Conservative group sues CIA, DOJ, Treasury over Flynn leaks

A conservative legal group is suing the CIA, Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury Department for access to the information that revealed former national security adviser Michael Flynn conversed with Russia’s ambassador before President Trump’s inauguration.

Judicial Watch, the conservative group that repeatedly sued former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server, is suing for all information related to an investigation of Flynn’s contacts with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday, came two days after Trump alleged that former President Obama ordered wiretapping of his phone lines at Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has failed to provide any evidence to support the explosive claim.

{mosads}“President Trump is on to [sic] something,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “The Obama-connected wiretapping and illegal leaks of classified material concerning President Trump and General Flynn are a scandal.”

The lawsuit is asking for “any and all records regarding, concerning, or related to the investigation of retired Gen. Michael Flynn’s communications with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak between October 1, 2016 and the present.”

Flynn resigned last month amid reports that he discussed U.S. sanctions with Kislyak in the month before Trump took office. The retired Army lieutenant general misled Vice President Pence and other administration officials about the nature of those conversations with Kislyak.

Questions about Trump and his aides’ ties to Russia have roiled the real estate mogul since he was still a presidential candidate. But those questions have intensified in the weeks following Flynn’s resignation and revelations that other current and former Trump aides were in contact with Russian officials during the campaign.

The intelligence community earlier this year issued a report saying Russian officials orchestrated a hacking and influence campaign with the intent to help elect Trump.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions came under fire last week for failing to disclose to the Senate Judiciary Committee in January that he met twice with Kislyak during the campaign. Sessions argued that he didn’t acknowledge the meetings because he had been acting as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, not as a Trump surrogate.

Sessions recused himself from federal investigations into Russian election meddling and Trump’s ties to Moscow on Thursday.

Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, also met with Kislyak alongside Flynn in December. At least two other former Trump advisers, Carter Page and J.D. Gordon, met with the ambassador during the Republican National Convention in July.