Obama aide denies using intel to spy on Trump advisers

“That’s absolutely false”, Rice said.

CNN’s Don Lemon described reports that former Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice unmasked members of the Trump transition team a “diversion” during a report on Monday night.

In an interview on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports”, Rice was asked to address allegations that she had used US intelligence for political purposes by unmasking certain names of Americans.

Former adviser Rice’s conduct would likely meet that broad standard, and it does not appear that she broke the law. The former White House official said she didn’t have the authority to directly unmask any identities in those reports.

“I leaked nothing to nobody, and never have and never would”, she said.

Could FBI investigation into Russian Federation links ensnare Trump?

In her role she was essential in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions towards Russian Federation over their involvement in the Ukraine and U.S.

On Sept. 16, 2012 Susan Rice went on five national news shows and said the Benghazi terror attack was a “spontaneous reaction to an offensive video”.

There are ways to unmask those American citizens, usually only for national security reasons. Or were there others who could have also requested unmasking and that leaking of the surveillance of National Security Adviser Mike Flynn? And, as Lake notes, Rice’s behavior highlights the issue so many Americans have with the wide net of government surveillance – you have to trust those who are doing the surveilling. That leak, while it revealed that Flynn was being less than truthful with the USA public, was illegal.

Hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski began by playing a clip of Rice on PBS denying claims by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes that Trump and his team were monitored. Republican investigators in Congress certainly are unlikely to let the matter end there, however.

While apparently within the law, Rice’s multiple requests to learn the identities of Trump officials discussed in intelligence reports highlights a longstanding concern for civil liberties advocates about USA surveillance programs.

Moreover, retired four-star general and former NSA Director Keith Alexander told NBC News that he “would routinely turn down requests for unmasking” by officials in both the Bush and Obama administrations.

“The surveillance initially is the responsibility of the National Security Agency”, Waurishuk said.

For the full story, see Bloomberg News. When that happens, intelligence officials are supposed to redact their names and identifying information. Nunes’ statements came after Trump’s unsubstantiated accusation that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower in New York City ahead of the presidential election. Rice’s unmasking requests were found during that review, according to the official, who insisted on anonymity in order to discuss the sensitive information.

Rice did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment, but denied having knowledge about any information being incidentally collected on Trump transition officials last month, The Hill reported. “Which then, as I said, has to be approved by the intelligence community”.