Pressure on Russia probe panel chief to step down

Devin Nunes refuses to resign, says ‘Why would I?’

HOUSE INTELLIGENCE chairman Devin Nunes rebuffed calls to step aside from the Russia investigation Tuesday as demands grew for him to recuse himself as head of that probe.

“Why would I?’’ Nunes said. The calls for him to resign came after revelations about his meeting with a secret source on White House grounds raised questions about his and the panel’s independence.

Nunes said the pressure for him to resign was typical politics. “It’s the same thing as always around this place — a lot of politics, people get heated, but I’m not going to involve myself with that,’’ he said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan continued to express confidence in Nunes, saying there is no need for the chairman to resign.

Nunes acknowledged Monday that he reviewed intelligence reports at the White House complex and met a secret source behind his statement that communications involving associates of US President Donald Trump were caught up in “incidental’’ surveillance.

The Republican congressman’s disclosure prompted the top Democrat on the committee, Representative Adam Schiff, as well as the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, to call on Nunes to recuse himself from the committee’s Russia probe.

Schiff said Nunes’ connections to the White House have raised insurmountable public doubts about whether the committee can credibly investigate Trump’s associates. “I believe the public cannot have the necessary confidence that matters involving the president’s campaign or transition team can be objectively investigated by the chairman,’’ Schiff said Monday.

Nunes has denied coordinating with Trump or his aides.

But Democratic Rep Jackie Speier, a member of the committee, said that Nunes should step down “in the interest of our integrity... If you become a White House whisperer, you are not independent,’’ she said on CNN. AP

House Speaker Paul Ryan backed Nunes, said there’s no need for him to resign.