House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes has "put his objectivity in question at the very least" by his actions, and should now tell his colleagues what information he got and who gave it to him when he visited the White House grounds last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday.
"The problem he's created is he's gone off on a lark by himself," the South Carolina Republican told NBC's "Today" show. "[It's an] Inspector Clouseau investigation here, trying to find some unmasking information about collection incidental with the Trump campaign and some foreign agent outside of Russia."
The only way the scandal can be repaired is if Nunes tells his Intelligence Committee colleagues who he met with and what he saw, and then let them see the same information.
"If he's not willing to tell the Democrats and the Republicans on the committee who he met with and what he was told, he has lost his ability to lead," Graham said of Nunes, R-Calif. "The Democrats on the committee are becoming prosecutors. One guy said on a cable show there was probable cause to believe the Russians and the Trump campaign have collaborated."
On Monday, Nunes revealed he went to the White House grounds to view classified information that had to be seen on a secure computer there. He further said the information shows that someone in the Obama White House asked for the names of Trump's transition team to be unmasked in incidental communications obtained by the intelligence community.
The revelation has led several Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff, the top party member on the Intelligence Committee to demand Nunes step away from the bipartisan probe into Russia's involvement in the 2016 campaign.
Graham said Tuesday that he believes Nunes now has to repair the damage, and further, he thinks the "White House is off track and probably can't get back on track."
Sens. Richard Burr and Mark Warner, who head the Senate Intelligence Committee, are doing a "great job," said Graham, but it will be up to the House leadership whether to remove Nunes from the investigation.
But at the same time, Graham said he has "no idea" if Nunes received the classified information from someone in the White House itself, and "you should know that and I should know that.'
Graham said he also finds it "bizarre" that Nunes went to the White House to get the information, which could vindicate Trump.
"There's nothing been suggested, there's nothing been revealed to suggest that the Obama administration surveilled the Trump campaign," said Graham. "That's not even what Nunes is saying. He is saying there's incidental collection outside of Russia."
Graham also commented on the news that Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner had revealed meeting with a Russian bank.
"The bank yes, the ambassador no," Graham said, referring to news that Kuschner had also met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. https://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Senate-Intel-Question-Jared-Kushner-Russia/2017/03/27/id/780925/ "The fact he met with the banker he needs to explain himself, absolutely."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.