Despite ongoing criticism from members of his own party, House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) told reporters Tuesday morning he will not recuse himself from his committee’s investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.
“Why would I?” Nunes asked.
His critics have many answers to that question.
Last week, Nunes neglected to inform committee members that he was briefing President Donald Trump on information he received — from sources he has yet to name — on conversations the Trump campaign had with foreign individuals. U.S. intelligence agencies supposedly collected incidental surveillance of conversations between Trump campaign officials and foreign individuals who were legally being monitored.
Trump believes Nunes’ assertions prove his prior claims of illegal wiretapping conducted by the Obama administration — claims Nunes himself and FBI Director James Comey have both publicly refuted.
But Nunes called his impartiality into question even further when he revealed Monday that he met a source on White House grounds the day before he briefed Trump on the matter.