House Intel Committee ‘satisfied’ with info DOJ gave in wiretapping probe

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee on Friday said his panel is “satisfied” with the information the Justice Department handed over regarding President Trump’s unfounded claim that he and his aides were wiretapped by President Obama. 

“The Committee is satisfied that the Department of Justice has fully complied with our request for information from our March 8 letter on possible surveillance related to Donald Trump or his associates,” Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said in a statement.

The House and Senate intelligence panels had given the Justice Department until Monday to turn over information about Trump’s allegation that former President Barack Obama ordered surveillance of his 2016 election campaign. 

It wasn’t immediately clear what information was submitted, though Nunes told CNN’s Manu Raju that he did not believe it would back up Trump’s wiretapping accusation.

I asked Nunes as he was heading into read DOJ letter if he thought it would back up Trump’s wiretapping claim. He said: “I don’t think so.”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 17, 2017

Nunes said that the committee is still waiting for information from the FBI and CIA “that is necessary to determine whether information collected on U.S. persons was mishandled and leaked.”

The National Security Agency, he said, has “partially met” the request, but would fully comply by the end of next week.

Trump tweeted March 4 accusing Obama of having his “wires tapped” in Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. He has stood by his claim despite lawmakers in both parties saying as of Thursday that they had not seen evidence to support his allegation.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has sought to clarify the claim, saying that Trump put the wiretapping accusation “in quotes” and was more broadly referring to surveillance activities by the Obama administration.

But Spicer also said that Trump “stands by” his initial tweets on the subject, and Trump on Friday joked about the wiretapping claim during a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The House Intelligence Committee will hold an open hearing on Russian interference in the election on Monday, where questions about Trump’s claims are sure to be raised. Lawmakers will have the opportunity to press FBI Director James Comey on the issue. 

Morgan Chalfant contributed