White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Thursday (30 March) that the administration would be inviting top members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees to see classified documents that relate to the alleged incidental capture of communications by Trump's campaign staff by US intelligence agencies.

The announcement comes as the House Intelligence Committee chair, Devin Nunes, fends off accusations that he is too close with an administration he should be overseeing after reports that he received intel on White House grounds relating to President Donald Trump's claims of being wiretapped which he then briefed the president on before members of his own committee.

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The committee's ranking member, the highest ranking Democrat, Adam Schiff, has previously accused Nunes of acting as a "surrogate to the White House."

The timing of the invitation also raised questions, and came as the New York Times reported that two members of the National Security Council staff were the ones who helped Nunes see classified information.

Spicer would not say whether the information now offered to other top level members of intelligence committees was the same that Nunes had seen.

"There has been information, material that has come to light, and we want to make sure that the people who are conducting the review have that information," Spicer said.

The classified information was discovered, Spicer said, "in the ordinary course of business" by the National Security Council. An aides to Representative Schiff told the Associated Press (AP) that he did not receive the invitation to view the documents until after it had been announced by Spicer.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has begun hearing public testimony in their investigation into allegations that Russia attempted to interfere in the recent presidential election with the aim of helping Trump to the win the White House.

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