Something-gate: Trump claims Obama bugged Trump Tower.

[The Other Castro]

What Trumpism has done to some people would be quite funny if it weren't so sad and have such disastrous consequences.

[Dereich]

How do you "incidentally" spy on someone? Of course they "incidentally" heard him-they were spying on these people to begin with because of their desire to smear him.

Have you ever heard of the PRISM program? Incidentally spying on someone is very easy these days! Since the NSA has broad collection authority over internet communications going to and coming from overseas and Trump has a large international business operation, it would be odd if his data was not incidentally collected. And even before that, it is almost 100% certain his data would have been collected during the Bush Administration when ALL data going overseas was collected. According to the NSA, collecting this data and even storing it would be perfectly reasonable and only "incidental." One of the big long-term legal issues with their programs is their contention that its perfectly fine to collect and store incidental communications, just as long as they don't read them without a court order. No hostile intent to Trump necessary.

[Hindsight was 2020]

What Trumpism has done to some people would be quite funny if it weren't so sad and have such disastrous consequences.

Seriously it's horrifying, the amount of "Trump has been vindicated" tweets an comments I've see around social media makes me almost want to give up on this country

[Virginiá]

I mean this isnt new, this is what happened to DC Mayor Marion Barry in the 90s. The cops were monitoring and collecting evidence against local drug dealers and incidentally discovered that the Mayor was a customer of one the dealers being surveiled and he was forced out of office and arrested.

This is probably the best way to explain this situation. Trump & allies were not vindicated at all. As usual, they are just desperate for vindication and so they are grasping at anything they can to back up their flimsy side of the story.

Seriously it's horrifying, the amount of "Trump has been vindicated" tweets an comments I've see around social media makes me almost want to give up on this country

People believe what they want to believe. It's not so much an American thing as it is a human thing. Fact is, many of these people already had their minds made up and they were just waiting around for something - anything even, to back up their already preconceived position. Confirmation bias 101.

[Fusionmunster]

Nunes is either going to recuse himself or get his access to classified information revoked.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Let's not allow the Trump camp's whining, and Nunes' smoke-blowing to obscure the key fact here that the AP broke this morning:

Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign manager (and long-time resident of Trump Tower) was a paid covert agent of the Russian government.

This reeks of team Trump trying to get ahead of a damning reveal to provide cover for themselves.

[ApatheticAustrian]

one of them must be lying....question is only who.

[Fusionmunster]

This looks alot like the Hillary/Comey email thing:

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Nunes is throwing himself under the bus to save Trump

Except this doesn't save Trump at all.

[ApatheticAustrian]

at this point i assume, congressional republican leaders are either trolling or willing to die for the president.

[Ronnie]

At this point, I would not be surprised if Republicans attempt to clandestinely destroy evidence should they stumble on it, if they have not already done so.  There needs to be an independent investigation, now.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

I could have written that email during the length of his press conference. What are YOU blathering about?

I'm making the point that the White House and Nunes are working together to obfuscate the investigation.

The House Intel committee chairman commenting in a press conference on the fact that there was incidental collection of Team Trump on legally acquired FISA warrants. The chairman does not have the authority to declassify and talk publicly.

What makes it so bizarre is that he is doing this publicly and then running directly to the very people that were collected under said surveillance. This does not bode well for him staying chairman or for any trust between him and the FBI and the IC.

The whole thing seems coordinated.

Perhaps he is counting on the open rejection of democratic or lawful government by Trump and the GOP leadership. (At this point, I don't see how Trump stays in office to the mid-terms. He has *at best* been exposed as a useful idiot for Putin.)

[KingSweden]

This looks alot like the Hillary/Comey email thing:

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Nunes is throwing himself under the bus to save Trump

Except this doesn't save Trump at all.

That, and Nunes is in a safe R district where he is regularly re elected with wide margins. Unless he hates DC falling on the sword for Trump makes zero sense

[Gass3268]

Former GOP Congressman

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[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Former GOP Congressman

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And somehow David Jolly comes out of this the voice of reason. What the hell?

[Gass3268]

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[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

This looks alot like the Hillary/Comey email thing:

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Nunes is throwing himself under the bus to save Trump

Except this doesn't save Trump at all.

That, and Nunes is in a safe R district where he is regularly re elected with wide margins. Unless he hates DC falling on the sword for Trump makes zero sense

Remember, it's a cult, and Nunes is a cultist, too for all that he's also a sort of Trump-apostle.

Trump's Razor tells us not to discount how stupid and petty team Trump can be.

If there's anything good coming out of this, it's that the need for a special prosecutor is becoming even more apparent. The GOP can either appoint one, or open admit they're abandoning legal, democratic governance.

[Gass3268]

[Ronnie]

That is indeed a bombshell.  Here's the video of his precise comments:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/844671617796112385

[Middle-aged Europe]

Haha, seems like stuff is leaking directly out of the House Intelligence Comittee right and left.

[Trapsy]

I just read this, WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW?? HOLY SH*T I AM TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE ACHA BILL AND GORSUCH???

[EnglishPete]

Let's not allow the Trump camp's whining, and Nunes' smoke-blowing to obscure the key fact here that the AP broke this morning:

Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign manager (and long-time resident of Trump Tower) was a paid covert agent of the Russian government.

This reeks of team Trump trying to get ahead of a damning reveal to provide cover for themselves.

Actually the AP report this morning was proof of nothing of the kind. However if you're interested in some real investigative reporting here this from Lee Stranahan

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http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/20/fix-is-in-comey-praised-dnc-hired-cybersecurity-firm-even-after-botched-report/

[Gass3268]

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[moderatevoter]

I am way late to the game, I know.

But re: Nunes... all he said was that some Trump communications were in incidental collection -- as in someone on the transition team was talking with a foreigner official or foreign agent who is monitored, right?

It seems natural that this sort of thing would occur during the transition period, when world leaders are making congratulatory/scheduling calls, but that seems insufficient for Nunes to handle this the way he did... though he also said this was separate from the Russia investigation?

I just don't know what to make of most of this.

[Dr. Arch]

An intern typed and emailed that out in like ten minutes. I did that a thousand times during my internships. Now Ed Rollins is involved too? lol

Dude...what are you blathering about.

Nunes, who worked on Trump's transition team, found out Trump was incidentally spied on because he was talking to criminals legally being spied on by the FBI with as Nunes said: "multiple FISA warrants"

Nunes, who's on the committee investigating this, gives an impromptu press conference to alert Trump he just found out about this despite the fact he didn't alert anyone else on the committee and what he did is technically illegal.

Shortly thereafter, a fundraising email comes out saying Trump is vindicated.

It's obvious he's trying either trying to muddy the waters and sabotage the investigation or he gave Trump a heads up because he was incidentally wire tapped doing a bunch of shady/illegal things.

I mean this isnt new, this is what happened to DC Mayor Marion Barry in the 90s. The cops were monitoring and collecting evidence against local drug dealers and incidentally discovered that the Mayor was a customer of one the dealers being surveiled and he was forced out of office and arrested.

I could have written that email during the length of his press conference. What are YOU blathering about?

An intern typed and emailed that out in like ten minutes. I did that a thousand times during my internships. Now Ed Rollins is involved too? lol

Dude...what are you blathering about.

Nunes, who worked on Trump's transition team, found out Trump was incidentally spied on because he was talking to criminals legally being spied on by the FBI with as Nunes said: "multiple FISA warrants"

Nunes, who's on the committee investigating this, gives an impromptu press conference to alert Trump he just found out about this despite the fact he didn't alert anyone else on the committee and what he did is technically illegal.

Shortly thereafter, a fundraising email comes out saying Trump is vindicated.

It's obvious he's trying either trying to muddy the waters and sabotage the investigation or he gave Trump a heads up because he was incidentally wire tapped doing a bunch of shady/illegal things.

I mean this isnt new, this is what happened to DC Mayor Marion Barry in the 90s. The cops were monitoring and collecting evidence against local drug dealers and incidentally discovered that the Mayor was a customer of one the dealers being surveiled and he was forced out of office and arrested.

lol, it's so sad to see someone stuck in such a bubble just to rationalize their support for someone else.

It's sad to see you not address a single point I've made. Just continued insults. Whatever.

Your "points" (spins) are being addressed and you are, promptly, ignoring them.

[Simfan34]

I just read this, WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW?? HOLY SH*T I AM TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE ACHA BILL AND GORSUCH???

Did we catch Feinstein saying Trump would "soon" be resigning the other day? This, after her briefing with Comey that left her and Grassley looking "grim-faced" and "shaken"?