Rep. Mike Conaway said Monday that he would continue running the House’s Russia investigation even though the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has been cleared by an ethics inquiry that had prevented him from running the probe.
Last week, the House Ethics Committee cleared California’s Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of any wrongdoing, saying he had not done anything improper over his handling of classified intelligence. The ethics investigation, announced in April, forced Nunes to temporarily step aside from leading the Russia probe, a move that put Conaway in charge instead.
The decision by the ethics panel had prompted questions from committee members of both parties about whether Nunes would try to regain control of the investigation, something that would spark Democratic outcry on a panel already engulfed in partisan tension.
But Conaway, a Texas Republican, told CNN on Monday that the decision by the ethics panel does not change the investigation.
“Not at all,” Conaway said when asked if the ethics decision affects the arrangement that he run the inquiry.
“I’m going to keep running it,” Conaway said. “He’s got plenty of committee business to do, separate and apart from the Russia stuff. So I don’t anticipate any changes to the relationship.”
Nunes himself was vague when asked about his plans in the aftermath of the ethics panel’s decision.
“It’s always the same as I’ve always said,” Nunes said. “Not changing anything.”