House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes to Step Down From Investigation
Embattled House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Devin Nunes has announced he will temporarily recuse himself from his committee’s investigation into connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.
In a statement, Nunes continued to call charges questioning his impartiality “baseless,” but nevertheless felt that it would be in “the best interests” of the investigation for him to “temporarily” step aside.
The Congressman has come under fire from critics on both sides of the aisle after a bizarre meeting on White House grounds to view classified documents. Nunes later briefed President Trump on the content of what he found, immediately raising questions about his independence from the White House.
The sudden departure of Nunes comes as a surprise. House leadership had steadfastly supported the chairman throughout the last week and the scandal appeared to be subsiding the face of new Trump outrages. In his own statement, Speaker Paul Ryan continued to express confidence in Nunes but praised his decision to step aside.
