As for Rice herself, she has denied any allegations of impropriety and said during an interview with MSNBC, "The allegation is that somehow the Obama administration officials utilized intelligence for political purposes". "I leaked nothing to nobody and never have and never would". On Wednesday, she said of Trump's comments, "I'm not going to dignify the president's ludicrous charge with a comment". She would not say whether she saw intelligence related to Trump associates or whether she asked for their identities, though she did say that reports related to Russian Federation increased in the final months of the presidential election campaign.
Rice became the subject of ire from Trump allies earlier this week after media reports said the former Obama official requested the identities of transition team members be unmasked in reports about surveillance of foreign targets.
The supposed "unmasking" of Trump's affiliates doesn't mean Rice revealed their identities either, according to the news network.
If the intercept pertains to national security-or if it points to a possible crime-the NSA is allowed to include it in classified intelligence reports that circulate in the government to those with security clearances high enough to view such information.
A source close to the matter told ABC News that Trump had no knowledge of the unmasking when he wrote those tweets. He told the Times he would say more "at the right time".
US carrier strike group heads toward W. Pacific near Korean Peninsula
The comments were made by a Foreign Ministry official and carried by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Sunday. China has always been North Korea's primary ally, supporting the hermit state with food, energy and most of its economic trade.
All three networks gave full reports to the Susan Rice scandal Wednesday morning, but spent the majority of the time deflecting blame from Rice to attack President Trump. A congressional aide said there were more than a dozen people on the witness list. He called Bannon "the leading anti-China voice in the White House" and said he believes that made the Chinese "uneasy". Will we improve our national security?
In addition, the ex-Obama official also brushed off claims she went public with the names of Trump associates mentioned in the intelligence reports, saying, "I leaked nothing to nobody and never have and never would".
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly on Thursday that he and his committee would pursue the evidence in their investigation wherever it leads, but that so far nothing substantiates the White House's Rice storyline. US officials may request-but not order-Americans' names unmasked for a few select reasons.
President Trump has consistently argued that the "real story" is the investigation into the leaks - not the investigation into Russian election meddling.
When foreign surveillance data is collected through intelligence operations, the names of Americans involved in the reports are supposed to be redacted. The White House fired him in February after concluding that he had not been truthful about those conversations.
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