Washington
The House Ethics Committee released a statement on Thursday saying it had “determined to investigate” allegations that “Nunes may have made unauthorized disclosures of classified information, in violation of House Rules, law, regulations, or other standards of conduct.”
Nunes has come under fire in recent weeks for speaking publicly about classified foreign surveillance reports he viewed on White House grounds. Nunes suggested that those reports identified President Donald Trump and members of his transition team, whose names may have been mentioned by individuals under surveillance — or whose conversations with those individuals may have been incidentally picked up.
On Thursday, Nunes dismissed the suggestion that he violated ethics laws as “entirely false and politically motivated,” blaming “several left-wing activist groups” for filing complaints with the Office of Congressional Ethics. He noted that he asked to speak with the Ethics Committee “at the earliest possible opportunity in order to expedite the dismissal of these false claims,” and said his recusal — which applies only to the committee’s Russia investigation — would be in effect while the committee looks into the matter.
Nunes for weeks has resisted calls from Democrats to step aside. It was not clear on Thursday whether his reversal was prompted by the Ethics Committee’s investigation — which was revealed just moments after Nunes made his announcement — or resulted from pressure from House leaders.
In the meantime, Rep. K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, will take the lead on the Russia investigation, Nunes said, with assistance from Reps. Thomas Rooney, R-Fla., and Trey Gowdy, R-S.C. Gowdy also sits on the Ethics Committee. Nunes also pledged in his statement to “continue to fulfill all my other responsibilities as Committee Chairman” in matters unrelated to the Russia probe.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said on Thursday that he does not think Nunes did anything wrong, but he “fully support(s) his decision.”
“Chairman Nunes wants to make sure he is not a distraction to this very important investigation,” Ryan said.
The House Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation all but ran aground last week, after Nunes went to the media — and Trump — with information about the surveillance reports before informing committee Democrats.
“The biggest mistake was not consulting with the Democrats,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has previously criticized Nunes’ actions, and who applauded his decision to step down.