Another curve ball was thrown into the ongoing saga of Donald Trump, his relationship with Russia, and the allegations of potential wiretapping inside Trump Tower. After the president was given information gathered by the House Intelligence Committee during their current investigation on Wednesday, Democrats were quick to fire back.
Trump trouble
The biggest news since the 2016 presidential election has been what role, if any, Russia has played in the Donald Trump campaign and administration. This issue has remained an ongoing scandal for the White House as alleged leakers have released information linking Trump officials to the Kremlin.
In an attempt to deflect from the issue at hand, the president took to his Twitter account earlier this month and accused former President Barack Obama, without evidence, of wiretapping his Trump Tower offices. An investigation has been taking place by the House Intelligence Committee to get to the bottom of potential Russian interference, but after Republican Committee Chairman Devin Nunes met with Trump before the rest of the members could see the info, trouble quickly occurred. As reported by CBS News on March 22, a top Democratic offical on the intelligence committee decided to speak out.
Rep. Schiff: "[Nunes] will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an independent investigation or a surrogate of the White House." pic.twitter.com/0k8KtWzCbc
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 22, 2017
While addressing reporters in Washington on Wednesday, Democratic Rep.
Adam Schiff unloaded on Devin Nunes over his decision to meet with Donald Trump and disclose information pertaining to the investigation. "The chairman will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an independent investigation or a surrogate of the White House," Schiff told reporters.
Nunes' actions are "deeply troubling along many levels," Schiff says; "it impedes our ability to do this investigation the way we should." pic.twitter.com/nrUUFDN8cq
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 22, 2017
"Here, we're operating on hearsay on hearsay," Rep. Adam Schiff says. And this is simply not a way to conduct an investigation." pic.twitter.com/MlqjL0qrBw
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 22, 2017
"I only learned about this the way you all did, when (Devin Nunes) briefed the press before briefing his own committee members," Adam Schiff confirmed, which he explained is a "profound irregularity." Not stopping there, Schiff referred to Nunes going rogue and tipping off the president as "deeply troubling along many levels," which he said "impedes our ability to do this investigation the way we should."
NUNES tells me he can't show Dem ranking member Schiff any of the reports because Nunes/the committee doesn't have them in their possession
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) March 22, 2017
No evidence
The information that was given to Donald Trump by Devin Nunes was that Trump Tower was possibly bugged as part of a "incidental surveillance," though no information had been provided to back up the claim.
MSNBC's Kasie Hunt elaborated further on the information on Twitter, writing, "NUNES tells me he can't show Dem ranking member Schiff any of the reports because Nunes/the committee doesn't have them in their possession."
BREAKING: Trump says he feels 'somewhat' vindicated by House intel chair's statements on legal surveillance of Trump officials.
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 22, 2017
However, both Devin Nunes and Adam Schiff both found common ground in dismissing the allegations against Barack Obama, which they agreed were "baseless" and "did not happen." Regardless, when asked to comment on the incident, Donald Trump said he felt "vindicated."
