# Phone taps: Flynn vs. other Trump staff **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 7, 2017, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-taps-flynn-vs-other-trump-staff/781617 "2017-03-07T13:32:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-taps-flynn-vs-other-trump-staff/781617/1 "2017-03-07T13:32:25Z")
Why is Trump is frothing at the mouth at the thought that calls with Russia by people who happened to be on Trump’s staff might have been recorded, but there no outrage over the fact that Michael Flynn’s phone calls with the Russian ambassador were recorded by U.S. intelligence? First, to be clear, there is no evidence that Trump’s staff’s calls were in fact recorded. There seems to be a very weak chain of inferences leading to that conclusion based on a November 7, 2016, article by Louise Mensch. But if there is such outrage over something that probably never even happened, why wasn’t there a peep when it came out that Flynn’s phone was tapped? ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-taps-flynn-vs-other-trump-staff/781617/2 "2017-03-07T13:47:39Z")
Because recording phone calls with foreign agents is the job of foreign intelligence. It just so happened that Flynn was the other person on the line. There is no suggestion they were targeting Flynn or recording all of his calls. That would require a warrant. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-taps-flynn-vs-other-trump-staff/781617/3 "2017-03-07T14:06:02Z")
second serious answer - Trump will not address anthing him or hsi team is ‘caught at’ - instead they appear to want you to allways be looking ‘at the other guy’ as the problem. Its called distraction. ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-taps-flynn-vs-other-trump-staff/781617/4 "2017-03-07T14:22:53Z")
All electronic communications with foreign entities can safely be assumed to be recorded or monitored in some way. As mentioned previously, that’s an intelligence/counter-intelligence function and is a mandate placed on certain agencies. There is, however, a legal distinction between law enforcement and intelligence. The law enforcement agencies (FBI, DEA, and other members of the Intelligence Community) have controls in place to prevent intelligence from spilling into law enforcement. That’s where the 4th Amendment comes into play (and FISA). If you recall from a few years ago, the Hemisphere Project was dribbled to the NY Times. 4 billion call records/day, courtesy of AT&T (Hemisphere was/is separate from NSA’s PRISM program). There’s no reason to think (from a technical perspective) that that’s limited to voice calls. But this is how signals intelligence (SIGINT) works - bulk collection and finding the needles in the haystack. It’s not unheard of for a criminal investigation (with warrants) to suddenly become a national security matter (“oh sh\*t - this just went classified”). In those cases, there is a certain tight-rope to be walked, and the distinction between national security work vs. criminal investigation becomes important. Where it gets tricky is when it’s a counter-terror scenario, an official corruption scenario, and other murky waters. Without seriously strong evidence, no judge in his/her right mind would issue a T-III warrant to eavesdrop on a presidential candidate. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-taps-flynn-vs-other-trump-staff/781617/5 "2017-03-07T14:47:45Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Why is Trump is frothing at the mouth at the thought that calls with Russia by people who happened to be on Trump’s staff might have been recorded, but there no outrage over the fact that Michael Flynn’s phone calls with the Russian ambassador were recorded by U.S. intelligence? > > First, to be clear, there is no evidence that Trump’s staff’s calls were in fact recorded. There seems to be a very weak chain of inferences leading to that conclusion based on a November 7, 2016, article by Louise Mensch. But if there is such outrage over something that probably never even happened, why wasn’t there a peep when it came out that Flynn’s phone was tapped? Sounds like a great reason to have an open, honest, thorough, and proper Congressional and FBI investigations into this matter. Put everyone on record and under oath. Let the chips fall where they may. It’s not as if the Obama administration hasn’t interfered with elections before. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-taps-flynn-vs-other-trump-staff/781617/6 "2017-03-07T15:01:33Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Sounds like a great reason to have an open, honest, thorough, and proper Congressional and FBI investigations into this matter. Put everyone on record and under oath. Let the chips fall where they may. > > It’s not as if the Obama administration hasn’t interfered with elections before. [Politifact](http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/mar/25/blog-posting/blog-claims-us-funded-anti-netanyahu-election-effo/) > [@](#): > > A conservative blog claimed, “Obama has been sending taxpayer dollars, at least $350,000 to fund anti-Likud, anti Netanyahu groups in Israel for tomorrow’s election.” > > First, there is the matter of the dollar amount. If any U.S. money was used to mobilize anti-Likud voters, it would have been in Israel. A more accurate figure would be $233,500. > > Next, there is a matter of the blog’s tense. “Has been sending” says the action is continuing. In this case, the money stopped flowing in 2014, before elections were called in Israel. > > Finally, the allegation that the money was spent to fund anti-Likud, anti-Netanyahu groups in Israel for the election is based on speculation. Yes, Obama sent money to OneVoice, a group that promoted a two-state solution. And yes that group partnered with a different group V15 that wanted Netanyahu defeated. But there is no paper trail that the money given to OneVoice was spent on an electoral ground game. It would be naive to ignore that OneVoice’s policy positions mesh well with V15’s voter mobilization, but that’s different from saying that American taxpayer dollars were spent by V15. if this isn’t the case you’re thinking of, you should include details rather than vague accusations that you drop like a turd into the toilet.