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| US intel chiefs 'never felt pressured to intervene' with Russia probe (WATCH LIVE) | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| National Security Agency (NSA) Director Mike Rogers and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats have both denied that US President Donald Trump put pressure on them to intervene in investigations into possible collusion between the Kremlin and the Republican’s election campaign. | National Security Agency (NSA) Director Mike Rogers and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats have both denied that US President Donald Trump put pressure on them to intervene in investigations into possible collusion between the Kremlin and the Republican’s election campaign. |
| At a Senate intelligence hearing Wednesday, Rogers poured cold water on press reports that the president had personally appealed to him to “downplay the Russia investigation.” | At a Senate intelligence hearing Wednesday, Rogers poured cold water on press reports that the president had personally appealed to him to “downplay the Russia investigation.” |
| Asked by Senator Mark Warner about the allegations, the NSA chief referred to such media reports as “theoreticals.” | Asked by Senator Mark Warner about the allegations, the NSA chief referred to such media reports as “theoreticals.” |
| “In the three-plus years that I’ve been director of NSA, I have never been directed to do anything I believe illegal,” he said. | “In the three-plus years that I’ve been director of NSA, I have never been directed to do anything I believe illegal,” he said. |
| Pressed on the matter, DNI director Coats also denied he had been pressured by Trump. | Pressed on the matter, DNI director Coats also denied he had been pressured by Trump. |
| “I have never been pressured, never felt pressured, to intervene or interfere in any way, with shaping intelligence,” he said. | “I have never been pressured, never felt pressured, to intervene or interfere in any way, with shaping intelligence,” he said. |
| Key US intelligence figures, including Coats, Acting FBI director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, are testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee. | |
| The committee hearing is being convened to decide on amendments to the controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows government agencies like the NSA to carry out electronic surveillance without a court order. | |
| FISA was first enacted in 1978 and has continuously been amended. The bill is up for reauthorization in December and will require the support of Congress to continue. | |
| One major provision of the act is that the US President can order electronic surveillance for up to one year. The attorney general must certify that there is “no substantial likelihood that the surveillance will acquire the contents of any communication to which a US person is a party.” | |
| Defending the act, Coats told senators that it “continues to produce intelligence that is vital to protect the nation.” | |
| Renewal of the surveillance initiative is the “intelligence community’s top legislative priority”, he added. | |
| However, asked by Senator Richard Burr about what happens when NSA staff encounter US persons, agency chief Rogers said the NSA assesses whether their actions are part of potential criminal activity. If the answer is no, “we purge the data”, he said. | |
| Meanwhile, Acting FBI Director McCabe has told the committee that the FBI continues to investigate Russia “in an appropriate and unimpeded way,” adding that the firing of former director James Comey had no effect on the investigation. | |
| Trump announced Wednesday that he is nominating Christopher A Wray as the bureau’s new director. The news comes just a day before Comey is due to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee. | |
| Comey is expected to answer questions about the president’s alleged links to Russia and reports that Trump tried to quash the investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia. |