Richard Burr is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Devin Nunes is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Burr, though a supporter of Trump, has conducted his committee with an attention to making progress, an awareness of the importance of their work, and the cooperation of committee co-chair Mark Warner. Devin Nunes has conducted himself with the all the dignity of Alex Jones in a Martian pizza parlor.
Claiming concern over “unmasking” of American citizens in secret communiques, Nunes has conducted a series of bizarre press conferences. He’s skulked in the White House bushes. He’s shuttled information from Trump, back to Trump, while pretending as if he was informing Trump of something new. He’s recused himself from the Russia investigation, un-recused himself, and generally brought the House side of the investigation to a ugly, staggering halt while declaring that no man can bring him to heel.
“I can do whatever I want, I’m the chairman of the committee,” Nunes said.
But even his fellow Republicans are no longer willing to pretend that Nunes’ claims are
anything but nonsense.
Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) on Friday accused his counterpart in the House, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), of creating a false narrative about Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice. …
With an assist from the White House, the House Intelligence chairman in March embarked on a one-man crusade to accuse Rice of improperly unmasking the identities of members of Trump’s campaign in intelligence reports. Though President Donald Trump said he believed Rice’s actions broke the law, bipartisan lawmakers who viewed the same classified reports from which Nunes drew his conclusions said they saw no evidence of wrongdoing.
While Donald Trump has been consulting his lawyers for ways to slow down the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, he’s needed no such help with the House. But Nunes’ antics have been obviously nonsensical for months.
People who have worked in the White House suggest that, on this matter, Nunes and the White House simply aren’t being credible. …
Graham said on the “Today” show on Tuesday that Nunes was bumbling his way though something of an “Inspector Clouseau investigation,” a reference to the fantastically inept protagonist of the “Pink Panther” comedies.
As it turns out, that was a compliment. At least Clouseau was trying to solve something. Nunes was just stalling for time.
But of course, just because Nunes has run out his credibility with everyone, including Republicans, doesn’t mean he’s going to do anything except continue to be a roadblock and do what he can to contribute to Trump’s war on Robert Mueller.
“Why do they want an independent commission? Because they want to continue the narrative that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are best friends, and that’s the reason that he won, because Hillary Clinton would have never lost on her own; it had to be someone else’s fault.”
