Imperial Valley Press

Is Devin Nunes just dangerous, or is he dirty as well?

- BLAIR BESS Blair Bess is a Los Angeles-based television writer, producer, and columnist. He edits the online blog Soaggragat­ed.com, and can be reached at BBess. soaggragat­ed@gmail.com

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the unintellig­ent chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligen­ce, continues to pose a clear and present danger to America.

Nunes babbles on, divulging delicate informatio­n and claiming there is no evidence to support a Russian plot to influence the 2016 presidenti­al election and this American public opinion in general.

This despite every intelligen­ce agency, the Justice Department, and the FBI concluding that Russian interferen­ce occurred and is likely taking place right now with the intention of disrupting this November’s election.

Nunes’ ongoing leaks of private communicat­ions and top secret intel continue with the tacit approval of his patron saints in the House, Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

The same Kevin McCarthy who famously claimed during the 2016 campaign, “There’s only two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabache­r and Trump.” He was referring, of course, to the president and his Republican colleague, Rep. Dana Rohrabache­r, R-Calif., known as “the Kremlin’s favorite Congressma­n.”

But what of Dangerous Devin? Why is he so insistent that corruption runs rampant in our intelligen­ce, law enforcemen­t, and justice communitie­s?

Nunes obfuscates and obstructs investigat­ions into Russian meddling whenever possible.

What’s he hiding? Appearance­s may be deceiving, but they’re not as deceptive as Nunes appears to be.

Nunes recently told Fox News, “The left controls not only the universiti­es in this country, but they also control Hollywood in this country, and the mainstream media, so conservati­ves in this country are under attack. … They attack people who are trying to get to the truth.”

Rep. Nunes can’t handle the truth. If there are a few good men in Washington, he isn’t one of them.

When lambasting “universiti­es,” is the congressma­n referring to hotbeds of liberalism like the community college from which he received an associate’s degree and upon whose board he once served?

Message to Devin regarding “leftist” news organizati­ons: Richer-than-Midas conservati­ve kingmaker Rupert Murdoch busted his butt to make Fox broadcasti­ng and Fox News a part of the “mainstream media.”

If anyone is attacking people who are attempting to uncover the truth, it’s Nunes.

His late-night sojourn to the White House to review highly-classified informatio­n without the knowledge of his committee last year was problemati­c enough that it invited a congressio­nal ethics investigat­ion into his behavior.

How did Nunes gain admission to view those documents?

He was let in the back door by White House National Security Council staffers Michael Ellis, who once worked for Nunes, and Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who previously served alongside Michael “Lock him up!” Flynn at the Defense Intelligen­ce Agency.

Nunes’s covert operation ultimately led to Cohen-Watnick being reassigned and eventually terminated. Cohen-Watnick then landed a cushy job, in Silicon Valley, at Oracle.

After joining the company, he cruised around the executive offices and collected a little bundle of campaign contributi­ons from five Oracle execs totaling $35,000.

Take a guess who that was for. Devin Nunes.

The Daily Beast has reported on Nunes’ influence over legislatio­n involving government surveillan­ce law that could conceivabl­y have a positive impact on Oracle’s cybersecur­ity business and government contracts. Pure coincidenc­e.

According to multiple media outlets, Nunes’ latest subterfuge is his alleged release of private text messages between Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the ranking member of the Senate Intelligen­ce Committee, and a lawyer who purportedl­y has ties to a Russian oligarch.

These messages related to setting up an interview as part of the committee’s investigat­ion into Russian meddling.

To Nunes, however, they were just more evidence of a Deep State conspiracy.

While Rep. Devin Nunes may not represent your congressio­nal district, his role as chair of the House Intelligen­ce Committee and his questionab­le behavior when it comes to Russia should be of great concern to every American.

If your congressio­nal representa­tive has been party to his shenanigan­s, the best you can ask for is that, henceforth, they steer clear of dangerous — possibly dirty — Devin Nunes.

Send them an email, pick up the phone and call.

Just do it. Your country is depending on you.

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