Sen. John McCain thinks House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes should reveal the source of his information that President Trump and his associates may have been spied on by the U.S. government.
On CBS Tuesday, McCain said Nunes’ decision to go to the press and the White House with that information before briefing Democrats on his committee is strange. In the interest of transparency, he should go public with his information, McCain said.
“Absolutely. I can’t imagine why not,” McCain said.
Nunes announced last week that Trump and his team were incidentally caught up in surveillance of targets that were being watched under a legally obtained warrant. Nunes made the announcement in a press conference and then briefed Trump, but has yet to tell Democrats on the committee about his source or the information he received.
"I think there needs to be a lot of explaining to do." — @SenJohnMcCain on backlash over Rep. Nunes’ actions pic.twitter.com/nmY1juwQkt— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 28, 2017
On Monday, Nunes confirmed he had viewed the information at the White House complex in a secure facility the day before he made his announcement. He said he did not speak to the president or visit the West Wing on his visit, but he also said he wasn’t being secretive and said hello to some people when he arrived.
McCain said this is unusual behavior.
“There needs to be a lot of explaining to do,” he said. “I’ve been around for quite a while and I’ve never heard of any such thing.”
Democrats have complained Nunes is being a partisan operator and showing his loyalty lies with Trump, not the committee. They’ve criticized him for possibly compromising the committee’s independence.
McCain said that’s a rift that needs to heal for the committee to work.
“In a committee like an intelligence committee, you’ve got to have bipartisanship or else the committee loses credibility,” he said. “There’s so much out there that needs to be explained by the chairman.”
