Pair of White House staff who provided info to Nunes identified by NYT

[fleur-de-lisa]

Ezra Cohen Watnick and Michael Ellis

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/us/politics/devin-nunes-intelligence-reports.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

[KittyWampus]

1. Slow drip by slow drip. Yes it's a distraction aimed at derailing House investigation. I hope

this causes more headaches and problems for the Republicans.

[MelissaB]

2. K&R

Several current American officials identified the White House officials as Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the senior director for intelligence at the National Security Council, and Michael Ellis, a lawyer who works on national security issues at the White House Counsel’s Office and formerly worked on the staff of the House Intelligence Committee.

A White House spokesperson declined to comment.

[pkdu]

3. Cohen Watnick ( Flynn hack) was the one McMaster tried to have removed when he came in but was

over-ruled by 45 at urging of Bannon/Kushner.

McMaster should resign to save his good name.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-national-security-mcmaster-overrule-236065

[KingCharlemagne]

10. +Infinity! - nt

[KewlKat]

11. i thought the smell was familiar.

At work on cellphone. Hard to Google. How were they outed? Or did the rethugs throw them under the bus?

[pkdu]

22. NYT article names them. Ellis used to work for Nunes. Watnick for Flynn. nt

[KewlKat]

28. thank you

[Amaryllis]

27. Except we need him becasue he is one of the few trying to actually do his job.

[KittyWampus]

4. Cohen-Watnick: Sounds like intel Nunes saw may have been innocuous.

My opinion was this was all a charade to change the news cycle and torpedo the Committee.

Officials said the reports consisted primarily of ambassadors and other foreign officials talking about how they were trying to develop contacts within Mr. Trump’s family and inner circle in advance of his inauguration.

[GliderGuider]

7. Could go either way. You have no proof, right? nt

[KittyWampus]

16. Except for the excerpt I provided and the words "my opinion" and "may have been"?

I'm not making breathless accusations and posting them as fact with no evidence.

[GliderGuider]

17. Why all the vehemence?

In these times we could all use a step back and a deep breath or two. I'm going to do that now.

[LanternWaste]

18. Seems aptly answered with the qualifier

"You have no proof, right?"

Seems aptly answered with the qualifier "My opinion was this..." No doubt, easily missed when splinters are in our eye.

[GliderGuider]

19. Yes, indeed.

[Gabi Hayes]

5. unmasked!

burn the NYT!

[GliderGuider]

6. The net closes a bit tighter... nt

[randome]

8. Let's see what Spice-Boy has to say about this today. I hope he squirms like a worm.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers, it's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[KingCharlemagne]

9. There's a cancer on the NSC. Time for McMaster to fire

his ass (Cohen-Watnick) or for McMaster to tender his resignation.

[malaise]

12. Should make the briefing Spicier

We knew it came from inside.

Nunes has to go - should be gone from the Committee by tomorrow

[kentuck]

13. Don't they need the House investigation to continue so that...?

..they can continue to be updated at the White House by any new information that might come up?? Will they have second thoughts about re-starting the House investigation?

[spanone]

26. they probably have a conduit to the senate committee....

[Kingofalldems]

14. Looks like a criminal conspiracy from here.

Who ordered this? Bannon? Trump?

[GliderGuider]

15. Flynn's larva and an opportunistic lawyer. Yum! nt

[fleur-de-lisa]

20. Enjoy palace intrigue?

David Corn?Verified account @DavidCornDC 1m1 minute ago

Enjoy palace intrigue? Think of who in the WH dropped a dime on Nunes & his WH pals and why. Remember McMaster wanted Cohen-Watnick out.

[herding cats]

21. I suspected Ellis already and am not surprised by Cohen.

Trumps little army protecting their man. I hope this blows up in their faces.

[displacedtexan]

23. Trump the lying liar tweets a lie about President Obama, and Rs bend over backward

to make it look like Trump the lying liar isn't lying, that Obama's IC gathered convos incidentally while doing their jobs? So what? Trump the lying liar still hasn't apologized yet.

What part of "Obama tapped my phone! bad or sick guy!" Do these reporters not understand? Every moment of this Nunes (spy v spy in the dead of night) crap moves the blame away from Trump the lying liar. Why don't they ask when Trump the lying liar is going to apologize to President Obama?

Okay. Rant over.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

24. Nunes flat out lied when he said no WH staff even knew he was at the WH secure room looking at docs.

[spanone]

25. so they just thought this up on their own?....trump doesn't like leakers or at least FBI leakers...

from 2/24/17

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday assailed the F.B.I. as a dangerously porous agency, charging that leaks of classified information from within its ranks were putting the country at risk — and calling for an immediate hunt for the leakers.WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday assailed the F.B.I. as a dangerously porous agency, charging that leaks of classified information from within its ranks were putting the country at risk — and calling for an immediate hunt for the leakers.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/us/politics/trump-fbi-leaks.html

[OnDoutside]

29. Can a FOI be put in to see Nunes's phone calls for the last couple of weeks ?

[iluvtennis]

30. Just SMDH, SMDH, SMDH