Nunes says in audio that Republicans need majority to protect Trump

Washington — Republicans need to keep control of the House to protect President Donald Trump from the Russia investigation, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said at a recent fundraiser, according to an audio recording released Wednesday.

“If Sessions won’t unrecuse and Mueller won’t clear the president, we’re the only ones. Which is really the danger,” Nunes said, referring to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel heading the investigation into Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

“I mean, we have to keep all these seats. We have to keep the majority. If we do not keep the majority, all of this goes away,” said Nunes, R-Calif.

The recording was released by MSNBC, which said it received it from a person associated with Fuse Washington, a progressive group based in Seattle. The person had paid the $250 to attend the fundraiser that Nunes held with House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.

A portion of the recording aired on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Wednesday evening.

The committee Nunes heads was tasked with investigating whether anyone from the Trump campaign may have collaborated with Russian attempts to influence the election, but its inquiry quickly became mired in partisan disputes.

Nunes, an ally of Trump’s who helped on the president’s transition team, recused himself from presiding over the investigation after questions arose regarding his handling of classified information.

Nunes’ office did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday night, but his spokesman Jack Langer told The Hill newspaper that “these are sensible ideas. I’m glad Chairman Nunes talked about them.”