White House officials declined to weigh in on House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes’ decision Thursday to step back from his panel’s probe of Russian activity during the campaign.
“This is an internal matter for the House,” a White House official said.
Nunes announced his intention to cede control of the Russia investigation temporarily to Rep. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, on Thursday. The House Intelligence chairman is presently fending off an ethics complaint related to allegations that he improperly disclosed classified information.
House Speaker Paul Ryan had stood by Nunes through more than two weeks of pressure from Democrats for the California Republican to recuse himself from the Russian investigation. Critics had questioned whether Nunes was too close to the White House to investigate its alleged ties to Russia fairly.
Ryan continued to offer his support for Nunes on Thursday, acknowledging in a statement that Nunes’ ethics situation could provide a “distraction” for the committee and praising Conaway’s ability to handle the investigation on a temporary basis.
Nunes has come under fire since his visit to the White House on March 22 to brief President Trump on new surveillance findings. After his meeting with Trump, Nunes told reporters at the White House that he had uncovered evidence suggesting members of Trump’s transition team had their identities “unmasked” in intelligence reports containing communications that had been swept up through incidental collection.
