of criminal activity or contact with a foreign power to legally authorize a wiretap of President Trump, the Trump Campaign, or Trump Tower." The senators are seeking warrant applications and court orders, which they said can be scrubbed to protect secret intelligence sources and methods. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told Iowa reporters in a Wednesday telephone call that he needs to be able to "sort fact from fiction" before making any decisions about Trump's wiretapping allegation. Grassley also said he's waiting to receive a briefing from Comey, who told the senator earlier this week that he's awaiting clearance from the Justice Department. The House and Senate Intelligence committees, and the FBI, are investigating contacts between Trump's campaign and Russian officials, as well as whether Moscow tried to influence the 2016 election. Trump demanded that they broaden the scope of their inquiries to include Obama's potential abuse of executive powers. Graham and Whitehouse acknowledged Trump's desire for the intelligence committees to have purview, but they argued that their subcommittee has oversight of the Justice Department's criminal division.Graham has been a frequent critic of Trump's push for closer ties with Moscow. After Trump's victory in November, he pledged to use his position in the Republican majority to investigate what he called "Russia's misadventures throughout the world." -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
