Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.) told CNN's Poppy Harlow on Tuesday that Susan Rice allegedly unmasking the names of Trump aides in intelligence reports for political purposes is "not a dereliction of duty."
Poppy Harlow posed a question to Thompson, saying, "[Senator John McCain] also said yesterday that if Susan Rice, former National Security Advisor under President Obama, did ask for these names to be unmasked because of political purposes, that would be a 'dereliction of duty.' What's your response?"
"I don't think it's dereliction of duties. I think it's within her purview to ask for and if it's on record and you can determine through an independent commission whether it was lawful or not," Thompson said.
"So, looking down the road, a purpose of why someone did something can only be interpreted and investigated by this independent commission," he continued. "I would think that Ms. Rice, in her capacity, can ask for any information."
