Washington: A pair of White House officials played a role in providing Representative Devin Nunes of California, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, with the intelligence reports that showed President Donald Trump and his associates were incidentally swept up in foreign surveillance by US spy agencies.
The revelation that White House officials assisted in the disclosure of the intelligence reports - which Nunes then discussed with Trump - is likely to fuel criticism that the intelligence chairman has been too eager to do the bidding of the Trump administration while his committee is supposed to be conducting an independent investigation of Russia's meddling in the last presidential election.
More World News Videos
- Video duration
- 02:31
Intelligence leaders pledge Russia probe
Intelligence leaders pledge Russia probe
The US Senate intelligence committee seeks to answer whether President Trump was directly involved in Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.
Up Next
Eight killed in Texas shooting
- Video duration
- 00:34
- Video duration
- 00:34
Eight killed in Texas shooting
Eight killed in Texas shooting
A gunman killed seven people at a home in Dallas before being shot dead by police.
Up Next
Bannon declares war on Republican leaders
- Video duration
- 01:13
- Video duration
- 01:13
Bannon declares war on Republican leaders
Bannon declares war on Republican leaders
US President Donald Trump's former chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, has accused the Republican congressional leadership of "trying to nullify the 2016 election." Vision: CBS
Up Next
Chess grandmaster storms out of World Cup
- Video duration
- 01:05
- Video duration
- 01:05
Chess grandmaster storms out of World Cup
Chess grandmaster storms out of World Cup
Anton Kovalyov accuses the organisers of the FIDE World Cup of bullying after an altercation over his pair of shorts.
Up Next
Clinton reflects on loss to Trump
- Video duration
- 02:10
- Video duration
- 02:10
Clinton reflects on loss to Trump
Clinton reflects on loss to Trump
In her first TV interview about her new memoir 'What Happened', Hillary Clinton discussed losing the 2016 presidential race to Donald Trump.
Up Next
Water empties from bay in Tampa
- Video duration
- 00:54
- Video duration
- 00:54
Water empties from bay in Tampa
Water empties from bay in Tampa
Forecasters have told people not to venture out in Tampa, Florida as a low tide pushed water out over 90 metres and would return with a deadly vengeance.
Up Next
Pope suffers bruises on his cheek and eyebrow
- Video duration
- 00:31
- Video duration
- 00:31
Pope suffers bruises on his cheek and ...
Pope suffers bruises on his cheek and eyebrow
On his last day in Columbia, Pope Francis suffered a facial injury, after his popemobile stopped suddenly.
Up Next
Floridians hunker down as Irma hits
- Video duration
- 01:14
- Video duration
- 01:14
Floridians hunker down as Irma hits
Floridians hunker down as Irma hits
Hurricane Irma has made landfall in Florida, with 130-mph winds knocking out electricity for more than 1 million Florida homes and businesses.
Intelligence leaders pledge Russia probe
The US Senate intelligence committee seeks to answer whether President Trump was directly involved in Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.
Nunes has also been faulted by his congressional colleagues for sharing the information with Trump before consulting with other members of the intelligence committee.
The congressman has refused to identify his sources, saying he needed to protect them so others would feel safe coming to the committee with sensitive information. He first disclosed the existence of the intelligence reports on March 22, and in his public comments he has described his sources as whistle-blowers trying to expose wrongdoing at great risk to themselves.
Several current US officials identified the White House officials as Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the senior director for intelligence at the National Security Council, and Michael Ellis, a lawyer who works on national security issues at the White House Counsel's Office and formerly worked on the staff of the House Intelligence Committee.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment.
Cohen-Watnick is a former Defense Intelligence Agency official who was originally brought to the White House by Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser. The officials said that earlier this month, shortly after Trump wrote on Twitter about being wiretapped on the orders of President Barack Obama, Cohen-Watnick began reviewing highly classified reports detailing the intercepted communications of foreign officials.
Nunes and Representative Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the committee, have held duelling news conferences in the days since Nunes' revelations, fuelling criticism that the committee is unable to conduct a serious, bipartisan investigation.
New York Times