WASHINGTON – Former U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power pushed back on reports of her frequent "unmasking" requests in 2016 during the presidential campaign, calling them "completely false."
According to reports from several media outlets pertaining to the Russia probe, Power's unmasking requests totaled more than 260 in 2016.
"Two sources, who were not authorized to speak on the record, said the requests to identify Americans whose names surfaced in foreign intelligence reporting, known as unmasking, exceeded 260 last year," read one report from September of 2017.
Power, now a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, was asked why she "unmasked" so many individuals in 2016 while the presidential election was underway.
"It's false," replied Power, who served in the Obama administration from 2013-2017. "It's completely false."
When asked why the unmasking story is false, Power declined to respond.
Power testified before the House Intelligence Committee as part of the Russia investigation during a private closed-door session in 2017. Following the testimony, then-Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) summarized Power's testimony before the committee.
"The intelligence community has assigned this number of requests to her. Her perspective, her testimony is, they may be under my name, but I did not make those requests," he said. "So, we've got to get to the bottom of that."
Power was in Washington delivering the 2019 Daniel Patrick Moynihan lecture sponsored by the American Academy of Political and Social Science.