Nunes

Posted on: September 12, 2017 at 12:47:39 CT

(Reuters) - Republican lawmaker Devin Nunes' investigation into whether Obama administration officials used classified intelligence reports to discredit Donald Trump's 2016 campaign team could backfire on the congressman - and the president, sources familiar with the reports said.

The reports contain no evidence that any aides to former Democratic President Barack Obama acted improperly, the sources said, but they do indicate some Trump associates may have violated an obscure 1799 law, the Logan Act, which prohibits unauthorized U.S. citizens from negotiating with a foreign government that has a dispute with the United States.

The spying reports also are relevant to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into conclusions by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia worked to tilt last November's election in Republican Trump's favor, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-investigations/republican-attempt-to-deflect-trump-russia-probes-could-backfire-sources-idUSKCN1BM25G