Washington (CNN)US investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election, sources tell CNN, an extraordinary step involving a high-ranking campaign official now at the center of the Russia meddling probe.
The government snooping continued into early this year, including a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Donald Trump.
Some of the intelligence collected includes communications that sparked concerns among investigators that Manafort had encouraged the Russians to help with the campaign, according to three sources familiar with the investigation. Two of these sources, however, cautioned that the evidence is not conclusive.
pecial counsel Robert Mueller’s team, which is leading the investigation into Russia’s involvement in the election, has been provided details of these communications.A secret order authorized by the court that handles the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) began after Manafort became the subject of an FBI investigation that began in 2014. It centered on work done by a group of Washington consulting firms for Ukraine’s former ruling party, the sources told CNN.
The surveillance was discontinued at some point last year for lack of evidence, according to one of the sources.The FBI then restarted the surveillance after obtaining a new FISA warrant that extended at least into early this year.
More at (!) CNN
You will not hear that this behavior was lightyears worse than Watergate.
@kitt, #1:
That’s because the ongoing criminal investigation of the Trump campaign organization and administration is entirely legitimate—and certainly far more relevant to the security of the nation than your past obsession with Monica Lewinsky’s little blue dress.
@Greg: I had no obsession with a starstruck immature girlie that Billy took advantage of. That whole thing was between him and Hillary. This is about Obama weaponizing the intelligence agencies, on behalf of the candidate for the democrat party.
Nixon was guilty of covering up a simple break in, not spying on American citizens.
Finding nothing they are going after everyone around the President. It was Hillary that had much too cozy relationships with Putin and her campaign, pool party Podesta making big bucks on uranium stock. Millions being donated to the Clinton slush fund, huge speaking fees, seems there is much more smoke on the losers side.
If Manafort is charged with anything, it better be for trying to mess with the election any other charges brings the whole investigation in question. At that point it should be ended., My tax dollars being used to make sure it was a valid election is fine, but just to punish those around Trump, not cool.
With Trump as the front runner, only Bernie or Hillary could lose, any other sane democrat would be in the White House. Too many democrats voted Trump because Hillary is just icky.
@Greg:
I suspect that this is the tip of obama-abuse iceberg
Very reluctantly CNN admits the Donald was right and they were all wrong.
Short video:
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/column-1/cnn-exposed-trump-proven-right-on-wiretap-claim/
@DrJohn:
It is only part of the iceberg; we already know Susan Rice was tapping everyone she could think of involved in the Trump campaign. All this while the Justice Department simply ignored the Clinton Foundation and Hillary getting rich off of marketing US influence and Hillary making State Department classified information available to anyone that cared to look.
Purge, purge, purge, Mr. Trump. Drain the swamp AND the cesspool.
@Greg:
Cite the verification that there is a criminal investigation ongoing concerning anyone associated with Trump and explain, in light of well over a year’s investigating and finding NOTHING how any of it is still “legitimate”.
What we have is an investigation, driven by liberal sore-loserism, in SEARCH of a crime. Accusations have been made with no basis in fact and then a search for those crimes commenced. It is, in short, a witch hunt, all while the obvious witch cheers them on.
The MSM, Comey (under oath), and all the other Obamamites were highly outraged when Trump accused their messiah of wiretapping, something we now know his administration did quite often for political reasons. Don’t look for any of them to admit they were wrong. Add in their defense of Rice who lied when she said she never unmasked anyone along with their support for Antifa and how they now justify violence against anyone who thinks differently (i.e. non-leftist) and what you have is the makings of another USSR or Nazi Germany should they ever regain power.