Today, Common Cause urged Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) to force House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes’ (R-CA) to fully recuse from the committee’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election after Nunes threatened to “take the investigation over.”

On Monday, Nunes told CNN: “I can do whatever I want. I’m the Chairman of the Committee.” Nunes initially recused himself from the investigation after he was accused of intentionally disclosing classified information at a press conference in an attempt to justify false claims by President Trump that the Obama Administration had “wiretapped” Trump Tower.

“If Rep. Nunes does not understand that his actions have exposed him doing the Trump Administration’s bidding, and does not have the sense to recuse himself completely from the investigations, then it falls to the Speaker to insist on a full recusal in order to safeguard the integrity of the investigation and of the House of Representatives as a whole,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause. “The investigation of the Russian attack is matter of national security and Chairman Nunes has very publicly chosen to put his party before his country and should not have any further influence on the investigation. We emphasized to Speaker Ryan that Nunes latest actions hammer home the need for an independent commission to investigate the Russian attack and urged him to form one.”

The letter urges Speaker Ryan to relieve Nunes of all duties while his ethics investigation is ongoing. Only an independent commission, the letter emphasizes, will restore public confidence in the process and make recommendations to better secure U.S. elections in the future

A copy of the letter was sent to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Nunes and his counterpart on the Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff (D-CA).

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