Former Obama adviser David Axelrod questioned the House Intelligence Committee’s ability to be impartial in an investigation looking into President Trump’s ties to Russia, comparing it to the “appropriate” government oversight tradition of the Senate Watergate Committee.
During a panel on CNN, Axelrod echoed the concerns raised by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who pushed for an independent commission to take over the investigation after he said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes delivered a “body blow” to his panel’s ability to conduct a credible probe because he shared information with President Trump that was withheld from the committee.
“What’s interesting is that Chairman Nunes on Monday raised this point about the cloud that the investigation casts on the administration. Today he attempted apparently to resolve this by casting a cloud on the investigation itself,” Axelrod, a CNN commentator, said. “And did a big disservice I think to his committee and to the public confidence in their actions.”
Nunes, R-Calif., said earlier that he had briefed Trump on new information, unrelated to an investigation into Russian activities, that suggested that Trump and several members of his team transition possibly had their identities “unmasked” after their communications were intercepted by U.S. intelligence officials. The revelation is notable because identities of Americans are generally supposed to remain “masked” if American communications are swept up during surveillance of foreign individuals.
Axelrod hearkened back to prior commissions, including the 9/11 Commission and the Senate Watergate Committee whose efforts led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. Axelrod characterized these as being examples of appropriate government oversight.
“You know, you think back to the 9/11 Commission. That was an exercise in appropriate government oversight, or go back decades … some of us are old enough to remember during the Watergate era and the level of cooperation between [Sen.] Sam Ervin, a Democrat, and a [Sen.] Howard Baker, a Republican, to follow the facts wherever they led,” he said.
Axelrod added: “This was disappointing when you consider the — those traditions of government oversight.”
