Trump aide: NBC’s Mitchell does PR for Dems

A top aide to President Trump on Tuesday accused NBC News’s Andrea Mitchell of being a “Dem PR person” following Mitchell’s interview with former national security adviser Susan Rice. 

“Lyin’, leakin’ Susan Rice stammered through her soft ball interview with Dem PR person Andrea Mitchell,” the White House’s social media director, Dan Scavino Jr., tweeted.

“Rice won’t agree to testify because she won’t get away with lying to Congress like she did with Benghazi?”

Lyin’, leakin’ Susan Rice stammered through her soft ball interview with Dem PR person Andrea Mitchell.

— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) April 4, 2017

Rice won’t agree to testify because she won’t get away with lying to Congress like she did with Benghazi?

— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) April 4, 2017

{mosads}Rice on Tuesday categorically denied that former President Obama’s administration inappropriately spied on Trump or members of his transition team.

“The allegation is that somehow, Obama administration officials utilized intelligence for political purposes. That’s absolutely false,” she told Mitchell.

“Let’s see what comes,” Rice added when asked if she would testify under oath on the matter. “I’m not going to sit here and prejudge.”

Reports emerged Monday that Rice requested that the identities of U.S. citizens be revealed in raw intelligence reports with connections to Trump’s transition team.

U.S. officials reportedly discovered Rice’s requests last month during a National Security Council review of how the government handles “unmasking” American citizens who were incidentally surveilled.

U.S. citizens whose communications and information are incidentally collected in broader foreign surveillance typically have their names redacted in reports.

Republicans have treated the revelation that Rice requested names be unmasked as evidence that the Obama administration was inappropriately surveilling Trump’s transition team.

Rice said Tuesday that she had made no requests outside the scope of her job, adding there is no comparison between unmasking and intelligence leaks.

The national security adviser has the authority to request the unmasking of names if there is a compelling national security reason for doing so.

“It was not uncommon; it was necessary at times to make those requests,” she said of unmasking demands.

“The notion, which some people are trying to suggest, that by asking for the identity of the American person is the same as leaking it — that’s completely false.”

The Hill has requested comment from MSNBC and NBC regarding Scavino’s tweets.