The White House has called on the media to show more zeal in investigating allegations that Obama Administration officials abused their access to intelligence to seek out and disclose potentially damaging information about Donald Trump's campaign and transition.
Struggling to defuse ongoing investigations of Russian interference in the election on behalf of now-President Donald Trump, and to deflect reports of possible ties between Trump associates and Moscow, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he was "somewhat intrigued" at the media's "lack of interest ... in one set of developments versus another set of developments".
But Spicer, in contrast to weeks of outrage he has expressed from the White House podium, said he would not comment on a new report that Susan Rice, President Barack Obama's national security adviser, had requested that the intelligence community provide her with names of Trump associates whose conversations with foreigners were incidentally intercepted.
Conservative social media agitator Mike Cernovich reported on Monday that the White House Counsel's office had "identified" Rice as asking for the names of "incoming Trump officials", during an internal review of document logs. The report did not indicate whether conversations with Russians were involved.
Rice could not be reached for comment on the report.
