.. Rep. Devin Nunes (R., Calif.), who is leading a congressional investigation into alleged Russian interference in U.S. elections, shared his information with the media and Mr. Trump before he gave it to other members of his committee. The move drew criticism from members of the committee in the House and Senate, and prompted the ranking Democrat on the panel to redouble his push for an independent investigator to take over the Russia probe.
.. Mr. Nunes, who offered little public evidence for his disclosures other than reports provided by sources he declined to name, said the surveillance of the incoming president’s team appeared to be due to what is called “incidental” collection, meaning that Trump transition officials whose information was intercepted weren’t the intended targets. He added it was “possible” the president himself had some of his communication intercepted, though he declined to elaborate on what sort of information the intelligence agencies collected and how it was collected.
.. The disclosure by Mr. Nunes, a onetime senior adviser to Mr. Trump’s transition team, represented a possible political lifeline to Mr. Trump as he battled for credibility after Republican and Democratic lawmakers and law-enforcement officials debunked his
Twitter claims that former President Barack Obama ordered he be wiretapped. Mr. Trump said Wednesday he felt “somewhat” vindicated, though Mr. Nunes’s comments offered no evidence to support Mr. Trump’s original claim.
.. With his extraordinary breach of protocol—sharing such information publicly—Mr. Nunes instead may have fractured a bipartisan effort by the House and Senate to investigate
.. “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,” said Mr. Schiff.
.. Mr. Nunes described himself as “alarmed” by the new revelations, specifically the fact that members of Mr. Trump’s inner circle were “unmasked” and named in classified U.S. intelligence reports.
..Still, Mr. Nunes’s disclosures didn’t prove that there was any surveillance authorized by Mr. Obama or his administration.