Donald Trump would have been under electronic, but indirect, listening, says Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who claims to have information on surveillance operations that have not been revealed until today.
Addressing the US press, Devin Nunes claims to have had access to a wealth of information in intelligence reports "which suggests that the previous administration and agencies had a good idea of what President Trump was doing."
Devin Nunes thus confirms the recent allegations of Donald Trump that accused his predecessor of having placed him under electronic listening during the election campaign.
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says communications from members of the Trump team would have been intercepted between November and January during the transition period between the Obama administration and the current administration.
Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. © Joshua Roberts / Reuters
Devin Nunes met with Donald Trump to report on his discovery, judging that "it was important" for the president to know. Nunes also spoke with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, adding that he was "very alarmed" by what he had discovered.
President Trump, who says he was very comforted by the information transmitted by Nunes, had shown his inability to prove the allegations against President Barack Obama.
Devin Nunes did not give further details on the information in his possession, but specified that electronic eavesdropping was not directed specifically against President Trump or his team. He added that these were most probably information compiled "fortuitously" in the framework of surveillance activities against foreign targets.
"According to what I understood, it is a normal, ancillary collection.Apparently they are intelligence obtained legally under the law on foreign surveillance. "Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Adam Schiff, Democrat of the House Intelligence Committee © Jim Bourg / Reuters
The fact that Devin Nunes addressed the president directly without first warning his colleagues in the House of Representatives provoked the ire of Democratic lawmakers, who reiterated the need for an independent inquiry into the eavesdropping scandal.
Adam Schiff, Democratic leader on the Intelligence Commission, argued that Nunes could not do a "credible" investigation. And he accused his colleague of hampering the efforts of the US authorities to clarify this story and denounced his hasty media outing.
Last Monday, FBI Director James Comey had claimed that federal police had no information to prove President Trump's accusations against his predecessor. But he confirmed that an investigation into Russia and the Trump team was under way.