After weeks of ever-so-gradually gathering momentum, just as things were starting to get interesting, the House investigation into President Trump’s ties to Russia has reached an existential crisis of its own. The revelation that the Republican head of the Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, went to the White House grounds to view what he said were classified documents not available to members of Congress, cast new doubt on the independence of investigation under Nunes’ leadership. The old doubt was that Nunes was literally a member of the Trump transition team to the White House, where he was part of a 15-person executive committee that included current Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Trump’s children. If that wasn’t bad enough, Nunes’ latest visit to the White House really put the air quotes in the “independent” investigation into Trump’s Russia dealings.
After weeks of tip-toeing around the issue, on Monday, the ranking Democratic member on the investigation, Rep. Adam Schiff, had had enough and called for Nunes to recuse himself from the investigation:
After much consideration, and in light of the Chairman’s admission that he met with his source of information at the White House, I believe that the Chairman should recuse himself from any further involvement in the Russia investigation, as well as any involvement in oversight of matters pertaining to any incidental collection of the Trump transition, as he was also a key member of the transition team…
I believe 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…
As to the merits of the Chairman’s underlying claim, none of the committee members—Democrats or Republicans—has seen the relevant documents, now almost a week later. Whether the documents support the argument that names were improperly unmasked or distributed, it is impossible to judge, but one thing is very clear: There was no legitimate justification for bringing that information to the White House instead of the committee. That it was also obtained at the White House makes this departure all the more concerning. In the interests of a fair and impartial investigation whose results will be respected by the public, the Chairman’s recusal is more than warranted.
