California Lawmakers Lead Nation Down Rabbit Hole In Russian Hacking Probe

LOS ANGELES, CA — Two California legislators found themselves center stage this week as the Congressional investigation of Russia’s interference in last year’s presidential election took a series of remarkable turns.

Representative Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, was the driving force. He started the week grilling FBI Director James Comey on intelligence leaks but ended up in the hotseat after bypassing fellow committee members to share intelligence with President Donald Trump, a breach widely condemned because the committee is tasked, in part, with investigating possible collusion between the Trump camp and Russia. Nunes’ chief detractor comes in the form of the committee’s ranking Democrat and fellow California Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank).

It started Monday when Comey testified before Congress, confirming a federal investigation into possible collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin while Russia was actively interfering with the presidential election. As Democrats made hay with that news, Nunes tried to steer the narrative toward scandalous leaks coming from the intelligence community. But Comey’s testimony cast a shadow over the Trump administration. So Nunes, a Trump surrogate during the campaign and a member of his transition team, shared intelligence reports with Trump on Wednesday. He also held a series of press conferences aimed at helping the president save face after Comey contradicted Trump’s infamous claim that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. Nunes held a pair of dramatic press conferences Wednesday, telling reporters he was very concerned that "the intelligence community incidentally collected information about American citizens involved in the Trump transition."

It was a risky move, one that Nunes would end up apologizing for. It undoubtedly curried favor with Trump, who claimed Nunes' statements somewhat vindicated him. But it didn’t sit well with other members of Congress, and Nunes was skewered in the media.

The New York Times was merciless, running an editorial headlined, “Rep. Nunes Is a Lapdog in a Watchdog Role.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Pleasanton) was equally frustrated.

“He betrayed the independence that our committee must show to get to the bottom of what happened with Russia’s interference in our elections,” he told the Washington Post. “He should have come to the committee first. He never under any circumstances should have gone to the president, whose campaign is under federal criminal and counterintelligence investigations.”

Senator John McCain, the GOP’s onetime standard bearer, described the week's developments and committee infighting as "bizarre," claiming it destroyed the committee's credibility as an unbiased investigative body. “No longer does the Congress have credibility to handle this alone,” Mr. McCain told NBC. “And I don’t say that lightly.”

Nunes apologized for the breach and backtracked from his dramatic comments, saying he needed to see additional intelligence to know precisely what happened. On Friday, he canceled a public hearing where former officials such as Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and CIA Director John Brennan were to testify in the coming week. The move was done without input from Democrats, and it infuriated Schiff.

“BREAKING: Chairman just cancelled open Intelligence Committee hearing with Clapper, Brennan and Yates in attempt to choke off public info,” he tweeted.

“I think this is a serious mistake,” Schiff said during a press conference Friday.

“The events of this week are not encouraging. I think anyone watching them has very legitimate, profound concerns about whether this Congress indeed can do a credible investigation," he continued. "I think that one of the profound takeaways of the last couple days is we really do need an independent commission here because the public, at the end of the day, needs to have confidence that someone has done a thorough investigation untainted by political considerations."

Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: (L to R) Ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) questions witnesses as chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) looks on during a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing concerning Russian meddling in the 2016 United States election, on Capitol Hill, March 20, 2017 in Washington. While both the Senate and House Intelligence committees have received private intelligence briefings in recent months, Monday's hearing is the first public hearing on alleged Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 election. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images News/Getty Images)