Devin Nunes, former California congressman and the CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group, told Newsmax on Friday that he appreciates why Republicans may feel "frustrated" with the debt limit bill and that he feels for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
While appearing on "The Chris Salcedo Show," Nunes said he understood the "tough situations" the in which the Republicans found themselves.
"[They] only have a four-seat majority in the House. ... This is never a good outcome for conservatives with that small of the majority because everyone gets so frustrated," he said. "I think what you see the Republican leadership saying, for the most part, is, 'Hey, this is about as good as we could get.'"
Nunes said he also understood why McCarthy "is having to go out and do the best job that he can to sell" the deal he brokered last weekend with President Joe Biden."At the end of the day here," he said, "if you don't do anything, then you end up in the situation where you default on the debt, and then there's blowback.
"I feel for him. I've been in that position before."
Nunes said he had experienced these types of situations during Barack Obama's presidency.
"The first thing [Democrats] do is they make it super painful. They shut down the national parks. They target any businesses that they can. They tell people, 'Oh, we can't process your home loan.' They do it purposely during a government shutdown to hurt conservatives and Republicans.
"That's really what [Republicans are] staring down the tracks. It's not perfect, but I think it's all they could do."
Host Chris Salcedo next asked for Nunes' thoughts regarding House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and his "bombshell statement" during his appearance Thursday on "Rob Schmitt Tonight." Comer said his panel believes the primary FD-1023 claim against Biden involved a monetary exchange of at least $5 million from an unnamed "adversarial country" and that the FBI and Department of Justice knew about it.
"What I heard Comer say last night — and this would be critically important if it's true — does he have the bank records?" Nunes asked. "He knows that transaction took place, and now he's got the fact, supposedly in this document, that the FBI and DOJ knew about it — from a very credible source no less.
"It seems to me like this is going to look make [FBI Director Christopher] Wray, the FBI, and the DOJ — if they could look any worse — this is going to make them look worse."
Salcedo then asked Nunes to weigh in on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and the letter he sent Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday. Jordan's letter demanded the DOJ provide answers into special counsel Jack Smith's probe into former President Donald Trump.
Nunes agreed with Salcedo that Smith's investigations into Trump have been more political than factual or legal. "That's definitely the case," he said. "And it's actually, I think, both Comer and Jordan, the two chairmen, are working together on this because it's got to be the same people."
Nunes added that if he were Comer or Jordan, "I am looking at all the lawyers that DOJ and FBI that were involved in this, that touched this. I would want all their emails. I'd want all their bank records, all their communications. How did they go to the process? You will know so much, just by looking at the process that Wray and the DOJ went through to hide this from Congress for the last month. So that's I think what Jordan's getting.
"Look, this is a hoax, OK?" he added. "The raid of Mar-a-Lago is ridiculous. It always has been. This is to target and get Trump."
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