- The Washington Times - Wednesday, March 22, 2017

President Trump said he felt ’somewhat’ vindicated after being briefed Wednesday by House intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes, who says Obama officials were in fact monitoring communications of Mr. Trump’s top aides.

“I somewhat do. I must tell you I somewhat do,” the president said in response to a reporter’s question. “I very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found, I somewhat do.”

Mr. Nunes visited the White House to inform Mr. Trump that he had received information that the intelligence community had scooped up communications of Mr. Trump’s aides during the presidential transition. The communications were gathered legally, as the aides weren’t the targets.

But U.S. intelligence officials then “unmasked” the Trump aides by attaching their names to the communications in internal documents, and distributing the information widely within their circles, Mr. Nunes said.

He said that could be a violation of law.

While it does not back up Mr. Trump’s claims that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower, it does signal Obama officials were using intelligence gathering to keep an eye on the incoming administration.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.

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