SCHIFF OBTAINED PHONE RECORDS OF NUNES, JOURNALIST, OTHERS

[Geee]

Powerline

Between my day job and three hours on the radio, I have been mostly out of touch today. But this, from Elizabeth Vaughn at Red State, shocked me: “Adam Schiff Has Crossed a Line: He’s Obtained Phone Records of Devin Nunes, Nunes’ Aide, Rudy Giuliani and John Solomon.”

The most stunning aspect of the report, to me anyway, was the inclusion of telephone records of House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes, Nunes’ aide David Harvey, President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and investigative reporter John Solomon. Schiff refused to say how he was able to obtain these records.

I don’t understand that. Presumably such records were obtained through legal process, as opposed to computer hacking or bribery of telephone company employees. Offhand, however, I don’t know what the legal basis would be for obtaining these phone records, and Schiff’s refusal to comment does not inspire confidence. I also don’t understand how Schiff could have obtained these records–legally–without the knowledge of the ranking member of his committee, Devin Nunes.

John Solomon has been one of the best reporters on the subjects at issue here, and spying on his phone records reminds me of when some person or organization intruded into Sharyl Attkisson’s home computer at a time when her reporting was inconvenient for the Obama administration.

The mainstream media is abuzz with stories about Nunes communication with “Rudy Giuliani during key aspects of his Ukraine pressure campaign.” Nunes was in touch with John Solomon around the times he published major articles. And on and on. The telephone records don’t include the actual conversations. They identify who was calling whom and how long they spoke.