Embattled House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes threw a formerly bipartisan investigation of Russian election interference into doubt Tuesday, as he rejected calls for his recusal and stopped the committee’s work for the rest of the week.
An anticipated closed door briefing with FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers was postponed, deepening the frustrations of Democratic members who said Nunes’ actions over the last week and a-half jeopardized his credibility and undermined his ability to lead the investigation.
Nunes met a source on White House grounds before making his disclosure last week that members of President Donald Trump's transition team were caught up in “incidental” surveillance, according to his spokesman, who added that Nunes wanted “to have proximity to a secure location where he could view the information provided by the source.”
That revelation led ranking Democratic committee member Rep. Adam Schiff to call for Nunes to step away from the Russia investigation.
“Why would I do that?” Nunes asked a small group of reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. “Everything is moving as is.” But Democrats said the committee's work has stalled.
Nunes has still not revealed the identity of the source.
He spoke with reporters and the president about the material last week without informing any of the other 21 members of the House Intelligence Committee, angering Democrats who questioned Nunes' credibility. Nunes later apologized to the committee.