Quote:Bob Woodward: Obama officials possibly facing criminal charges for unmasking scheme

Quote:The Washington Post's Bob Woodward warned on Wednesday that there are people from the Obama administration who could be facing criminal charges for unmasking the names of Trump transition team members from surveillance of foreign officials.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said earlier that he had briefed Trump on new information, unrelated to an investigation into Russian activities, that suggested that several members of Trump's transition team and perhaps Trump himself had their identities "unmasked" after their communications were intercepted by U.S. intelligence officials.

Quote:During an interview on Fox News, Woodward said that if that information about the unmasking is true, "it is a gross violation."

He said it isn't Trump's assertion, without proof, that his predecessor wiretapped Trump Tower that is of concern, but rather that intelligence officials named the Americans being discussed in intercepted communications.

"You can learn all kinds of things from diplomats gossiping, because that's what occurs. Under the rules, and they are pretty strict, it's called minimization.
You don't name the American person who is being discussed," Woodward said.

He noted that there are about 20 people in the intelligence community who, for intelligence reasons, can order this "minimization" be removed.

Quote:"But the idea that there was intelligence value here is really thin," Woodward said. "It's, again, down the middle, it is not what Trump said, but this could be criminal on the part of people who decided, oh, let's name these people."


He drove the point home, adding that "under the rules, that name is supposed to be blanked out, and so you've got a real serious problem potentially of people in the Obama administration passing around this highly classified gossip."

Quote:Pelosi: Intel chairman 'a stooge of the president'

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) hammered the Republican chairman of the Intelligence Committee on Thursday, saying Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is simply a “stooge” for President Trump who can’t be trusted to lead an unbiased investigation into ties between Russia and the White House.


Pelosi said Nunes “acted outside the circle of respect” for his responsibility as Intelligence chairman when he went Wednesday to the press and the president with new information surrounding the panel’s probe into Russian hacking of the 2016 election and possible surveillance of Trump's team — without telling the other members of the committee.

“By being a stooge of the president of the United States,” Pelosi charged, “he has demonstrated very clearly that there is no way there can be an impartial investigation under his leadership on that committee.”

Quote:“Chairman Nunes is deeply compromised, and he cannot possibly lead an honest investigation,” she charged.

Quote:Nunes grabbed headlines Wednesday when he called a hasty press conference to announce what he characterized as “alarming” revelations that U.S. spy agencies, “on numerous occasions,” collected “incidental” information about members of Trump’s transition team as part of foreign surveillance operations. 


The details gathered about those transition members had “little or no apparent foreign intelligence value,” Nunes said, and the information was “widely disseminated in a foreign intelligence report.”

Nunes stopped just short of accusing the Obama administration of spying on Trump — “I guess it all depends on one’s definition of spying,” he said — but he said he's "alarmed" by what he's seen.  

Quote:“I’m just talking about him. The Democrats are fully prepared to be unbiased,” she said. 

But Pelosi suggested Nunes had acted at the direction of Trump, and she was quick to note that the California Republican was himself a member of Trump’s transition team — a history that raises “questions about [his] impartiality,” she said.

(03-23-2017, 09:43 PM)BIAD Wrote: Mr. Woodward has to come out swinging after the drubbing The Washington Post took
with the latest Hearings. Today's current Journalists got too cosy with the Politicians and
Agency employees and never saw that the relationship was symbiotic.

The other problem was the FBI, CIA and others became politicised and used by certain
people in previous administrations. That's something they have to keep 'in the grey' at
all costs because of the false impression to the public that they're neutral.

(03-23-2017, 10:28 PM)guohua Wrote: Great Statement, you're Absolutely Correct.

(03-23-2017, 10:55 PM)BIAD Wrote:

(03-23-2017, 10:28 PM)guohua Wrote: Great Statement, you're Absolutely Correct.

I would like to be wrong actually. When agencies that deal with secrets and off-the-grid
information do their jobs properly, the public have no idea what boundaries they cross
and ignorance is bliss!

These latest Hearings make the FBI, NSA and CIA look like amateurs and I'd wager
similar agencies around the world are giggling at Comey and Co's squirming.

(03-23-2017, 11:27 PM)guohua Wrote: Mr. G. Here.
I can assure you, the C I A and N S A have Deteriorated and Degraded from the inside out since the 90's.
The Agencies are not ran by Real Spies anymore and haven't been for a long while.
The biggest problem has been the infection of Political Posturing and Overly Educated Men and Women
who haven't the slightest idea how Espionage Works.

Most are looking for that Coat Tail To hang Onto.
All the Old Spies are Retired or Living Overseas or Dead.
Most only had a G E D (like me) and recruited from the Armed Forces (like me) and knew how to keep
secrets and silence others.

Sadly, they've Neutered our intelligence agencies.

(03-24-2017, 11:30 AM)BIAD Wrote: Hi J.L, for some reason, I can't see the image you provided.