US House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes apologizes to Democratic members

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, said that President Donald Trump's campaign communications may have been "monitored" during the transition period as part of an "incidental collection," March 22, 2017. (Photo by AP)

The House Intelligence Committee chairman has apologized to committee Democrats for going public with information about government surveillance on the Trump election campaign prior to speaking to them, according to a member.
On Thursday, Devin Nunes expressed his regrets about informing US President Donald Trump of surveillance affecting his transition team before he updated his panel.
When asked why he spoke with Trump and the media before House Intelligence Committee Democrats, he said, “It’s a judgement call on my part”.
“At the end of the day, sometimes you make the right decision, sometimes you don’t,” Nunes added.
He further noted that he could not show the panel information that was given to him by a source.
On Wednesday, Nunes had said that the US intelligence community “incidentally collected” information on members of Trump’s transition team, ultimately putting it into various intelligence reports.
The House Intelligence Committee’s ranking Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff, expressed his frustration over Nunes’s handling of the information.
“If accurate, this information should have been shared with members of the committee, but it has not been,” Schiff said.

House Intel. Committee ranking Dem. Adam Schiff reacts to Devin Nunes statements about surveillance of US President Donald Trump, March 22, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

Schiff further said that he had warned that his colleague had cast a “profound cloud” over their effort to investigate Russian attempts to interfere in the election.
He added, “The chairman also shared this information with the White House before providing it to the committee, another profound irregularity, given that the matter is currently under investigation. I have expressed my grave concerns with the chairman that a credible investigation cannot be conducted this way.”
Alleged surveillance of the Trump campaign became part of the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election after the president’s claim early this month that former President Barack Obama wiretapped the Trump Tower.