House Democrats are being careful not to overplay their hand as they question House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes’ role in Congress’ investigations into Russia’s meddling in the presidential election, hoping to use the panel as a vehicle for broadcasting their objections to the probe.
Democrats decided to only ask for Nunes’ recusal — not his resignation — as a tactical move, one knowledgeable Democratic source told the Washington Examiner. That way they can ratchet up the pressure on Nunes if they find out he’s had more questionable interactions with the White House.
On Monday night, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and other key Democrats called on Nunes to recuse himself from the probes after he admitted to meeting at the White House with informants who supposedly gave him evidence that President Trump’s team was improperly monitored by intelligence services during the transition from the Obama administration to the Trump administration.
Nunes has become something of a whipping boy for Democrats, who can use him to label the intelligence panel probe as partisan.
The committee needs a “chairperson who has enough objectivity, who isn’t wedded to party apparatus, but enough objectivity to make sure that Americans are kept safe … and to “ensure that the protection is there and we don’t’ have a White House dictating legislative policy as it relates to the” intelligence community, Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., who sits on the panel, told the Washington Examiner.
Democrats are also being careful to not threaten to walk away from the investigation, lest they end up shut out.
“Democrats, we’re going to continue to be a part of this investigation, whether it has an asterisk around it or not,” Swalwell said, laying the groundwork for Democrats to question the investigation’s findings.
“The most powerful magnifying glass we have is our access,” he continued. “We don’t want to separate ourselves from this investigation, then we would lose our magnifying glass. So we want to keep that access.”
Carson said Democrats can also use the bully pulpit.
“The beauty about this place is that, even in the minority, we still have a voice and that voice can be used to leverage ourselves to impact and influence public opinion,” Carson said. “And so the question becomes, how loudly will we speak and what kind of impact will our voices have in drawing America’s attention to this serious issue and this serious violation of trust between the ranking member and chairman?” he asked.
For now, no Democrat is calling for an Ethics Committee investigation into Nunes’ actions.
“We’ll take some time to explore all options,” Castro said.
They’re also continuing to call for an independent, 9/11-style commission to replace or work in addition to the official House and Senate committees’ queries.
The “best way I think now to ensure against a compromised House investigation is to have a parallel, independent investigation,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., the ranking member on the FBI subcommittee who co-authored a bill to create an outside commission.
