Posted on 03/23/2017 1:29:23 PM PDT by Liz
The Washington Post's Bob Woodward warned on Wednesday that there are people from the Obama administration who could be facing criminal charges for unmasking the names of Trump transition team members from surveillance of foreign officials.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said earlier that he had briefed Trump on new information, unrelated to an investigation into Russian activities, that suggested that several members of Trump's transition team and perhaps Trump himself had their identities "unmasked" after their communications were intercepted by U.S. intelligence officials.
The revelation is notable because identities of Americans are generally supposed to remain "masked" if American communications are swept up during surveillance of foreign individuals.
During an interview on Fox News, Woodward said that if that information about the unmasking is true, "it is a gross violation."
He said it isn't Trump's assertion, without proof, that his predecessor wiretapped Trump Tower that is of concern, but rather that intelligence officials named the Americans being discussed in intercepted communications.
"You can learn all kinds of things from diplomats gossiping, because that's what occurs. Under the rules, and they are pretty strict, it's called minimization. You don't name the American person who is being discussed," Woodward said.
He noted that there are about 20 people in the intelligence community who, for intelligence reasons, can order this "minimization" be removed.
"But the idea that there was intelligence value here is really thin," Woodward said. "It's, again, down the middle, it is not what Trump said, but this could be criminal on the part of people who decided, oh, let's name these people."
He drove the point home, adding that "under the rules, that name is supposed to be blanked out, and so you've got a real serious problem potentially of people in the Obama administration passing around this highly classified gossip."
Copyright (c) 2017 The Washington Examiner. All Rights Reserved
If Woodward was morally upset by Watergate, then he must be outraged by Tower-gate.
Hope he drives an older car...
The very fact that he surveiled Trump is the plusperfect evidence that something bad had been going on.
He was desperate-—his third term in the person of Hillary was cratering into nothingness.
She couldn’t even gain a few points when Obama flacked her on AF One.
He had plenty to hide.
He HAD to do something....he HAD to get something on Trump.
Surveillance was the best tool available to him.
Speaking of ‘Watergate’ lets see who the main players were and who will be the players in ‘Obamagate’:
Watergate scandal key players - The Washington Post
Watergate scandal key players. The inside track on Washington politics. ... Baker served as vice chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee.
washingtonpost.com/politics/watergate-scandal-key-players
Who will be ‘Deep Throat’ in this Obamagate trial....
Good....in fact....VERY good. LOL
ValJar is Grumpy...................
But, Obama will never go to jail.
Silly kids.....
Some animals are more equal than others!
Who on our side could go after these evil doers and
make anything stick?
Cheese on your nothing burger?
This sharing gives them the ability to change the original source. Just takes the insertion of a memo.
I agree....tells me the agencies wanted to play games with some info.
Just another conspiracy theory from the vast right wing.
McCain will assure us that Trump is merely delusional.
How refreshing it would be to finally see some real investigative journalists emerge from the selectively blind partisan cesspool which now dominates every major network.
One thing for sure: there are opportunities emerging for truly objective journalists to make a name for themselves by pursuing these traitorous snoopers and leakers and letting the facts lead where they may.
As long as President Trump has kept his nose clean, this represents an opportunity to dismantle and humiliate the Democrat establishment and relegate the party to minority status for decades to come...
Please let it be so!!!
A little jail time will do just fine!!
bttt
I still gotta wonder if obammy harvested all of trump’s schedule could this be used by the Soro’s rent a riot crews to disrupt trump events???
Jail them all!
Woodward is pretty sharp. He’s been doing this for a long time. I think he is fair and balanced for the most part.
This explains the insanity and existential angst of the Democrats when Hillary lost.
I sincerely doubt that. He's simply trying to minimize the level of crimes committed by Obama and his people.
Ain’t going to happen. This will die out in a week or so.
REAL investigative journalism requires manpower/womanpower type thumb sucking research. That takes TIME and money.
The downsizing of newsrooms have destroyed that option. Thoughtful research has been replaced by paid thuggy 'democrat opposition research teams' feeding the greedy gullible running 'newsrooms'... (or as the gullible would see it - 'their established sources'...)
Even if Bob Woodward knew this he wouldn't be able to stop the process without switching the incentives. And he doesn't understand how to do that...
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