Kevin Johnson, and Gregory Korte

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that communications involving members of President Trump's transition group — possibly including the president's — were "incidentally collected'' by U.S. intelligence officials following the November election.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., did not identify other transition members swept up in the surveillance, adding that he has viewed "dozens'' of such intelligence reports that appeared "legal'' but perhaps "inappropriate.''

“What I’ve read bothers me, and I think it should bother the president himself and his team, because some of it appears to be inappropriate,'' Nunes told reporters at the White House after briefing the president on the findings.

The chairman said the intelligence reports were not part of a criminal investigation or the FBI's ongoing investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 election. Rather, he said the collection was related to broader intelligence gathering activities.

Nunes made the announcement without consulting with the House panel's ranking Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff, R-Calif., who angrily asserted Wednesday that the information should have been shared with other committee members, who are engaged in a review of Russia's election interference.

"The chairman also shared this information with the White House before providing it to the committee, another profound irregularity, given that the matter is currently under investigation,'' Schiff said, adding that Nunes' actions cast doubt on the committee's ability to conduct an impartial investigation.

He said the chairman's actions support the formation of an "independent commission'' to conduct the inquiry into Russian intervention into the American political system.

.Extraordinary hearing

Nunes' disclosure comes two days after an extraordinary House hearing where FBI Director James Comey rejected Trump's prior claims that the Obama administration had wiretapped the president's New York offices in advance of the 2016 election.

At the same hearing, Comey confirmed for the first time publicly that the FBI is in the midst of an investigation into Russia's interference in the election, including whether any activities were coordinated by Trump associates and Russian officials.

Nunes also has rejected the president's claims that Trump Tower had been wiretapped. And he said "none'' of the newly disclosed surveillance was related to "any investigation of Russian activities or of the Trump team.''

Nevertheless, Trump, while meeting Wednesday with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, told reporters that he felt “somewhat” vindicated by Nunes’ statements.

"I must tell, you I somewhat do,'' the president said. "I very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found, I somewhat do."

Before briefing the president, Nunes said he also notified House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., of the information.

"Details about U.S. persons associated with the incoming administration — details with little or no apparent foreign intelligence value — were widely disseminated in intelligence community reporting,'' Nunes told reporters Wednesday.

Proper channels

Nunes suggested that the information came from one or more whistle-blowers.

“It came through the proper channels and the proper clearances,” Nunes said. “This was information that was brought to me that I thought the president needed to see.” He said the National Security Agency has been cooperative, but the FBI so far has not.

Nunes said the surveillance itself appeared to be legal — presumably through a warrant from Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court — but that the concern was what intelligence agencies did with that information.

He would not rule out that senior Obama administration officials received the intelligence or that they were involved in the “unmasking” of the citizens identified in the reports.

But he also re-stated his belief that Obama did not order the wiretapping of Trump Tower, as Trump himself has suggested in a series of March 4 tweets and subsequent public remarks.

“From what I’ve read, there seems to be some level of surveillance action — perhaps legal, but I don’t know that it’s right,'' he said.

Nunes said nothing he shared with the president was within the scope of the FBI’s investigation into ties between Russia and Trump associates.

"The reports I was able to see did not have anything to do with the Russia investigation,'' the congressman said. “The president needs to know that these intelligence reports are out there, and I have a duty to tell him that.”

Nunes said the new intelligence reports go "beyond'' U.S. intercepts of pre-inaugural conversations between former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Flynn who repeatedly denied raising the issue of sanctions imposed against Russia during his conversations with Kislyak, was forced to resign last month after intercepts of his conversations with the ambassador were presented to the White House, indicating that sanctions were discussed.

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