--- title: Susan Rice Denies Charges She Politicized Surveillance description: Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice strongly denied charges that she sought to politicize surveillance about Donald Trump canonical: https://time.com/4725121/susan-rice-donald-trump-surveillance-msnbc-interview/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-04T16:47:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T09:58:32.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Susan Rice Denies Charges She Politicized Surveillance og:description: "I leaked nothing to nobody, never had, never would." og:url: https://time.com/4725121/susan-rice-donald-trump-surveillance-msnbc-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3f32fa4e7193d08/6988c144196cf450c303f86e/susan-rice-surveillance.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice, speaks while incomming White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, listens, during the 2017 Passing The Baton conference at the United States Institute of Peace, on January 10, 2017 in Washington og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Susan Rice Denies Charges She Politicized Surveillance twitter:description: "I leaked nothing to nobody, never had, never would." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3f32fa4e7193d08/6988c144196cf450c303f86e/susan-rice-surveillance.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Susan Rice: 'I Leaked Nothing to Nobody' on Trump Transition > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=fef272f6-34d6-4b32-bba7-61c9fc3cc117&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=fef272f6-34d6-4b32-bba7-61c9fc3cc117&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=fef272f6-34d6-4b32-bba7-61c9fc3cc117&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:58 AM UTCPublished: Apr 4, 2017 4:47 PM UTC  White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice, speaks while incomming White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, listens, during the 2017 Passing The Baton conference at the United States Institute of Peace, on January 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice, speaks while incomming White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, listens, during the 2017 Passing The Baton conference at the United States Institute of Peace, on January 10, 2017 in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:58 AM UTCPublished: Apr 4, 2017 4:47 PM UTC Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice strongly denied Republican charges that the Obama Administration sought to politicize surveillance during the presidential transition. In [an interview on MSNBC](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/susan-rice-speaks-out-unmasking-accusations-i-leaked-nothing-nobody-n742486) Tuesday, the former Obama advisor called claims that she and others sought to “unmask” the names of Trump advisers caught on so-called “incidental surveillance” for political reasons “absolutely false.” “I leaked nothing to nobody, never had, never would,” she said. Instead, she said that in some instances the identities of people reference on foreign surveillance would have been directly released to her — admitting it was [“possible”](https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/849295471222833152) that some Trump advisers might have been mentioned by foreign officials — but said that is a far cry from leaking them to reporters. “Imagine if we saw something of grave significance that involved Russia, China or anyone else interfering in our political process and we needed to understand the significance of that” by unmasking the identity of the American involved, she told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “To not understand it would be a dereliction of duty.” She said she was “surprised” and “shocked” by [Trump’s March tweet](https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/849295471222833152) that the Trump Tower was “wiretapped” by the Obama Administration, saying the claim was untrue and that making it was “not typical of the way presidents treat their predecessors.” FBI Director James Comey and top Republican leaders have said [there is no evidence](http://time.com/4713187/donald-trump-obama-wiretap-fact-check/) Trump was wiretapped. Rice has recently become the target of Republicans criticizing the Obama Administration’s handling of surveillance. In [an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt](http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-cotton-susan-rice-2017-4), Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas called her the “Typhoid Mary” of Obama’s foreign policy, referencing a woman in the 1900s who infected multiple people with a deadly disease. When asked about the remark, Rice declined to respond, saying she has been “called a lot of things by folks on the right that are unfair and disingenuous.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4725121/susan-rice-donald-trump-surveillance-msnbc-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4725121/susan-rice-donald-trump-surveillance-msnbc-interview/"},"headline":"Susan Rice: 'I Leaked Nothing to Nobody' on Trump Transition","datePublished":"2017-04-04T16:47:58.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T09:58:32.000Z","description":"'I leaked nothing to nobody, never had, never would'","url":"https://time.com/4725121/susan-rice-donald-trump-surveillance-msnbc-interview/","keywords":["White House","Barack Obama","National Security","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3f32fa4e7193d08/6988c144196cf450c303f86e/susan-rice-surveillance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3f32fa4e7193d08/6988c144196cf450c303f86e/susan-rice-surveillance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice, speaks while incomming White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, listens, during the 2017 Passing The Baton conference at the United States Institute of Peace, on January 10, 2017 in Washington","caption":"John Kerry, Susan Rice, Michael Flynn Attend \"Passing The Baton\" Conference","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4725121/susan-rice-donald-trump-surveillance-msnbc-interview/","name":"Susan Rice: 'I Leaked Nothing to Nobody' on Trump Transition"}}]}] ```