The House Intelligence Committee has scrapped all meetings this week amid growing partisan rancor now threatening to derail its investigation into Russia and the Trump campaign.
The full committee meetings were canceled amid an increasingly tense back-and-forth that intensified over Chairman Devin Nunes’ decision to cancel a public hearing set for Tuesday, two sources on the committee told CNN.
The controversy widened as Democrats called on Nunes to step aside because of his decision to brief President Donald Trump on intelligence information he received from a source on White House grounds.
Democrats believe he is too close to the White House to lead a thorough investigation into Russia — including ties between the Trump camp and Russian officials — an assertion firmly rejected by the GOP.
“I don’t think he can just recuse himself and still chair the committee,” Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat on the panel, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo Tuesday on “New Day.” “I think that the writing is on the wall. It might make a good spy novel. It doesn’t make a good investigation.”
Nunes, however, told CNN Tuesday morning he was “moving forward” with the investigation.
The decision to scrap this week’s meetings shows that the panel is facing serious turmoil and questions about whether it can proceed. Nunes scrapped a Tuesday public hearing on Russia to hold a private briefing with FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers, prompting outcry from Democrats who wanted the issue of the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to the Kremlin to remain in public view.
But Comey and Rogers opted not to brief the panel amid the furor within the committee over how to proceed with its investigation.
The full committee typically meets at least twice a week and it’s uncertain if those meetings will be rescheduled.