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Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, called Wednesday …
Intelligence Chair Can’t Be Trusted To Independently Investigate Trump, Says Committee’s Top Dem
He’s demanding an independent commission to run the probe.
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Rep.
Adam Schiff (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House intelligence
committee, called Wednesday for an independent investigation into
President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, arguing that the committee’s chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), cannot credibly conduct the probe.
“[Nunes’]
actions simply raise enormous doubt about whether the committee can do
its work, and I think that more than anything else I’ve seen, this makes
the most profound case for the formation of an independent commission,”
Schiff said during a news conference Wednesday.
His
call came after Nunes, the leader of the congressional investigation
into whether Trump’s team colluded with Russian officials to interfere
in the 2016 presidential election, said during a news conference
Wednesday that some Trump surrogates were under surveillance during
Obama’s administration. Nunes visited the White House to brief the president on his findings before addressing the public.
That disclosure was news to Schiff, the congressman said.
“I only learned about this the way you all did,” he said.
Schiff
said Nunes’ decision to brief Trump on the matter before discussing it
with other members of the committee calls into question his credibility
and ability to be a neutral investigator.
“The
chairman will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an
independent investigation into conduct which includes allegations of
potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians, or
if he’s going to act as a surrogate of the White House, because he
cannot do both,” Schiff said.
“I
think the actions of today throw great doubt into the ability of both
the chairman and the committee to conduct the investigation the way it
ought to be conducted,” he continued. “I think it does underscore the
importance of establishing an independent commission, a body that is
fully independent of any political considerations, including those that
may emanate from the White House.”
Schiff said he expressed these “grave concerns” to Nunes himself.
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