Adam Schiff Blindsided By Nunes Resignation From Russia Probe

Rep. Adam Schiff Image by Getty Images

By Daniel J. Solomon April 6, 2017

Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House’s Intelligence Committee, [said Thursday that he only learned of chairman Devin Nunes’ decision to step aside from an inquiry into ties between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia when the news broke to the entire world.

It’s not the first time that the Jewish representative from California and his Republican counterpart, also from the Golden State, have had communication issues. Schiff complained bitterly after Nunes failed to share information with him that claimed President Trump’s team had been caught up in incidental surveillance during the transition of power.

Nunes refused to reveal his sources, but it later came out that the intel had come straight from the White House – a development prompting Democrats to call into question the chairman’s impartiality and demand his recusal from the investigation.

Schiff was among them, and he said on Thursday that Nunes’ stepping down would allow the Russia inquiry to begin on a “fresh start.”

Schiff, said Nunes’ decision to step aside from the investigation was made in “the best interests of the committee and I respect that decision.”

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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