The revelation of secret court orders to wiretap former Trump campaign spokesman Paul Manafort before and after the 2016 election is a "felony" — and the Justice Department should investigate the leak, his spokesman charged.
The condemnation from Jason Maloni followed a CNN report that Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court orders were issued twice between 2014 and 2016 to wiretap Manafort, who served as Trump campaign manager until August 2016.
Manafort's dealings with Ukraine were a major factor in his exit.
"If true, it is a felony to reveal the existence of a FISA warrant, regardless of the fact that no charges ever emerged," Maloni said in an emailed statement, the Washington Examiner reported Tuesday.
"The U.S Department of Justice's Inspector General should immediately conduct an investigation into these leaks and to examine the motivations behind a previous Administration's effort to surveil a political opponent.
"Mr. Manafort requests that the Department of Justice release any intercepts involving him and any non-Americans so interested parties can come to the same conclusion as the DOJ – there is nothing there."
Last Friday, Maloni testified for two and a half hours before a grand jury impaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller a Department of Justice probe of Russia's involvement in the 2016 election.
The Department of Justice announced in early August it would step up investigations of leaks surrounding the White House.
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