President Donald Trump and Republicans are up in arms about new revelations regarding the FBI’s investigation into Gen. Michael Flynn and the 2016 Trump campaign, but will there be any consequences?
Daily Caller White House correspondent Anders Hagstrom sat down with Republican Strategist Ford O’Connell to hash out what we have learned about the FBI’s handling of Flynn’s case and what the Trump administration might do about it. Central to the story is the revelation that dozens of Obama administration officials submitted unmasking requests to learn details of Flynn’s case, and some of those details appear to have leaked to the media.
The list included Vice President Joe Biden, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former FBI Director James Comey. (RELATED: Documents Shed Light On Media Leak Central To Michael Flynn Case)
Unmasking requests are a common practice in the intelligence community, but Republicans allege Obama officials intentionally targeted Flynn in an attempt to leak damaging information on the Trump campaign to the media.
Republicans say some of these actions were illegal, but there has yet to be any official move from politicians or law enforcement.
The Justice Department dropped its charges against Flynn last week after newly declassified documents showed several members of the Obama administration appearing to have directly contradicted their public statements on the Trump-Russia scandal in sword testimony.
Clapper testified in 2017 that he had no empirical evidence that the Trump campaign knowingly colluded with Russia, despite saying he was certain of that accusation on television. (RELATED: Here Is Everything You Need To Know About ‘Unmasking’ And Michael Flynn, All In One Place)
Republicans are also planning to bring Clapper and Comey to testify before the Senate on potential perjury from Clapper. He testified under oath that he had not briefed President Barack Obama on Flynn’s calls with the Russian ambassador in 2016. Comey, however told Congress under sword testimony that Clapper had briefed Obama.
Republicans allege Democrats were interested in Flynn due to his proximity to the Trump campaign, which could allow their unmasking requests to reveal intimate information regarding the campaign.