Trump Feels 'Vindicated' Over His Wiretapping Claims Against Obama

"I have seen intelligence reports that clearly show that the president-elect and his team were, I guess, at least monitored. It looks to me like it was all legally collected, but it was essentially a lot of information on the president-elect and his transition team and what they were doing," Nunes was quoted as saying by Politico.

He noted that the surveillance was not related to Russia or the investigation of Russian activities, or of the Trump team.

"I think the President is concerned and he should be," Nunes added. The committee still needs more time to investigate, but some of the espionage activity "seems to be inappropriate."

He also said that the committee would launch a probe to investigate who was aware of the "incidental" wiretapping and who ordered to keep the information secret.

On March 4, Trump took to Twitter to accuse Former President Barack Obama of having his Trump Tower headquarters' "wires tapped" prior to the 2016 presidential election. The president went on to compare the alleged surveillance to McCarthyism and the Watergate scandal. The claims have been rejected by Obama's representative.

Commenting on Nunes’ statements, Trump noted that he felt "somewhat vindicated" on his claims against Obama.

"I must tell you, I somewhat do. I very much appreciated the fact they found what they found," Trump said at the White House.

The fact that Nunes first spoke to journalists and then reported at the White House outrages Democrats and members of the intelligence community.

For example, Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the Committee, said that first of all Nunes should have briefed him. He also expressed confidence that Nunes’ actions may challenge the credibility of the investigation as well as the probe into Trump’s team alleged connections with Russia.

"The chairman will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an independent investigation into conduct which includes allegations of potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians, or he is going to act as a surrogate of the White House because he cannot do both," Schiff said.

He was echoed by Jim Himes, a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

"What if it’s one of the president’s people who is being investigated. Is he going to damage the investigation? It all feels very, very odd," Himes said.
Eric Swalwell, another member of the intelligence panel, also expressed concerns over the situation.

"The House Intelligence Committee is charged with investigating Russia's interference into our election and whether any U.S. persons were involved.

The chairman's actions and closeness to a president whose campaign is under federal investigation have gravely damaged the Investigation's credibility," Himes said in a statement cited by Politico.

Nevertheless, Nunes did not officially confirm Trump’s accusations against Obama. Initially, Trump insisted that it was Obama who ordered the wiretapping at Trump Tower during the electoral campaign, in October 2016.

Testifying before the House Intelligence Committee, James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also rejected Trump’s claims against Obama, saying there was no evidence.

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