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House intel committee looks into eavesdropping on Congress & Netanyahu

House intel committee looks into eavesdropping on Congress

12/30/15 12:30 PM EST Updated 12/30/15 02:25 PM EST

A House panel on Wednesday announced it is seeking information from the Obama administration on U.S. intelligence collection that may have swept up members of Congress.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s announcement comes after a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. collected information on private exchanges between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of Congress during ongoing negotiations for a nuclear deal with Iran.

“The House Intelligence Committee is looking into allegations in the Wall Street Journal regarding possible Intelligence Community (IC) collection of communications between Israeli government officials and members of Congress,” Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said in a statement. “The Committee has requested additional information from the IC to determine which, if any, of these allegations are true, and whether the IC followed all applicable laws, rules, and procedures.”

In response, a senior administration official suggested on Wednesday afternoon that lawmakers on designated committees may already have been informed of the data collection now in the news. "The Intelligence Community is required to keep Congressional oversight committees fully informed of intelligence activities," the official said in a statement.

Although the information collected by intelligence officials apparently included comments from members of Congress, there's no evidence yet that those American lawmakers were the intended targets of the surveillance, as opposed to the Israeli premier and his aides.

Former Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra, who chaired the House intelligence panel from 2004 to 2007, called for a probe late Tuesday, remarking that the Obama administration had exhibited an “unprecedented abuse of power” if the allegations are true.

“WSJ report that [National Security Agency] spied on Congress and Israel communications very disturbing. Actually outrageous,” he tweeted. “May be unprecedented abuse of power.”

“NSA and Obama officials need to be investigated and prosecuted if any truth to WSJ reports,” he continued. “NSA loses all credibility. Scary.”

Rubio: Spying situation 'might be worse' than what public thinks

By Nick Gass

According to the Journal, U.S. officials said Obama insisted that keeping an eye on Netanyahu served a “compelling national security purpose.” White House officials thought the information it uncovered could potentially be used to counter Netanyahu’s campaign against the nuclear accord but ultimately decided not to formally ask the National Security Agency to keep tabs on the Israeli premier’s maneuverings on Capitol Hill. The White House also gave the NSA the authority to determine what it would and wouldn’t do with the information, U.S. officials said.

“We didn’t say, ‘Do it,’” one senior U.S. official recalled in an interview with the Journal. “We didn’t say, ‘Don’t do it.’”

National Security Council spokesman Ned Price on Wednesday said the administration won’t comment on “any specific intelligence activities” but did offer a broad defense. “We do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and validated national security purpose,” he said. “This applies to ordinary citizens and world leaders alike.”

The correspondence the NSA revealed redacted the names of lawmakers, as well as personal information and “trash talk” about the White House, the Journal reported.

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