Secret meeting by intel chief raises bias claims
washington» House intelligence chairman Devin Nunes went to the White House grounds to review intelligence reports and meet the secret source behind his claim that communications involving Trump associates were caught up in “incidental” surveillance, the Republican congressman said Monday, prompting the top Democrat on the committee to call on Nunes to recuse himself from the committee’s Russia probe.
Rep. Adam Schiff said Nunes’ connections to the White House have raised insurmountable public doubts about whether the committee could credibly investigate the president’s campaign associates.
“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,” Schiff said in a statement Monday.
Nunes confirmed Monday that he met with the source at the White House complex, but he denied coordinating with the president’s aides.
After reviewing the information last week, Nunes called a news conference to announce that U.S. spy agencies may have captured Trump and his associates inadvertently in routine targeting of foreigners’ communications. Trump quickly seized on the statements as at least partial vindication for his assertion that President Barack Obama tapped his phones at Trump Tower — although Nunes, Schiff and FBI Director James Comey have said there is no such evidence.
The Senate intelligence committee also isconducting an investigation into Russia’s interference in the election and possible ties with the Trump campaign.
The House investigation, meanwhile, has been plagued with partisan divisions under Nunes’ leadership.
The chairman did not tell top Democrats on the committee about the meeting at the White House complex. It is highly unusual
for a committee chairman and ranking member not to coordinate meetings related to an investigation.
“’I think the chairman has to make a decision whether to act as a surrogate of the White House — as he did during the campaign and the transition — or to lead an independent and credible investigation,” Schiff said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Nunes argued he had to review classified, executive branch documents from a secure facility at the White House because the reports had not been provided to Congress and could not be transported to the secure facilities used by the House intelligence committee.
“Because of classification rules, the source could not simply put the documents in a backpack and walk them over to the House Intelligence committee space,” Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said. “The White House grounds was the best location to safeguard the proper chain of custody and classification of these documents, so the chairman could view them in a legal way.”
Nunes would not name the source of the information, nor would he disclose who invited him on the White House grounds for the meeting.
In addition to the White House itself, the grounds include an adjacent building with offices for National Security Council and other executive branch employees.
Nunes described the source as an intelligence official, not a White House official. In an interview on CNN, he suggested the president’s aides were unaware of the meeting.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer would not comment on whether White House officials were involved with Nunes.
“I’m not going to get into who he met with or why he met with them,” Spicer said.
The clandestine meeting was remarkable for a committee that seeks to demonstrate bipartisanship, said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University who has written extensively about separation of powers.
“Ideally, any meeting at the White House on a subject under investigation would have been done with the knowledge of the ranking member or his staff,” Turley said. “Because these committees are the least transparent in Congress, both parties have historically tried to be open with each other on contacts or meetings with agencies on key questions.”
The disclosure renewed calls for an independent committee to investigate the Russia ties.
Indeed, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on House Speaker Paul Ryan to replace Nunes as chairman of the intelligence committee.