Two House Republicans came to the defense of House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes on Thursday, saying he could continue to oversee an impartial investigation into alleged contacts between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia.
On Wednesday, Nunes revealed to reporters that communications of Trump and associates may have been picked up after the election by intelligence agencies conducting surveillance of foreign targets. He then rushed to the White House to make Trump aware of the findings.
He apologized Thursday to Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for not telling them before speaking to the press and White House about the matter, according to Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat on the committee.
“I do,” said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, when asked by CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day” if he believed Nunes could lead “what’s supposed to be an independent investigation.”
“I think he simply shared with the commander in chief the fact that people in President Trump’s transition team had information that was gathered when they were working there in Trump Tower when they were accomplishing their goal of transitioning to our new government,” the Ohio Republican continued.
Speaking on “New Day” Thursday, Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings said Nunes “scuttled and put a cloud over his own investigation” and suggested the California Republican should be the target of an investigation himself.
But later in the morning, Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Florida, came to the defense of Nunes, calling him a man of “high integrity.”
“He’s a man of character and high integrity and I haven’t had the chance to talk to him,” Yoho said on “New Day.” “I have a lot of trust and faith in Devin, so he did whatever he did, I’m sure for the right reasons.”
