Rep Devin Nunes under pressure to resign, could face ethics probe

Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes (R-CA), had announced earlier this week that he won’t recuse himself from the committee’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. On Tuesday he told ABC News that he “will never reveal sources and methods,” not even with fellow Intelligence Committee members, supporting his claim last Wednesday that, “I recently confirmed that on numerous occasions, the intelligence community incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition.”

After Monday’s revelations that Nunes had shared confidential information relevant to the committee investigation with the White House, top House Democrats have called on Nunes to recuse himself, while some have called for him to resign. According to the Daily Beast, he could now be facing a House Ethics Committee probe.

On Tuesday, MoveOn.org filed an ethics complaint against Nunes with the U.S. House of Representatives’ Office of Congressional Ethics for “violating the Espionage Act and the Rules of the House by disclosing classified information without the authorization required by House Rules or any other proper authorization.” According to MoveOn.org Campaign Director Jo Comerford, “Devin Nunes’ reckless and clearly partisan actions prove he lacks the judgment and independence to oversee an investigation into possible collusion between Donald Trump and his associates with the government of Russia—and underscore why an independent commission and special prosecutor are so desperately needed.” Comerford added, “Congress must stop all business and focus on the creation of an independent commission and the appointment of a special prosecutor or the American people will never be able to trust that the Trump campaign did not in engage illegal collusion with a foreign government to sabotage a U.S. election.”

This follows a statement by Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), the Intelligence committee’s top Democrat, joining with Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic leader, stating, “The public cannot have the necessary confidence that matters involving the president’s campaign or transition team can be objectively investigated or overseen by the chairman.”

Reportedly, Nunes, went to the White House last Wednesday to personally brief President Donald Trump on classified information he had viewed at the White House the evening prior (known in the intelligence community as a “skiff”). Supposedly the information bolsters the president’s claims that he was wiretapped by the Obama Administration. Nunes later met with Republicans on the Committee and did not share information with committee Democrats.

He apologized to Democrats at a meeting last Thursday, also promising to release the same information to the rest of the committee members. When asked if he would remain as chairman, Nunes asked: “Why would I not?”

Democrats inside and out of the committee were highly critical of Nunes, calling for changes to the investigation. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi suggested an “outside non-partisan commission.” “I think he has demonstrated that there is some question about his respect for the committee,” she told reporters last Thursday. “I think he sent a signal that as a member of the Trump transition team himself, he probably should not be intricately involved in this investigation.”

Democratic calls for an independent investigation would entail the appointment of a special prosecutor who would, in theory, be unable to be influenced by political forces

Devin Nunes says there's nothing to see here, but calls for him to recuse himself are now turning into calls to resign. #LastWord pic.twitter.com/keZxGiT0tR

— The Last Word (@TheLastWord) March 29, 2017

This Tuesday, three top officials who had served under the Obama Administration were scheduled to testify before the House committee: Sally Yates, former Deputy Attorney General, John Brennan, former head of the C.I.A., and James Clapper, former director of national intelligence. Last Friday, however, Nunes cancelled the hearing.

Support for Nunes is degrading among Republicans, with senator and former presidential candidate John McCain being highly critical of Nunes on CBS News.

"I think there needs to be a lot of explaining to do," Sen. John McCain says on Rep. Devin Nunes https://t.co/MQjLrJ6VNM pic.twitter.com/M5cBQDmV9m

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 28, 2017

The House Intelligence Committee is the committee tasked with the oversight of executive branch intelligence agencies, meaning that its members have access to classified information pertaining to foreign and domestic investigations. The precursor to this permanent committee was the Select Committee on Intelligence, which was formed in 1975 to investigate the intelligence community’s handling of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.

#FakeNews I was saying the opposite and warning against engaging in witch-hunts. See the exchange at 8:00 mark: https://t.co/zZuy7uPPbG https://t.co/6vqi27ZumD

— Devin Nunes (@DevinNunes) March 2, 2017

Nunes’ original statement to the press:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kUcoNTR-0g

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