On tape, Nunes targets midterms as Trump buffer

Concern over investigation takes on a different tone.

Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, appears to have moved from criticizing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election to strategizing about how to blunt its impact should it imperil President Donald Trump.

The most promising instrument in this effort, he suggested in remarks last month, is retaining a GOP-controlled Congress.

Even if he had been speaking publicly, the eight-term Republican might not have chosen his words differently. He is an adamantly pro-Trump lawmaker who in February released a memorandum accusing the intelligence community of conspiring against the president. In May, he sought documents from the Justice Department — as part of his investigation into the law enforcement officials leading the Russia inquiry — that senior intelligence officials maintained could expose a top source and endanger lives.

But it was in private, at a closed-door fundraiser for a Republican colleague, that Nunes took the new step of tying the investigation to the midterm elections this fall. In comments captured in an audio recording aired Wednesday by “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Nunes laid out in stark terms the rationale for preserving the GOP majority in Congress.

“If Sessions won’t unrecuse and Mueller won’t clear the president, we’re the only ones, which is really the danger,” Nunes said at an event for Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, referring to Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, and Robert Mueller, the special counsel. Sessions said last year that he would keep his distance from inquiries related to the 2016 election owing to his role in Trump’s campaign — a move that has frustrated the president, leading him to blame his own attorney general for the “Russian Witch Hunt Hoax.”

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

He seemed to suggest that congressional Republicans formed the last line of defense against potential fallout from the probe into Russian election meddling. He called this a “classic Catch-22 situation,” appearing to confuse a “tough spot” — also his words — with a situation in which contradictory conditions make escape impossible.

The remarks drew immediate rebuke from Democrats. Rep. Ted Lieu, also of California, called on Nunes to resign, saying his comments ran counter to the oath of office he had taken upon entering Congress.

Others observed that the lawmaker’s actions over the past year made his comments unsurprising. “After all,” tweeted University of Texas Law School professor Steve Vladeck, “this has been the only explanation — for quite some time — for his ridiculous behavior on everything from the unmasking scandal” to the “Rosenstein impeachment.”