Congressman Mike Turner, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement following Chairman Devin Nunes’s (CA-22) press conference regarding surveillance of President Donald Trump:
“The Chairman’s statements today detailing the incidental collection and dissemination of the Presidential transition team’s communications is highly concerning. On Monday, I questioned Admiral Rogers, National Security Agency Director, on the legal, inadvertent, and incidental collection of communications by incoming U.S. administration officials, the President-Elect, and the President-Elect’s transition team.
“The incidental collection, subsequent dissemination, and unmasking of individuals related to the Presidential transition team needs to be carefully investigated as there are real concerns about whether minimization procedures were appropriately followed. An outgoing administration reviewing the communications of an incoming Administration is highly inappropriate and raises serious concerns.
Below is the transcribed exchange between Congressman Turner and Admiral Rogers:
TURNER: Are you required to cease, if you are -- are undertaking lawful collection under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of a person or individual, either because they're a foreign person located outside the United States or the person that you're collecting against, is the subject of a FISA Court order.
If incidental to that collection or inadvertently, the collection results in the collection of communications of an incoming U.S. administration official, the president-elect or the president-elect's transition team, are you required under the minimization procedures, to cease collection?
ROGERS: Not automatically.
TURNER: Thank you. So the answer's no, correct?
Well, the reason why this is important is because intuitively, we would all know that incoming administration would have conversations with those that the intelligence community may be collecting against, either by making phone calls to them or receiving phone calls to them.
And so it's important for us to understand that the minimization procedures that are intended to collect the privacy rights of Americans, do not inherently include the -- a prohibition of the intelligence community incidentally or inadvertently, collecting the communications of an incoming administration.
ROGERS: Yes, sir.
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