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Posted on 04/06/2017 7:10:17 AM PDT by Red Badger
Rep. Devin Nunes said Thursday he is stepping aside as chairman of the House intelligence committee because he is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly disclosing intelligence without proper authorization.
"The charges are entirely false and politically motivated, and are being leveled just as the American people are beginning to learn the truth about the improper unmasking of the identities of U.S. citizens and other abuses of power," Nunes said in a statement, adding that the allegations against him are "baseless."
Nunes said in a hastily-arranged press conference last month he had come into possession of classified information showing Trump transition team members were "incidentally collected" by U.S. intelligence agencies during their surveillance of foreign targets and improperly "unmasked." Nunes made his claim following a late-night trip to the White House where he reportedly met with senior administration officials who played a role in giving him classified information. (Nunes maintains they were not his original source.)
Rep. Mike Conaway, a Republican, will take Nunes's position as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as the Ethics Committee begins its probe.
The Ethics Committee is truly bipartisan, with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. The 18a investigation, as its known, has subpoena power and may also look into what Nunes told Speaker Paul Ryan and President Donald Trump when he briefed them following his March 22 press conference.
Ryan said Nunes staying on would be a "distraction" for the investigation into Russia's interference in the election and possible collusion with Trump's team. Ryan earlier expressed support for Nunes.
"He continues to have that trust, and I know he is eager to demonstrate to the Ethics Committee that he has followed all proper guidelines and laws," Ryan said in a statement. "In the meantime, it is clear that this process would be a distraction for the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian interference in our election. Chairman Nunes has offered to step aside as the lead Republican on this probe, and I fully support this decision."
Nunes had not briefed Rep. Adam Schiff, his Democratic counterpart on the committee, before running to Ryan and Trump. That decision blew up an already strained committee, leading to recriminations from Democrats that Nunes was acting like a presidential pawn. The committee's downward spiral led to suspended hearings on the Russia probe, putting the onus on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
You’ve got to be kidding!!
I thought Nunes said he was staying on???
On Drudge :(
I am quitting the news. We are insane
Did all that surveillance pay off again...?
The Deep-state and neocons are counter-attacking. Seems they have had some victories in the past 48 hours
Bookmarking to see if this is the DB’s fake news.
He must have gotten “THE” call. CS if ya ask me.
I actually lump this in with Trump’s crazy jumping in on the Assad thing (and other stuff) and am wondering if the days of “winning” are abruptly coming to an end, in a way that none of us saw coming.
The uni-party strikes again. Why did Nunes cave? Was someone threatening to remove him from the committee?
How is Rush going to put a nice spin on this one. Cowards. Trump bowing to deep state on Syria. Obamacare is going no where. Anything that requires more than just an E/O (which will be erased in 4-8 years) is not looking good. If all it takes is an allegation then put allegations on every member of the committee with a D beside their names. What an absolute joke. You crazies will all vote for them next year claiming the Dems must be stopped. The country is in trouble because their are none left to fight for her.
Who is this Connoway character? Some GOPe??
Republicans have become disgusting wimps. When is ONE going to stand up to the bullying Communists? Disgraceful capitulation, though I fully expected it.
It’s time to take to the forest with the partisans!
It looks as though Pres. Trump’s prediction that we’d get sick of winning has gone off the rails. The Democrats are notching wins on their gun belts every day as they take Republicans out. Where are ours? If the House and Senate GOP mice keep this up, Republicans will not turn out to vote for cowards next year and the Democrats may win both chambers.
The symbol of the GOP should be the Cowardly Lion. Hand me a barf bag!
When will the republicans who won in 2016 finally get sworn in and start running things?
Democrats filed ethics charges because they are anti-Hispanic.
Devin Nunes..... now a gomer bull
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