The unmaking of Trump officials was the result of former National Security Advisor Susan Rice's efforts to get a bead on a visit to New York City by the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates, Rice has told members of Congress, according to a CNN report.
But Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., a member of the House committee, said he found nothing untoward in Rice's account of the unmasking, a common practice. "I didn't hear anything to believe that she did anything illegal," CNN cited Rooney as saying.
The prince, who arrived in New York in December after the presidential election, but before Donald Trump took office, met with former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon, who recently resigned as the president's adviser and other Trump officials, Rice reportedly told the House Intelligence Committee. The meeting was a precursor to another gathering in the Seychelles Islands that allegedly sought to establish a back channel between Russia and the new administration.
As questions about the Trump administration's potential interactions with Russian operatives heated up earlier this year, some Republican lawmakers questioned Rice's motives for unmasking members of the president's inner circle.But Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., a member of the House committee, said he found nothing untoward in Rice's account of the unmasking, a common practice. "I didn't hear anything to believe that she did anything illegal," CNN cited Rooney as saying.
