This is just another chapter in the Times trying, piecemeal, to take down any person who has not gone along with the Left's push to destroy Trump - recently the RDML Dr., now Mr. Nunes. They don't seem to care if they destroy people, as long as they take down Trump. What a disgrace!!
-Not a midnight run - as told to Wolf Blitzer
-Wrong about the oversight regarding Bin Laden
-Untruthful about the farm. Zumwalt himself said The New York Times “did a good job of being accurate without being truthful.”
-on and on
See, if you dare, http://thefederalist.com/2018/04/29/new-york-times-hatchet-job-devin-nun...
To quote Mollie Hemingway of the Federalist: "The New York Times article is riddled with factual errors that are denied on the record by multiple sources. It fails to include information that was easily found and in the public record. And all for the goal of derailing rigorous oversight of intelligence agencies."
Does the Times not care about their credibility?
5
Mollie Hemingway takes this piece apart: http://thefederalist.com/2018/04/29/new-york-times-hatchet-job-devin-nun...
The NYT and media have EARNED their current place in public opinion.
4
Just another of the willfully ignorant people in power in our government. We, ultimately and collectively, put them all there. It is up to us to correct our mistakes.
6
Remarkable, how Trump and Nunes share so many characteristics. Neither has any intellectual curiosity, interest in "doing their homework", listening to experts, balancing information.
Both have destroyed relationships with government entities, created atmospheres of hyper partisanship, poisoned relationships with members of the opposite party, hold government institutions in contempt, and demand their own way over what is right for the country.
The most encouraging characteristic they both share is the tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, though with that kind of aim, they're likely to shoot each other.
5
I've written about this before and it falls on deaf ears of mainstream media. Investigate Devin Nunes dairy in Tulare County and those of trumps other GOP big ag donors, such as the Barcellos' family web of dairies. ( Remember, Big Ag includes 100000s of incorporated "family farms." ) Investigate the subsidies they receive and hiring of undocumented farm workers.
8
Nunes is truly the ultimate toady (except for maybe Sean Hannity)
5
Like his idol, the con man pathological liar = Nunes is an opportunist morally bamrupt phony corrupt politician. Lust for power is his only goal. He makes up stuff to earn browny point frm the world’s worst narcissist with zerp governance skills. Devin is a replica of the child bully he adores. It is a shame and travesty that people in central valley keep their eyes blind folded and do not want to see the true ugly color of this phony politician.
6
Congressional committees are supposed to be making diligent inquiry into subjects that may need Federal legislation. During my years watching all of this, going back as a kid to watching the Army-McCarthy hearings, it seems patently clear that Congress considers hearings as an opportunity to mug for the cameras and gather what is called 'political capital'. Where in any of this, no matter which 'tribe' you align with can you see any effort to hone legislation? Why are any of us surprised that Congressional committees are dysfunctional. They have been for decades.
Seldom does one see a Congressman at a hearing being prepared to ask questions, though they are all prepared to make 'opening statements'. It is show boating at the expense of the American people. Cong. Nunes follows a long tradition in Congress of using his/her position to run for re-election and garner campaign money. It is the same old...same old....
No. We do not hear of any of them proposing laws to safeguard our election process for future efforts to elect people to office in a free from manipulation election. Instead they are concerned with having the upper hand on the manipulation. They do not fulfill their role as the legislative branch of government. They merely run for the next election from the night they won the last election to the next night they can thank their supporters. They are part of the empty vessel. Nunes is merely one of the more flagrant examples of the lack of integrity.
2
It's up to the voters of the California 22nd congressional district to discern what Nunes is doing to national security. "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." - Abraham Lincoln
2
Abraham Lincoln spoke of the American people in 1860 not the Trump people of 2018.
The Republican Party continues to disgrace itself.
4
Thanks for the explainer.
I'd just thought he was shallow, callow, ignorant and fanatically conspiracy-prone. Now I see he went to College of the Sequoias, bastion of critical thinking. He's always had an abundance of "I'm right you're wrong". Brawler- facts later.
Boehner, what a mistake you made. Must've been all that 50 clock wine.
GOP just topped itself this admin in every which way.
7
I am from the 22nd Congressional District of Devin Nunes.
We have a candidate to replace Nunes. Andrew Janz is prosector that understands how to investigate a crime. Janz has over a million dollars in contributions and has a campaign to compete with Nunez. As this article shows, we need Nunez out. It did not mention Andrew Janz, but I wanted you all to we are working to replace Devin Nunes.
9
Devin Nunes, Chair of the House Un-Intelligence Committee. He'd be just another clumsy clown, if it weren't for the fact that he is helping to turn America into a circus.
4
Trump came to Washington to stop all the cronyism. Now he is infecting my beloved California with his mediocre minded stooges. Let's take Madeline Albright's warning seriously: Trump and Devin are stupidity, banality, and access beyond their pay grade.
BTW why aren't more journalists writing about Trump's ignorance of substantive adjectives other than 'great'?
3
Thank You Devin Nunez. Thank you for exposing the abuses at the highest level of the fbi. They tried to sway/influence the outcome of the elections and they almost succeeded. Subsequently they opened up frivolous Russia collusion and after more than a year have yet to prove one iota of evidence.
You're joking right? I know, I know, you're not joking, as crazy as that it.
5
Nunes wasted lots of taxpayers' money on wild goose chases, most due to his overconfidence in his own discernment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/smarter-living/how-to-spot-and-overco...
6
Time to change the name of the House Intelligence Committe
13
Nunes is a mole.
12
This excrescence needs to be remove ASAP from the halls of Congress.
8
We love you Devin! Not! 'Courage, truth, freedom' are weasel words indeed, in these times and in the GOP's active vocabulary. Weasel words.
4
Dump Devin on Nov 6. Please help America!
17
Nunes has indeed soared close to the big orange sun with his wings made of wax and alternative facts
I wonder how this tale will end?
9
How does a guy with a background in agriculture, with no military, foreign, intelligence, or legal experience, get put in charge of intelligence oversight? What an absolute con.
20
Nunes manifests, "If you lack talent and intellect, then cast out a scintilla or truth to convince the rabble to follow you."
Jake Cade did the same in King Henry VI, Part II, (Act IV), Scene 2, which contains the lawyer killing statement.
Nunes, like the ilk with Newt Gingrich, just needed to degrade the work of the House Intel Committee to ingratiate himself to President Trump.
However, in order to do so he attacked the institution that is one of the front line defenders of democracy. He did so without regard to rule of law. Nunes I believe is a dairy farmer, but his boots smell like hog and chicken dung.
8
Sequoias...
If so, then pray tell just where do Trump and Nunes get their intelligence...err, their ... advice?
2
Why does the NYTimes, considering itself the paper of record, keep perpetuating the misleading information that the Fusion dossier was prepared for the Democrats. Isn’t it common knowledge by now that it was started by and for Republican candidates and then picked up by the Democrats. It is my opinion that small omissions like this create false narratives and perpetuate fake news. The readers of the N.Y. Times deserve better.
12
The House Committee? Did you mean the White House Committee?
3
Devin Nunez reminds me of Nadya Blel,Daira Galvis, Argenis Velásquez,Nilton Córdoba etc etc. The very fine people in congress in Colombia who have made this country one of the most corrupt countries in world. Keep doing your outstanding job, Devin! We will get there!
4
Nunes is a despicable character.
He should have been thrown off of the Intel committee last year with his fake info stunt in the dark of night on the White House lawn. The fact that he was allowed to continue to not just participate but run the House's disgraceful reality intel "show" is pathetic.
He does not belong in DC anywhere near governance and he should go back to the Central Valley and milk cows for a living.
That's a good, decent life and perfect for an incompetent partisan hack of his nature.
10
Amen to that! Dairy farming is a respectable job and it's where Nunes definitely belongs. He sure doesn't belong in the halls of congress.
Rotten from the beginning of his career, and getting worse.
1
Fiercely loyal? To whom, Trump? Shouldn't it be to the country?
4
Not in Trump's world. What are YOU doing to get us back from Trump's reality TV world into the real world where real people live?
It takes time but eventually stupidity and especially evil both destroy themselves.
Anyone who supports trump is not thinking properly, and likely has a fair amount of moral depravity as well. Trump of course the embodiment of such qualities. And Nunes a close second.
Hope nunes and trump share a cell at some point. They're clearly made for each other. Heaven help the rest of us.
5
What would Fox News be saying if the Clinton campaign had all these meetings with Russians that they forgot to mention?
And if someone on the Clinton campaign had tried to set up back channel communications with the Kremlin, two separate occasions.
And if four people from the Clinton campaign had been indicted by Mueller and three of them already pleaded guilty?
Hillary would have already been impeached many months ago.
9
Nunes should b charged with Obstruction of Justice NOW.
5
Nunes is the Michael Cohen of GOP congressmen.
4
Check out his dealings in the Azores [his family is very influential there] and how he lobbied to move a hub for military intelligence operations .. any U.S. military base in a foreign country ultimately generates wealth for the host country. This guy will go down as one of the biggest, weasel shysters in political history.
5
His family is influential in the Azores? I've lived in the azores all my life and just heard of this guy a couple of years ago. I dind't even know he still had family in the Azores.
A treasonous hypocrite who has betrayed his oath to uphold the constitution and the system of governance. Trump and Nunes are two of a kind and that is far from a compliment.
7
It really concerns me how pervasive it is across the media to constantly discount...even attack....all the evidence pointing to wrong doing by the FBI, DOJ , State Department and intelligence services in the investigation of Trump. The Mueller investigation should move onward but so should the investigation of our legal apparatus that appears to have been politicized by the Obama Adminstration and Clinton Campaign. Anyone who looks at the evidence reported even by democratic media such as the New York Times, Washington Post, MSNBC or CNN should be concerned. We need to be able to Trust our justice system. A free and fair press as being critical to survival of democracy was founding father concern. The damage being done by the Trump Haters to our system is every bit as bad or worse than anything that Trump has done. If the end justifies the means for getting rid of Trump....what about the next guy who becomes president. Are you willing to accept that you have no made it okay for the other side to act the same way against someone you support? The rule of law and trust in that rule is what separates us from Banana Republics. We are all Americans. Just because I disagree with you on how to get things done doesn't mean I think you are an evil person. We should try to persuade each other with our ideas and not destroy each other to get what we want.
1
Maybe if Nunes took off his tinfoil hat, he could see that the despicable policies he is supporting will literally destroy ten percent of the farms each year. He probably all ready knows that and the truth is he simply is incapable of caring about anything but himself, and all his actions in life point to that.
4
Devin Nunes is a hero !! Maybe the "Resistance" et all who are imploding because no collusion or obstruction has been exposed yet. And who are presently pinning their hopes and dreams on the next shiny object, a porn star, will be exponentially more disappointed when real and relevant criminal referrals and indictments attributed to Nunes's courageous work begin flowing.
I’m sure he’ll be trump’s nominee for something. Head of CIA sounds about right.
1
Two words: Benedict Arnold
When this is over, can we send him to Russia? He's as unpatriotic as they come.
4
Nunes, the lapdog's lapdog, is as guilty of obstruction of justice as the rest of Trump's cabal. Mueller's investigation should only be considered complete if Nunes is crushed by the rule of law.
2
Measured by character, my bruh Núñez, Loser. Wasn’t he on the transition team. All that panic and manic behavior spells coverup and obstruction of his own surreptitious activities during the campaign and especially after. Reminded me of Boris of Boris and Natasha running around doing cray cray stuff.
2
Nunes actions around the Russia investigation=treason. The most glaring perpetrator of Trump's obstruction army. Benghazi witch hunt should nave been a warning to USA. Devin Nunes is the enemy.
2
Devin Nunes seems to be a spoiled brat, and the Republicans love him for itt.
3
It is the likes of Nunes that give congress its bad reputation. With Trump and his cronies the swamp has not been drained, it has become a cesspool.
2
Nunes seems like an Eve Harrington ( of "All About Eve") type of colleague. Always plotting, lying, scheming and frequently wrong in his assumptions and accusations. I hope CA voters wise up and get rid of him at their earliest possible convenience.
4
I've thought Devin Nunes was a nut since I saw him, panting with excitement, wagging "proof" of Obama's misdeeds around in front of reporters and photographers after he had enacted his Midnight Raid.
Everything I've seen him do or heard out of his mouth since then has cemented my impression that here was a man eaten up with self-importance, trying desperately to justify the unjustifiable and shine the spotlight upon himself.
He strikes me as a busybody, whizzing around digging up stuff that means nothing, trying to parlay it into something of importance to those who are just as nutty as he is. All he's doing is stirring up trouble that not only has no bearing on the real concerns of Washington but interferes with the serious questions of government that are now being investigated by people of REAL intelligence.
It's pitiful to see such an undeserving nutbrain inject himself into situations that are not his to control simply to be a hotdog and shine the light on himself. Just like trump.
Now he's got Trey Gowdy and others swarming around looking for the next fine place to squat and start in with their conspiracy theories. Never saw such a cabal of busy, small-minded people in my life. "Deep state", my word! Silly, silly people.
3
Nunes is a grifter with a long history of lying. When I looked him up on Wikipedia last year his bio was full of demonstrable untruths. It has since been scrubbed clean.
1
Thank goodness for Nunes and Wikki leaks exposing everything from the DNC cheating of Bernie Sanders to the fake Clinton E mail investigation where they never raided or even searched how house like they did Cohen and Manafort.
National security intelligence should never be confused with being moral nor smart nor wise. Ignorance ends with being curious about facts. Stupidity begins with not caring about facts.
3
The ultimate prize for Nunes and the rest of the deplorables is Hillary Clinton; already Nunes is pressuring the DOJ successfully for classified documents regarding the email investigation. Once handed to the house intelligence committee, convenient titbits will leak to the public and outraged president and Fact Free Fox will get the investigation reopened. The GOP, with Nunes at the helm will not rest until Hillary is finally indicted (if email scandal won't stick, there's always Benghazi, Uranium One or Pizzagate to come back to...).
I thought for certain Nunes lost all credibility after his stunt fell flat where his "unnamed source" on secret intelligence surveillance of the Trump campaign turned out to be the White House itself. He then went to the White House to "brief" the president on this breaking news.
Is this seriously a person we want to have as chairman of the intelligence committee? Let us hope Central Valley CA will reconsider its options for the midterms.
3
Puts personal loyalty over principles. No surprise here. His loyalty to the Russian mob may lead to a jail cell.
2
Sorry Nunes staffers, but your guy is a tool. He has no business whatsoever being on, let alone, chairing, this Intelligence committee, and probably has no business on Ways and Means. Put him on the Ag committee.
Better yet 22nd district voters, send this Trump sycophant him back to the ranch.
2
America is slowly losing itself. Self-righteous hypocritical investigations, justifications to break contractural agreements and at least 10X the lawsuits of the entire civilized world combined. Victim nation brought to you by the New York Times and the American media that feeds and fuels it.
1
as per the Visalia Times-Delta, that $2,700/plate lunch fundraiser Devin Nunes hosted for candidate Trump included an opportunity to actually shake hands with 'the Donald' himself for an extra $25,000 donation. this was enough to raise eyebrows even among the 'Kandy-Kolored Scarlet-Flake Red Metallic Streamline Baby', Fox News snorting Life-Long Republicans of Tulare County -- who generally agree Devin Nunes may not be "sharpest tool in the Republican shed." Buy back your cow Devin, you've been milking Tulare County long enough.
2
Everything Nunes does sounds misguided and short sighted. How someone like him has been given so much power and only uses it to disrupt the normal processes of government (and is somehow gaining more power as a result), is utterly mystifying. The folks on the right have truly found their man.
2
Nunes' eristic reasoning in his investigation on Russian collusion and similar issues, if any, seemed to single him out as a relatively less pensive person of sorts. When he faced the cameras, several months ago, and started taking questions from the press, his observations, that rolled out of his tongue, seemed so inane and a bit insane as well. His countenance seemed to resemble that of a party-pooper.
An ardent Trump supporter, Nunes has hardly captured the hearts of many astute and au courant observers, who, by definition, seem to be endowed with sterling performing prowess, as regards deals that might require finesse and sangfroid, when confronted with tricky situations, domestic or foreign. If he did have those qualities, they have not come to limelight, just as yet. Very seldom do we see any with those kinds of stellar qualities, these days.
Nunes, while facing cameras, almost always seemed at a loss for Solomonic solutions, but is is rather unfair to single him out. None in the present GOP and democratic party have proven himself or herself with an astonishing array of foresight, prudence, and an innate intuition of prognosticating hidden perils, especially from the foes.
One can still continue to hope for somebody, as close to an oracle as possible. It is not too much to ask for, one reckons.
I am old enough to remember a time Republican politicians were anti-Putin and pro-FBI.
That seems so quaint and a long time ago.
In addition these are the people in the Justice Department those Republican politicians are going after:
Rod Rosenstein - a Republican and appointed by Trump
Bob Mueller - a Republican
James Comey - a Republican
Andrew McCabe - a Republican
Nunes "has used the committee only to sow confusion"?
You mean, people who cling to the idea that Trump colluded with the Russian are being confused the lack of evidence for it and the ginned up nature of the evidence to justify surveillance of the Trump campaign?
Adam Schiff has endlessly claimed to know that there is Trump campaign collusion with Russia and declined every time to produce any evidence. I am beginning to think he is an active part of the conspiracy that Nunes has, in fact, helped unearth, the failed attempt from within the FBI and DoJ and probably CIA too, to frame Trump.
My mind’s still boggling over The Azores. I mean, the Azores?? Even I, civilian as I am, can see that it makes no sense to have a large surveillance/intelligence base there in this day and age.
1
I believe it was Chairman Bill Thomas who put Devin under his wing. And who as one of the most singular powerful Chairman was critical in gaining Boehner his speakership because as he said in his speech to the caucus Boehner was a Chairman.
Like them all, Chairman Devin is fiercely loyal to the valley, and not to the fancy pants of the coasts.
Nunes is a national disgrace. The world has watched him help obstruct the Mueller investigation..,and Paul Ryan has done nothing! His actions make the U.S. look like a banana republic...
2
A shallow and willing congressional careerist who will bootlick the current WH occupant in hopes of a gig after Congress.
The sad fact is, Trump never have any respect or appreciation for those who kiss up to him.
1
Why was/is Nunes even allowed by the GOP leadership to be part of the House Intelligence Committee's so-called "investigation" of Russian interference in the 2016 election? He was on the Executive Committee of Trump's transition team. That is a clear conflict of interest.
The GOP is venal, corrupt, inept and ethically challenged. Nunes is their face.
1
"has displayed a deep distrust of the expert consensus on reality".
That says it all. Clapper, Alexander, Hayden, all lied to Congress. Trump has his faults, I didn't vote for him, or Clinton, but the way the Justice Dept and FBI have been stone walling Congress, says something. You can hate Trump all you want, and it shows here, but he may just be innocent of collusion with Russia. But that may be unacceptable to all of you. Too bad.
There's a school of thought that institutions with glaring weaknesses tend to only trust others with similar weaknesses. Another connection is that both Trump and Nunes possess sub-par intelligence; they were the kids in the class who made comments so stupid people just rolled their eyes as the teacher tried to correct them in a nice way. In this regard, both Nunes and Trump "speak the same language."
We can hope that Americans learn from this presidency's and George W. Bush's, both beset by economic and policy incompetence that weakens American and harms our citizenry, so we seek ability over perceived personal advantage.
1
Totally unsuitable for the office he is appointed to. He has very poor judgement. He destroyed the house intelligence commitee's investigation in to Russia's involvement. He is a stooge for Trump and he is an excellent example of what's wrong with the government. Putting party or personal gains over what his office and position demands. A total disgrace, yet he is in a position of power that is very dangerous for our country.
The Republican Party in its drive to amplify business, rich man and corporate advantage through government and legislation has turned the Constitution on its head with respect to working people. Instead of working for the “general welfare” people like Nunes have it working for the super rich and at the present for a narcissist President. The Party lives and works in irony by calling up, down; in becomes out, and real patriotism is thrown out through the embrace of Benedict Arnold tactics.
The short term result of this has been the destruction of our nation’s unity. As Trump nation it’s every man for himself in the House, the Senate, the Courts, and the States. But the long term consequence is that when Truth goes naked and begging the nation will not be far behind, no matter how great it has been in the past. Anyone with any knowledge of history knows this because true greatness can reside only with Truth. Even businesses acknowledge that dealing falsely with customers is bad for business. David Nunes and his ilk are destructive of democracy, and saddest of all is that they know this and are so cynical that they don’t really care.
1
Nunes a Partisan? Yes of Course he is, just as all the others on the Committee, from either party.
So what good has come from his partisanship? If you are a Democrat, the answer is most likely nothing, if you are something else, the answer may be that he has exposed just how deeply corrupt the DOJ and FBI leadership became under the Obama administration. Simply looking at the resignations, terminations, demotions and criminal referrals is proof enough that Nunes has done a wonderful job of forcing our beleaguered Intelligence apparatus to cough-up a series of documents, under threat of impeachment, which clearly show just how partisan many of our agencies have become. Thank you Devin, for proving what many have believed existed for a long time.
Commentariat should read themselves a little more closely and with some introspection. This is nothing more than a continued re-litigation of the 2016 election. If someone supports Trump they must be stupid, a traitor, or something.
Truth is -- FBI and DOJ have a lot to answer for re the 2016 election. McCabe wasn't fired on a whim. Comey isn't the heroic figure the left now views him as being (what about in Oct 2016?). Nunes is doing his job. You just don't like it because Nunes is clearly showing how corrupt corners (mostly democratic) of our government are.
Shocking state of affairs how a funny little man like Nunes continues to rise to the top. He is a liar, paranoid and wastes our tax dollars on wild goose chases that lead nowhere.
We now live a Trump administration ground-hog day scenario over and over where up is down , right is wrong and left is right. I cannot forgive the electorate for subjecting the rest of us to this nonsense. Unforgivable.
2
Devin Nunez, keep up the good work and keep on exposing those who have been abusing their power for years.
Majority of AMERICANS approve of your unprecedented and patriotic task. Thank you Devin Nunes
How better to conduct an investigation than by NOT asking pertinent questions?
Pretty clear that if Trump et al had direct Russian help for trump himself: he was already beholden to Russia for the money that staved off his financial collapse after American banks refused to lend to him. There is a direct line here with his refusal to provide financial information, his tax records and his red line concerning investigation of Trump Org.
Even his sons spelled it out very clearly: "A disproportionate amount of our money comes from Russia," and "we don't need banks, we have all the money we need from Russia."
Couple that with the lack of fiduciary inquiry into partners (a felony in US law) and what do you have? A president that is actively profiteering by his office while falsely winning the election as a businessman rather than a gifted con man.
But....the GOP Congress deserves ALL the blame. They are the ones who refuse to perform oversight, refuse to ask for financial records (that Trump has previously promised) and gave him blanket approval to void his contract for the Washington Trump Hotel which explicitly prohibits a lease to a government official.
And, as far as the Russian investigation: the GOP is far more concerned with replaying questions to Clinton who now is a private citizen than in questioning a President who is corrupt and leading a corrupt and, in many cases, incompetent Cabinet and judicial appointees.
Congress is to blame.
29
Nunez will be remembered for being the person most instrumental in undermining our democratic institutions.
26
You are not serious? You are not looking in a mirror with a straight face writing that--right? You have factual evidentiary quality evidence staring you in the face that hyper-partisan (Democrat) government officials made a concerted effort to undermine the campaign (and now Administration) of the current President, and you think Nunes "undermined" our democratic institutions? You've got to be kidding? Thank the Good Lord for Nunes to get this political chicanery out in the sunlight for Americans to see.
Or saving them
Nunes is a very partisan person. So are most people I see in the house. If there are so many people, including colleagues of his, who were for impeachment as the sun came up that strange day in Nov. 2016 and/or admit, they are for "resistance" "at any cost" or "in any manner," what's wrong with him being so on Trump's side? As I had no patience with the effort to unseat B. Clinton by the Rs, I have no patience with the efforts to unseat Trump. I liked B. Clinton. Though he was competent and at least trying to have some balance. I don't think much of Trump who has been embarrassing himself politically since the birther days. It doesn't matter to me. I'm against these crusades and the use of special prosecutor's used to try to dig something up.
4
A rare thoughtful nonpartisan assessment of facts and search for the truth. You are an exception and therefore sadly most likely not recognized
In California, even with the Democrat's unfortunate penchant for shooting themselves in the foot, this GOP lightweight and Trump lapdog has no future. He can't win statewide office. He is of Portuguese, not Mexican or Latin American heritage limiting his ethnic appeal. He'll always be a Congressman unless Trump brings him into a White House position not requiring Senate confirmation.
So, if there is a change of control in the House and the voting machines are not hacked in key races, he'll be the ranking member. The power to issue subpoenas moves to Mr. Schiff. At that point, Nunes takes the Faux Noise exit route just as his former GOP fellow chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah accomplished. There is no fun in being a near-powerless minority in the House. But in front of a camera in Murdoch land, he can spin "deep state" conspiracy theories and attack the FBI and CIA, and get a princely salary to do so. Then again, he seems to have the charisma of wet cardboard so talk radio may be his real future.
7
To say that Nunes turned the House Intel Committee inside out is too polite. He destroyed the last bipartisan committee that existed in the House of Representatives. He had no business being anywhere near that committee and surely had no business chairing it. John Boehner and Paul Ryan should both be ashamed, but they aren't. They're both too busy laughing all the way to the bank.
17
Schiff and the democrats are as much to blame for destroying any vestige of bipartisanship as the Republicans. They appear to be only interested in investigations that suit their political goals and continually fight any evidence driven investigation that might detract from their goals of ousting Republicans or cast dispersion on democrats. What scares me the most is that now many republican think that Democrats are evil and most Democrats on here appear to feel the same. I think most people not in political office on both sides are good people who have differing ideas on how to solve Americas problems. It saddens me when i read these posts that rather than talk about how to fix our problems we yell and scream at those people who disagree with us and call them racist, misogynist, homophobic...you name it. If anyone disagrees with us....its hate speech and needs to be squelched. I hope the 10-20% of us who are "independent" are able to see through all this hate to try and pick candidates who care about our country and not the R or D team they play for. It saddens me. Every day the Trump administration moves on implementing policy. When was the last time we had a national discussion about the policies that didn't degenerate into name calling?
The fact that the Trump campaign regarded Nunes as an asset and someone who could improve the candidate's knowledge says an awful lot about Trump.
That's not a compliment.
7
A fabulist. A destructive political hack who has turned the national security of this nation into an arena of partisan politics. And whom should we thank for this spectacle? That man of moderation, reason, and great vision -- Speaker Paul Ryan.
12
The problem in Nunes' district, and too many others, is the voters like that kind of behavior.
Those voters only get their information from Fox News and talk radio and live in an alternative universe.
And our country pays the price for it.
16
Someone needs to explain the concept of confirmation bias to Mr. Nunez.
5
Nunes and Bachmann appointed to the "Intelligence" Committee. Forgive me, but I do not associate "Intelligence" with either of these two characters.
Like his pal trump, it's not surprising that Nunes was rated "Least Read" member - his gut paranoia gives him all the context he needs.
So Nunes. as part of the transition team, was the architect of placing all of the extreme un-vetted candidates into the most influential places in government - many of whom have been fired, resigned or continue implementing their outlandish anti-America agenda (Pruitt, Zinke, DeVos, Pompeo, etc.).
The Intelligence "FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION" or more accurately they dismissed all evidence of collusion and conspiracy between trump-Nunes and Russia.
FBI may well be biased against this president, because they have a bias against criminals - especially criminals taking Americans for fools slandering the agency in an effort to evade law and justice.
Trump-Nunes hate a system that is not corrupt and rigged in their favor.
Hillary was wrong - it was not a right wing conspiracy - it was actually a right wing paranoia. The paranoia they have should be of the deep state they themselves are implementing.
Not surprisingly, Nunes career, like trump's, began with a fraud, a con. Typical.
Who will investigate Nunes? We can offer him housing on another island closer to home than the Azores - Guantanamo bay, Cuba.
How can the National Security of this nation be partisan and survive?
12
There's a deep mistrust of the 'chairman. He deserves to be voted out.
4
If ever there was a candidate for a charge of obstruction of justice, Nunes is it.
11
Fingers crossed, he's on the Mueller list.
1
This article by Jason Zengerle is obviously the product of many, many hours of research, and the strict reportorial guidelines and editorial procedures of the New York Times mean that the information presented here can be trusted.
Having read Mr. Zengerle's piece word-by-word from beginning to end, and with the knowledge of several thousand other pieces on Trump as my background, I can guarantee that this is a unique revelation on how the president maintains his illegal hold on power.
In this case, what is disclosed is unusually difficult to summarize, but please allow me to try.
In Devin Nunes, Trump has an important ally who is well-positioned to obstruct justice without being called out for his guilt in doing so. Like so many Trump loyalists, he has no regard for--or even knowledge of--the facts, and his ignorance provides him with cover for his public misrepresentations.
It is said that a lie can be halfway around the world before the truth gets on its boots. But when the truth finally commences its pursuit, it is in seven-league boots--which means that, at this very moment, the truth is quickly closing in on Nunes as well as Trump.
Godspeed to the truth. May it herd Nunes, Trump, and their entire breed into the same corral.
12
If you have to start your comment with, "the information presented here can be trusted", you've already demonstrated the opposite.
What you apparently consider logic, Daniel, strikes me as an unaccountable construct. Good luck with it.
1
When this is all said and done there needs to be an accounting. At a minimum, lengthy prison sentences will be mandatory. One's status or elected office should not preclude harsh penalties for the crimes being committed. This will be the truest test of our Democratic Institutions. If the powers that be fail to administer justice, we can no longer claim to be a government of, by, and for the people. We will cease being a Democracy.
11
Contrast and compare Devin Nunes with Eric Swalwell.
One of my tech businesses is in the district of Eric Swalwell. I've attended a few public events where he spoke and was very favorably impressed. He is very intelligent as one would expect from our local talent, listens, learns, thinks and demonstrates highly ethical behavior.
As the eastern end of his district is Lawrence Livermore National Labs where nuclear weapons are designed and at the western end is Tesla. His electorate are well informed on national security as well as economic innovation.
I had the opportunity to have a minute with him in 2015 when my son was deployed in Afghanistan. He takes the time to understand issues, ask insightful questions and conduct his due diligence, as one would expect of an experienced prosecutor.
Nunes' record reveals that he doesn't do his homework, fakes his book reports, and is easy prey for rumors. If he worked for one of my companies he'd be looking for a new job.
25
The GOP seems to have a deep bench of dim bulbs like Nunes. Maybe its because dogmatism and loyalty are valued over ability in the Party leadership. Blind loyalty is generally not associated with a high level of intelligence.
27
Devin Nunes is a knowledgeable farmer. In California the two big cities get all the attention but in the Sacramento legislature Agriculture has the power. Mr. Nunes doesn't have to be smart, he just has to lock onto those in power and play their game. He's a perfect example of the Peter Principle; he rose far above his ability to comprehend. As one of John Boehner's party boys intelligence seems to be the last requirement for appointment to Chair of the Intelligence committee.
30
Nunes:
Utterly corrupt. Totally in the tank for Trump. Eager to distinguish himself in history's tale of unpatriotic degradation of the experiment in democracy that is the United States. Eager to undermine the Constitution. Eager to serve his master, Donald J. Trump, the dumpster fire of vanity, and happy to participate in making America small, mean, and dishonest.
45
That’s a very flattering piece on someone who is essentially a traitor.
38
Protecting traitors is the same a being a traitor yourself.
34
"Preposterous" that Trump Tower was being "wiretapped", Mr. Zengerle? Your problem is that on January 18-19 New York Times reporters, Schmidt and Rosenberg stated on a front page headlined article that Trump Tower was "wiretapped". Your bias and ignorance are showing. Look it up.
5
Calls from Trump Tower to people who were under surveillance were intercepted. That is not the same as Trump Tower being tapped, and it was not. Whatever your citations, they were in error, perhaps innocent, which yours, in repeating them from this remove, is not.
6
Tried to. Didn't find it. Not buying it. Trump didn't say it until 3/4. Prove it. Post the link.
6
I suggest you go back and read the paragraph again. Trumps charge that "Obama wiretapped Trump Tower" was indeed preposterous on many levels. Trump blindly accused Obama of carrying out the "wiretap", of which there is no evidence whatsoever and just a totally ridiculous, empty charge. If the former president somehow was involved, certainly the current president would be in a position to obtain the evidence before making such a serious charge. Obviously, Trump's charge was indeed totally baseless, because he wasnt able to back it up with anything of any substance whatsoever. In other words, it was preposterous.
Vote!
21
Nunes has got to be the world's biggest flunky for Trump. This guy will lick Trump's shoes if he asked him to do it. This is what you folks in your district elected, a flunk and garbage man. No badge of honor.
33
He's a rabid political hack who engages in borderline treason. I was watching the recent installment of the Showtime series "Homeland" and - art imitating life - you can see amazing similarities between the scummy behavior of the Senate aide in the series who provided the Russians with secret info about a US intelligence mission and Nunes.
The man is poison for our nation. He's great for Trump. But Trump is NOT the nation.
31
The damage this little clown is going to do to our country and law enforcement is only exceeded by the damage that will be done by the big clown in the white house and the Faux news network. Putin will be so proud of all of them.
32
Nunes. The biggest uncleared swamp rat of all!
7
Great reporting.
This is how it's done.
That's what happens when dogged, willfully ignorant nitwits like Nunes get into positions of power.
Good grief.
15
You will barely find a word about David Nunes activities in the local Fresno Bee newspaper.
7
It's DEVIN not David
There is something really fishy with this guy and his ilk in the House. I believe he's either insane, genuinely stupid, or a closet Manchurian Candidate.
The toast of the WH's GOP allies needs to go!
16
He may keep his seat, but hopefully he will lose all of his power come November. These dangerous, ignorant people should never be given power -- look at the WH -- Trump is a perfect example of someone who should never have any power. Can't wait for it to be over.
18
it is no surprise that nunesh has a favorable position in the white house. all one has to do is to read. he is nothing more than a bootlicker for donnie baby..
6
Although aspects of 'government intelligence' was already an oxymoron, Mr. Nunez has increase the emphasis on the moron side of the definition.
6
Nunes is a hack and a traitor to democracy.
14
Turns out undermining the rule of law is easy. Just put idiots in all the positions and toss the captain's log overboard. The real test of America is whether it can auto-pilot without a captain, or in this case, a crew. If and when the ship sinks, we know just where to look.
7
I don't even want to spend my human energy reading this article about Devin Nunes. He's a lacky stooge and partisan hack who would serve this country well by disappearing from the political arena.
8
copperheads, remember them? well, that's Nunes and his ilk. yeah, the U.S. is going to hell in a handbasket. wonder where this snake will be in a few years ...
5
Devin Nunez is Trump’s congressional stooge. He does the bidding of our clown president. He’s Trump ‘s Michael Cohen.
6
When Congress changes hands this Nov if this clown is still holding office he should be charged with obstruction treason perjury snd sent back the farm, the prison farm joining 45 in matching orange prison jump suits
6
Nunes is an easy tool for whoever is pulling his strings. He is indeed someone's puppet. He doesn't seem too bright but he sure does what he's told. Paul Ryan is also to blame here for letting Nunes run wild, breaking long-held norms and laws and acting unilaterally and unethically. In fact, every Republican in a Congressional leadership role--especially those in the House--will bear the blame for this criminality for years to come. But for now, no one interferes on the GOP side of the aisle and Democrats have no power to stop this travesty. Meanwhile, the media runs think-pieces like this instead of raising hell over what is happening. Many in the national main stream media have joined the right-wing media in allowing the Republicans to obstruct, evade, enable for almost a decade. This sad and dangerous state of affairs is the outcome.
9
Devin Nunes is a traitor of the first degree. His service to Putin's Puppet in the Oval Office makes him one of the worst Americans on record.
8
When Trump goes down, and that’s not if but when, his enablers will be the first logs on the fire. Enjoy your time in the sun Bubba, it’s gonna be short.
6
The brown stuff on the end of his nose will become unbearable when prez is jailed or impeached.
2
Vote for Andrew Janz.
1
Simply put, Devin Nunes is a towering idiot who is completely unfit for public office.
In other words, he's the quintessential Republican Congressman.............
5
Devin Nunes, like so many of his right wing partisan cohorts , is aggressively stupid and servile to the interests of his donor owners.
4
He's another Republican criminal charlatan who needs to join the rest of the republican Criminal organization behind bars, where they have all long belonged.
3
If you have never heard of a candidate but will vote for him anyway, you just may be a... stooge.
2
I wonder if his congressional district would re- elect Nunes!? That would be a true blow to democracy.
Karma's coming.
5
Nunes is a Trump stooge. Nothing more, nothing less. He clearly cares more for his political rear end than he does hos own country. He is a treasonous disgrace.
3
I can’t tell if Nunes is a negligent traitor, just plan stupid, or both.
3
Lock him up!
2
This is pretty simple: this boob is a traitor and should be charged with treason.
6
Lackey
1
Nunes is another corrupt, lying weasel! He needs to be voted out! He is another Michael Cohen....Where do these slime balls come from? They are not fooling anyone. Too many people are watching. A public servant or elected officials are suppose to serve the greater good of the people. Nunes serves only himself and trump....It will be a great day when he is indicted or recalled or voted out!
2
Lol, the "Defender of Freedom Award."
He is going to be looked upon quite unfavorably in the future.
5
Perhaps. But I predict nobody will remember him -- for anything. One sorry truth about America is that unlike we figure out a way to remember you as somehow cloaked in glory, we forget you. While we do immortalize some real creeps, I don't think Nunez will get there.
Are you a fortune teller?))
Why perhaps? You are not sure? If you are not sure, don't make predictions.))
Inquisition would better describe Nunes style, with all outcomes a foregone conclusion.
4
New Entries for the Dictionary of American Politics:
NUNES; (N.) from Devin Nunes, an ethically challenged CA congressman of the early 2000s.
1. a scheming poltroon who, by false and misleading tactics intended to deceive, manages to convince no one. 2. a particularly inept politician. 3. any bumbling fool.
NUNES: (V. tr.) 1. to attempt to bamboozle, esp. in a ham-handed, obvious manner, always ending in dismal failure 2. to obfuscate, trick.
NUNES SCHEME: (N.) 1. a disorganized and inept plot to deceive, esp. in a manner that is obvious to even the least intelligent of victims. 2. a failed con job, usually bringing about the disgrace and humiliation of the perpetrator. 3. a lame-brained conspiracy which backfires, exposing the schemer to intense mockery.
10
I believe his roots are embedded in Central and Western Azores. If you look at the research material, the people from this region enjoy festivities and are cunning. The cunning part, I get, but I don't see Nunes as a party guy, rather, he looks like that 2nd generation son who inherited the family funeral parlor business. Come to think of it, he is very good at embalming. He drained the life blood of the House Intelligence Committee and turned it into a cadavar.
1
Nunes has betrayed this nation in more ways than can be counted.
13
A cover story in all respects. Dressed in a suit, using all the talking points, turning lies into the appearance of truth, bought and paid for and with the full blessing of the fox echo chamber- Our ideals are long gone when good people who believe this man fail to look beyond the wall of propaganda to see that self interest has trumped public service . Thanks for trying NYT- it hurts to know the inner workings of the false narrative, but reading my fellow commenters each day reminds me that not all are taken in.
5
"A recent NPR/PBS “NewsHour”/Marist poll revealed that a majority of Republicans think the F.B.I. is biased against the president."
By the organization's mission they are biased against espionage and other specific crimes. That the president and his associates got "made" by routine surveillance by other agencies as well as alerts from foreign allies reported to the FBI, they are indeed victims of their own hubris - nothing the FBI did.
6
Nunes is so obviously against a government based upon the Constitution. Frankly, I find him to be unAmerican and just plain dishonest.
14
This is so sad, and part of that sadness is that everything in this makes so much sense and is so believable.
Nunes behaves like a classic conspiracy theorist: he chases the ridiculous lies that would confirm every crackpot theory he has, and when he doesn't find anything to support them (because there isn't anything), he either a) blames that lack of evidence on some elaborate coverup, which of course then means that he MUST be right or b) manufactures or falsifies evidence to give him the answer he was hoping to find in the first place. Of course he doesn't read or study the cases before him...doing so would force him to acknowledge that he doesn't know what he thinks he knows.
What a disgrace, and what a sad state of affairs to see one of the most vital committees in government be run into the ground and ruined beyond repair.
13
Makes stuff up, lies, doesn’t read. He reminds me of someone. No don’t tell me. It will come to me any minute.
Surely there's another version of this story.
One in which Nunes isn't a cheap, ignorant partisan with a history of fabulism and cronyism, hellbent on protecting a cheap, ignorant president, whatever the cost to the nation's elections, its security, and its institutions.
One in which Nunes isn't rewarded for his comical, gross inadequacy with ever-greater Congressional power.
And one in which his constituents aren't so consumed by hatred of Democrats -- particularly Nancy Pelosi -- that they not only condemn Nunes, but evict him from office.
Surely there's another version.
Right?
8
When Bush was President, Democrats were deeply suspicious of the CIA, FBI, and other entities of the National Security community. They were right to be suspicious of them then, and they should be suspicious of them now. Yes, Devin Nunes is an unsavory character, and his boss...well, we all know about him. But for heaven's sake, it appears you are letting your disgust with these gents lose your memory and your good sense. The FBI is not your friend. It never has been, and it never will be.
3
How so the FBI? Cheney used the CIA to promote the war.
I look at Devin Nunes and wonder how anyone can believe this guy. He is the most obvious classic puppet of Trump. Both he and Paul Ryan are earning themselves quite a write-up in the history books and future generations will spit on their graves.
11
Nunez is an agri business lobbyist. As an agriculture student, with degrees, he knows his way around knee highs and slop shovels, he's literally and figuratively been shoveling you know what for a career of bad land smelling perfidy. As an agribusiness person, a farm guy, in other words, he'll understand completely when I ask him if he'd like to step behind the barn and say that again. He's advertising he's going to Get your Water Back? It's probably as easy and simple as Nunes gaining his reputation back is going to be, like never and forget about it, unless we're talking about a bad reputation. Behind the barn, Nunes, behind the barn, flap your mouth again once more out behind the barn.
4
As a congressman since 2002, he must have been part and parcel of the extraordinary increase in the powers of the police state and erosion of our rights since 9/11. But now he distrusts the apparatus he helped build?
5
End the investigation and put the facts before the people
Nunes is a paranoid, conspiracy theorist that make no distinction about information other than if it is trump's best interest, then its the truth. This person should be voted out of office, but of course he won't be.
6
Why does it seem that Nunes is owned by Putin? He completely obstructed the House Intelligence Committee investigation, after claiming to recuse himself (he worked in Trump's campaign.) Stinks of corruption.
6
The curiousity is about why the Republican House leadership chose someone so clueless, impatient, and overmatched for the Chairmanship. Senior slot on the intel committee is a hotly pursued ticket for any ambitious Congressman. If the Speaker could do no better than this feckless excuse for a legislator, he's a worse leader than Nunes himself. If the Republican chairman of this committee had been sharp, intelligent, or capable of thinking more than one step at a time, Trump's standing now might not have been much better, but at least their side would have a little credibility.
3
A pointed insider comment on Nunes I've read is that no one is asking him to bring the potato salad to the Mensa picnic. All the more dangerous and manipulable then.
3
The main unanswered question is Rep. Nunez's prime motivation: does the foreign and/or domestic covert influence that steers his actions take the form of cash, or is it blackmail (aka "kompromat", or in Portuguese "chantagem")?
Here's some interesting leads:
https://www.google.com/search?q=kompromat+nunes&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-...
Spoiler alert: the National Review says "no puppet--you're the puppet".
“He was there to hear our story, and the only one I knew of looking for the truth,” Mark Geist, one of the C.I.A. contractors, told me. “That proved his credibility.”
"Credulity" -- that is the correct word.
1
Great scam - sow mistrust of the intelligence community and the mainstream media to those who are easily frightened about a disembodied "them", and then Nunes and others can make up any story they want. It's about discrediting useful information and replacing it with propaganda for one's own purposes. Too bad so many buy into it, are lacking in critical thinking. The majority of the intelligence and law enforcement communities are conservatives, higher than average, and most likely voted for Trump at a higher than average rate - that alone shold sow skepticism against Nunes and others, but it doesn't. What else should show them that there is "no there, there" is that the FBI etc. conduct many investigations based on evidence of POSSIBLE wrong doing rather than with the purpose of "getting" someone in particular and then digging for a rationale with no prior justification.
2
I find it ironic, but not surprising, that a man whose conduct could easily be regarded as treasonous, is rising in the Republican Party as a direct result of that conduct.
3
I do not agree that Rep. Nunes has a "deep mistrust" of the intelligence community--because I do not credit him with much good faith at all. If he is guilty of bad-faith manipulation of evidence and processes, then attributing "deep mistrust" to him is a category mistake. This is debatable, for sure, but a "news analysis" should not be giving a guy like Nunes the benefit of the doubt. In other words, NYT, don't be gullible.
4
It is a bombshell that the House Intelligence Committee member Devin Nunes reported that NO credible intelligence was used to start the Russia Trump investigation. And the FISA court approved surveillance on Trump associate Carter Page during the heated presidential campaign, by the Steele and Fusion GPS dossier which was actually partisan opposition research paid to Russia by the Hillary campaign and the DNC. The FBI under Comey during the Obama adm was weaponized to spy on political opponents during an election campaign.
Also, former Director James Comey is now being investigated by the Inspector General over his mishandling of information.
But go ahead with this hit piece on Nunes. One has to have a diverse news source to get the full picture and come to one's own conclusions.
3
Wasn't China seriously interested in buying Lajes? Certainly an important part of the debate over its future. Too bad you left it out.
Devin Nunes needs to be held accountable for his actions as Chairman of the House Intelligence committee , and just by being voting him out of office, but also criminally. The man belongs in jail for what he has done to our democracy and his obstruction of Justice.
4
Oh whee! One more paranoid member of Congress. We just need to make sure that his paranoid style does not become our style. The good people of California need to quietly, but assuredly, vote this guy out of office.
1
What happened to "politics end at the counties shores?"
If the dems take the house an immediate investigation of Nunes should be initiated,hopefully with censure and removal from office.
2
Someday, if we’re lucky, instead of a disinformation campaign designed to take down Devin Nunes, the editors will assign an intrepid, young reporter to delve into how and why the Clinton Campaign, through a series of law firms, were the ones who actually paid Fusion GPS and Chris Steele for the most salacious information in the tainted dossier and how and why the FISA court was presented with that dossier as the basis of the investigation into alleged Trump-Russia collusion.
Nunez will no longer chair the Intel Committee come November when the GOP loses the majority.
2
The Greeks and Shakespere wrote about men like Nunes. He will eventually take that one step too far and come crashing down like Icarus.
Until then a Democratic majority in the House would relegate him to blathering in a vacuum.
Devin Nunes, Mick Mulvaney, and Scott Pruitt. The triumvirate of intellectual laziness, mendacity and outright evil within the Trump camp.
I hope they never see public service again. And I hope they get their due.
4
Mr. Nunes seems to be protecting Trump's crimes and obstructing justice in the process, and I'd bet that he and his farmer friends have been hiring illegal labor forever, which would appear to be a RICO problem. Investigate all of his donors too.
2
Devin Nunes is doing a great job. How do we know that? we know because of all of the negative comments here and an equally negative article by the New York times.
He has exposed corruption and illegality in our government, including big surveillance abuses and political bias by government officials. Nunes has shown great courage on exposing it while these bad actors have the ability to destroy people's lives that dare to speak out.
Why do we keep investigating "Russian collusion" when many of the abuses and bad things that the Soviets were known for are happening right here in our own country
Nunes put his foot down and said "enough is enough". Hopefully he continues his good work. We may disagree on his conclusions, but lets at least have a conversation about the dangers of things like "unmasking", using law enforcement to investigate political opponents, FISA court abuses, and creating propoganda.
2
I think we are going to find out that either the Russians have something on Nunes or Trump does.
His behavior has been inexplicably extreme from the very beginning.
2
It is easy when you are unscrupulous, morally bankrupt, and operate in a consequence free environment. This will not change until people are punished harshly for bad behavior.
1
Thanks, NYT for chronicling Mr. Nunes' many offenses so that when it is his time in the dock there will be no question that he belongs there!
1
Devin Nunes (along with one of his key enablers, Paul Ryan) will be remembered as a frequent fouler of the Congressional litter box that has no chance of being changed with him around. He openly, gleefully and dishonestly undermined the work of the House Select Committee on Intelligence and has become a human emoticon for blatant corrosion of basic values. He neuters the very notion of rule of law, justice and oversight wherever he is present. Inspector Clouseau had more investigative dignity than this unabashed tool of the White House. Standing downwind from him exposes one to malodorous gusts of shame.
2
"At the Tulare fund-raiser, Trump promised the crowd that he would get their water back for them. "
I don't know what to say to this one. California is in the midst of the worst drought in recent history. The weather patterns here have straight up changed since the early 90s. The high pressure zone that sits off the coast has made sure of that for the last 8 or 9 years. The level of self-delusion and insanity here is simply too colossal to reckon.
2
And then he will go to the beach and stop the oceans from rising.
Interesting quote that exalts the alpha male attitude of mindless loyalty in a bar fight as a virtue in political combat. This make me even more anxious for greatly increased representation by women at core of our political process. Generally speaking, principled but collaborative compromise accomplishes more than does playground bullying.
1
Devin Nunes is the epitome of what is wrong with today’s GOP: blindly partisan and selling a toxic mix of lies and conspiracy theories that poisons our public dialog. His ferocious and truth-bending defense of Trump accelerates his party’s precipitous and seemingly unstoppable race to the bottom. His day of reckoning will come when Americans request the truth to come out - and vote accordingly.
1
Nunes required compliant, politicized media outlets and a gullible, hyper-partisan audience for his Russian investigation alt-narrative to gain traction. The devolution of the political right into unchecked tribal epistemology has precipitated an unending deluge of nonsense:
Nunes: “Deep State” actors including the media and Democrats, along with elements of the FBI, CIA and various other agencies fabricated a Russian election interference conspiracy to destroy Trump's presidency.
Hannity: Deep State. You mean of course that one special part of the government, that you're supposed to think does not exist?
Nunes: Yes, that one! This is a vast, Deep State conspiracy. That is the conclusion of my four page memorandum.
Hannity: Well, we always knew Hillary hates puppies, Jesus and freedom, but I never imagined her evil cabal was capable of THIS! Thank you Congressman, your complete lack of evidence is all the evidence I need!
Nunes: I also have pushpins and red string. I put all the stuff I know on a bulletin board with pushpins, then connected them with red string. Linking photos to maps and things. This demonstrated that I figured things out.
Hannity: We’re through the looking glass here, people!
3
"Jim Brulte, the chairman of the California G.O.P., told me: 'If you’re a Republican officeholder in California, and Nancy Pelosi attacks you, I think most Republican voters turn around and go, ‘Wow, I’ve never heard of this guy, but if Pelosi is against him, I’m for him.’ ”
That about sums it up -- democracy in America these days. Knee-jerk. ("Polarized" is an understatement.)
What's to blame? Four things: Right-wing radio; GOP; Democrats; people who don't even vote.
Nunes had no business being the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee's investigation into the Trump campaign since he was a member of the transition team.
He ignored his eventual recusal (after being caught colluding with Trump during his infamous "midnight ride" to the White House), and should have been censured and removed from the chairmanship, but Paul Ryan is derelict in his duty and easily the most impotent Speaker the House has ever known.
2
The best explanation I can come up with for Nunes' bizarre behavior is that he's been compromised. I've seen very little direct evidence of that, however (all I know about is a Russian investor in some wine venture). I suppose it's possible that Nunes is just the typical paranoid product of a slave economy (which California agriculture, with migrant workers, approximates), but I'm not buying it.
I guess it takes only one uber-rich oligarch to compromise a congressperson. I'd like to see some real investigation, however.
2
Nunez would undermine the independence of our justice system for mere political gain and self-aggrandizement. Without an independent justice system, our country would devolve into a Banana Republic. Nunez is the antithesis of what our founding fathers stood for.
2
Devin Nunes symbolizes the broken politics of California's Republican-dominated Central Valley. Nunez's district is centered around Fresno County, which had the highest poverty rate in the state as of 2017. 40 percent of children in Fresno County, most of which is in Nunez's district, live below the poverty line. Given such problems, you would think Nunes would have better things to do in Congress than be Donald Trump's water boy. But that's what I mean by the broken politics of the Central Valley.
1
Trump, Nunes, Manafort, Gates, Cohen, et al, live their lives by being dismissive of the truth and when cornered they simply invent one. They have their followers, their admirers, a loyal coterie, who vacuum up any speck of fact and replace it on the floor with a workable lie. And before you know the difference, the lie is in full production. It's good work with decent hours, hours becoming dollars, if you don't mind the occasional special counsel, who as well may find himself in the vacuum bag right before our disbelieving eyes.
2
Clearly, Trump is the tip of the iceberg. The problem his enablers, the Republican Party, and the voters who are motivated by anger, greed and lies. Perhaps the "ship of state" should be given a nickname - The Titanic.
1
I think that the rise of this incompetent character who is a paranoid let loose on one of the most important committees in the House is emblematic of what the election of Donald Trump has done to our democracy. His fantasies of conspiracies feeds on the insecurity of so many individuals whose trust in government declines every day because of what these folks say on Fox "News". The absolute hatred spewed by people like him for their political opponents is so toxic to our national conversation that the rule of law itself is under attack. To what end? Nunes has neither the intelligence or desire to understand what this is doing to our country. To live in this magical world fits him well because, in reality, what else can he do? Well, I guess he could go back into farming but there's always that GMO stuff to worry about, right? Paul "Spineless" Ryan could easily put an end to this by demoting him from the Chairmanship of that committee but for some reason doesn't. Trump's damage to our nation will outlast his own life and only the cult that worships him and his kind will weep
1
In the aftermath of the German occupation of France, Nunes and his friends would be tarred with the same, nasty word: collabo.
1
Devin Nunes needs to be indicted for obstruction of justice. Let's pray the voters send Nunes back to his farm to milk cows in this fall's elections.
1
Back In Central Valley CA Nunes's constituents, those golfers and farmers concerned with the lack of water, strongly support this guy. Yeah, they do not pay heed to the global climate issues which they are faced with, they just want the water. The Hispanic population in his district which represent a slight majority don't or can't vote against a Republican administration who wishes them ill.
Most people in Central Valley work hard at supplying the country with fruits and vegetables but they are intellectually lazy, refuse to look at the facts and instead live in the land of confirmation bias. So they send us this guy Nunes to wreak havoc in Washington. Nunes's district offers a biopsy of the cancer that is eating at our country. We are dumbing down and voting in little pockets of self interest. Soon we will reap what we have sown, as will Nunes's home district...
2
Mr. Nunez is owned by wealthy farmers own acreage in the California desert and want water that rightly belongs to more agriculturally productive areas of California. They will do anything to get those water rights, as will Nunez to obtain some sort of power. In the end, there is only so much water and Nunez can't change the facts (which he thinks are just conspiracy theories).
25
@Barbara
The same "wealthy farmers" who pledge loyalty to the "anti-immigrant" GOP while they hire thousands of undocumented immigrants to tend their fields... say it isn't so..!
“It wasn’t a fact-gathering visit. They had their opinions, and they were looking to find justification for them.”
This seems an accurate description of the modus operandi of most of the Republicans of today. I don't intend this to be a Tweet-type insult: this method is obviously and sadly effective. Keep things simple, never deviate from the dogma, repeat the same phrases over and over.
How can Democrats compete with such a method? The truth is almost always complex, but simplicity seems to win American voters.
I think that Democrats had better look long and hard into what Republican voters want to believe. America is great: it's "exceptional". America must defend its borders against those who want a piece of what's ours. Government is bad, taxes are bad, regulation is bad.
What else? What is it that makes people believe that Trump is on their side? Why do people without jobs blame Democrats for this? How can people possibly know anything about the new tax laws and still feel that Republicans are working to give them a fair chance?
In other words, how are the Republicans so successful, and can we, without giving up our allegiance to truth, imitate the part of their methodology that wins elections?
27
This is the plain truth, pure and simple. Most of us unfortunately don't want to hear the truth.
1
We need an Independent Counsel investigation of Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan.
ASAP.
153
Anyone can donate to the Nunes opponent: Andrew Janz via Act Blue.
55
Nunes simply opportunistically used the committee and drum-banging all day and night as his demagogic means to fame and popularity and loads and loads of attention, same as Rand Paul does frequently by making noise and more noise how he'll stall a Republican vote or issue but in the end never does. His values are that it is good to make money by allowing Chevron and Wonderful company to adulterate our California produce using poisoned fracking well water to irrigate the produce for almost nothing, solving oil producers' detoxification problems and making the billionaires who own Wonderful that much more rich (easily verified, for benefit of NYT screeners). Sorry for going a little off topic, but I'm illustrating the values all of these people, Trump and his friends (administration appointees, or maybe cronies, sorry) included I believe, have.
24
Nunes is obsessed with partisan power and has lost any respect for our system of laws. He's become a liability because he just cannot do anything in the interests of this country. He should resign from this committee and perhaps Congress. He belongs on right wing talk radio along with Limbaugh.
45
Let face it, the word intelligence and anything to do with this White House and the Republicans in Congress have absolutely no relationship with each other.
40
I remember when the left would praise anyone that would question government intellegence agencies. Comments calling them guardians of our democratic instituitions to me are repulsive. There is a movie out now about the Pentagon Papers playing in cinemas. I would encourage the readers to learn from this movie.
7
It’s one thing to “question” our intelligence agencies and quite another to deliberately create false narratives that undermine the public trust in our institutions in order to provide cover for a president whose shady connections to a hostile foreign government are under investigation.
2
The Left is all about the ruthless pursuit of power these days. Civil liberties are just one casualty among many. And Nat Hentoff, sadly, is no longer with us.
1
BIG difference between questioning and refuting everything.
Devin Nunes has given credibility to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; it has made tremendous strides under his leadership. Under Nunes, America is more intelligent that ever before. Thank you.
9
Who said conservatives don't get irony?
3
So in Trump World, to be the chair of the "Intelligence" Committee, you don't need any background or experience in law, the military, security, intelligence or anything relevant. An agriculture degree qualifies you. Perry's agriculture degree qualified him for the Department of Energy - the nuclear weapons branch of the government including big science research - while President Obama's previous secretaries of energy had included a Nobel Laureate in nuclear physics and the physics chair from MIT with extensive background in nuclear physics.
Trump voters definitely need to be educated: they are comprised mostly of those without college degrees since educated people have become Democrats now.
Let their agricultural people perform their Trump world surgeries, fly their planes, handle their finances, and lead their armies and police departments.
The rest of us deserve qualified leaders with appropriate backgrounds and experience. No Nunes with his treasonous actions and anti-law enforcement bias.
3
He's a bottom-feeder on the wrong side of history.
2
Life goes beyond trump's tenure in the White House. He may have a friend in its current occupant -- albeit one who demands loyalty without giving any -- but in two years, when a new POTUS will be installed, God willing, Nunes will pay retribution for his foolishness. Traitors, and their families, ultimately never get treated well by history.
23
Devin Nunes , what to say , except he's a nightmarish joke elevated to a very high position , finding boogeymen under the bed . Paranoid along the scope of RMN , a berserker doing massive damage to our intelligence agencies by trying to discredit them with imagined lies . Comparing the Azores to Hawaii leaves one mute with astonishment ; been to Santa Maria while transiting to Lisbon , the Azores are insignificant rocks out in the Atlantic . A small potatoes man who unfortunately has acquired a status and position that will continue to do a lot of damage , with a blabber mouth that verges on treason . He is still milking the cow for his own covetous and insecure ego .
37
Nunes is the face of the today's Republican party. Not only tolerant of Trump and his disgraceful behavior, but actively supporting it. He's an embarrassment to California.
52
Nunes should be prosecuted for misusing his official position to aid and abet obstruction of justice.
49
February 2017, Nunes to denied that the intelligence community had evidence of contact between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives.
He has rejected repeated calls for an investigation by a select committee, saying that the House will not engage in a "witch hunt" and that "at this point, there's nothing there".
Nunes also rejected calls that he request President Trump's tax returns.
When Trump's national security adviser Michael T. Flynn resigned , Nunes said he would not seek to investigate Flynn's ties to Russia.Nunes said, "From everything that I can see, his conversations with the Russian ambassador — he was doing this country a favor, and he should be thanked for it."
In late March 2017, Nunes canceled a public hearing in which former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, former National Security Agency Director James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan were to testify.
The list goes on how he obstructed the investigation.
33
Any Congressman who endears himself to a president, who dismisses facts and American Intelligence leaders, is a threat to our nation.
Any Congressman who aids and abets Russian G.R.U. Intelligence officers, who have committed acts of war against our nation, commits treason, and is actively collaborating with a hostile foreign country.
Devin Nunes has deeply wounded America's ability to defend itself from hostile nations, and needs to be imprisoned in Cuba with similarly minded individuals.
35
Nunes is an insider, knows the process, and the players. But he lacks a critical commitment to truth and facts and the process of obtaining both. And in that deficiency, he comes across as tribal, power hungry, and bereft of any sense of the common good. He is a dangerous man who has to be called out, and checked.
30
If Congress was doing its job, then Mr. Nunes would be in front of the House ethics committee defending himself against charges of obstruction of justice.
49
Given all we know so far regarding Mr. Nunes deliberate subterfuge, why is he still there? He should be impeached!
20
"A deep mistrust of the expert consensus on reality"? Is that a safer way of saying that he's a corrupt opportunist? Or crazy? Either way, he fits Trump's team. Either way, he is unqualified for any public post. To think that Trump could have appointed Nunes to ANY post in the intelligence community just gives me chills. I'm off to find his Democratic challenger and donate as much as I can afford. The future of this country is quite literally at stake.
24
Nunes grew up next to the John Birch Society statewide office on Hey 99. That is where his nutty conspiracy theory ideas come from and the idea that conspiracy theories are legitimate to entertain. Total opportunist and I am confident Andrew Janz can flip the seat. Tulare and Fresno County deserve better. Then he can slink back to Trump and get some flunky job cause I can guarantee Devin Nunes would rather do anything than go back to the dairy farm and polluted air of the San Joaquin.
17
Congressman Nune should be voted out of office. Period.
He was supposed to recuse himself from Russian Investigation. He didn't. He has continued to collude with Trump to limit, hinder and eventually end Russian Investigation in the House.
This alone has already proven him to be unethical and he doesn't understand the checks and balances embedded in our political system. It is Congress' job to check on and rein in abusive executive branch.
Lastly, Nune is so arrogant that he feels he is entitled to lie on national TV.
23
Just getting into the article.
But, already clear that a lackey with a mistrust of reality (I think that's called schizophrenia) who could push back on the findings of our intelligence services who know the crimes of Trump, would be a good ally.
Or henchman in this case.
May he have a rough campaign this Fall.
12
By fundamentally destroying the independence of the House Intelligence Committee by overt partisanship, he has betrayed the country. It may not be treason by that definition, but it's at least treason-like behavior.
17
Much will need to be repaired when Trump leaves office, but the abuse of the proper functioning of the House Intelligence Committee can begin sooner, if the Democrats can take the House back later this year.
13
Nunes has NO background in security, intelligence, military or law enforcement yet he was under consideration for the position of director of national intelligence? That is nauseating.
Nunes' background is in agriculture. Zero experience in intelligence of any kind or in security issues. Like most Trump favorites, his chief skill set seems to be in destruction and paranoia. He manufactures facts that do not exist; he creates enemies of thin air; he sees villains under every stone. He might as well be screaming at the skies about alien reptiles like Roger Stone. He was under ethics investigation for his misuse of confidential information, and in theory is supposed to be recused from any investigation having to do with Trump or Russians due to his role on Trump's transition team.
California, do your duty and make this person lose his seat! He has abused power long enough. In fact, I will go to his opponent's website and donate right now.
14
A voice from Tulare County:
"Once considered the scourge of the Tea Party, he is now viewed as a rock star by the activist Republican base across the country." But not here, in his home district. As the article points out, Nunes spends way too much time on national issues and very little time on igetting thins done on issues that impact our district. Why is it that 3 of the top 4 worst air pollution areas in the US are within his district? Kids are dying here from bad air but he wants to DECREASE regulations that would clean up the air. What has he done to ensure that our water is clean? Nothing. His push is for aid to his special interest group, farmers, and he has accomplished NOTHING on that front as well. . Reducing those regulations only hurts the children of this district.
There is an election going on here. I complained three weeks ago about a huge Nunes for re-election sign blocking the vision of children at a busy intersection that must be crossed on the way to an elementary school. It is still there. Nunes pays lip service to the people of Tulare County, but gets little done. PLEASE take an appointment with the Trump administration and let us find a real representative.
14
Thank you Plato. I hope that in spite of the heavy lift you are doing all you can to get like minded Fresno and Tulare county people to vote for Janz. It may be a long shot but it would be great to send Nunez home!
Reality for republicans has moved to the reality mode of the legal profession and away from that of science and well reality. By this I mean that what is real is what you can prove with axioms you choose to use to prove your point; not axioms which are grounded and complete. In R-land dangling conclusions are not vaporous they are just that - conclusions as long as they are matching the desired result. This thought process is seen in global warming, abortion, evolution, and axation amongst many. Thus reasonable debate and resolution are not possible.
5
Vote in November, donate generously for the candidate of your choice. This is how a voting democracy corrects itself.
5
For those of you wondering, Nunes comes from a very red district in CA (our 22nd district), where he wins reelection by an average of +30% margin. It'll be difficult to vote him out. The best hope we have is to let Schiff gain control by getting the Democrats to take the majority in the House.
12
The Chairmen of the House Judicial, Intelligence and Oversight Committee's are devoting their energies and their influence to investigate James Comey -- the FBI Director fired in early 2017 and they are totally ignoring Russia's assault on our 2016 elections. This is not my Father's Republican Party.
These three Chairman are part of the dry rot that is destroying the Republican Party from within. What amazes is that the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan allows such abhorrent political behavior by three key Chairmen.
10
Sounds like Nunes' long time paranoia dovetails nicely with Trump's own brand of crazy suspicions to form the perfect alternate reality.
10
It is certainly understandable that Trump and Nunes get along so well. They have very similar personalities. They're both unethical, narrow-minded, and both have inferiority complexes. I've always said Trump has always proved that it is ambition, not intelligence, that makes someone rich and/or powerful. Nunes and Trump are proof positive of that. The thing that makes dumb, powerful, unethical people like Trump and Nunes dangerous is that, in most cases, dumb people are too dumb to know that they're dumb. When a dumb person like Nunes is told by people in the military or in intelligence that his ideas make no sense, or are inferior solutions to a problem, he doesn't respect the wisdom or intelligence of people like Mike Rogers who are more experienced, knowledgeable, or brighter than he is. His reaction, then, is not to re-examine his ideas, but to question the motives of those superior to him and to become paranoid. This is common among mental lightweights. An unfortunate side of our democracy is that one can vote and otherwise participate in that democracy with the intelligence of a marsupial, if you're 18 or older, a citizen, and not have committed a felony. You can even chair the House Intelligence Committee if you're ambitious enough.
3
Please don't insult marsupials by comparison to Nunes!
Such treachery by the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Nunes.
No wonder Ryan is getting out of DC, escaping before he gets too caught up in this tangled web of deception and corruption.
6
It is sad and disheartening to know this political hack is head of the intelligence committee. It is only because of the partisan enablers like McConnell, that this guy even has a job. One can only hope he is prosecuted for obstruction with the rest of this corrupt administration.
9
Nunes needs to return to his cow farm. He's dangerous in Congress, more so now that he's carrying water for Trump. It's the blind leading the blind. He made a mockery of the Intel Committee.
10
Nunes is cut from the same clothe as Trump, ‘though perhaps with a bit more intellectual sparkle. Like Trump, he is relentlessly ambitious, paranoid, and willing to destroy any and all forms of civility that stand in his way. In short, he is toxic.
4
So Nunes has refused to do his job. He has refused to respect the separation of powers in our government, opting instead to be a sycophantic toady in Emperor Donald's court. His actions are shameful.
Sadly, his constituents don't care that he is not representing them. He is representing his own interests by letting himself be used by Trump.
If Trump goes down, so will Nunes.
6
Nunes reminds me of Michael Cohen. Only, instead of having just three clients, Nunes has just two constituents. These are the people he represents: Himself, and Donald Trump. The voters in his district should recognize that and turf him out. I've met his opponent. Andrew Janz would be a much better representative for the district.
34
Perhaps his Azorean family still harbors a secret yearning for the return of the regime of Salazar.
3
You forgot Portugal.
2
As chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Nunes was tasked to ensure an honest non-partisan investigation. He instead used his position to thwart the investigation for partisan advantage. Mr. Nunes should be prosecuted for obstruction of justice and collusion with intent to defraud the American people.
120
Hear, hear. I second the motion. Indict. Try. Convict. AND
VOTE them OUT.
7
Nunes is a partisan republican bigot. He should be prosecuted for obstruction of justice and more. T Mcm
1
On the very first day of the committee's investigation Nunes raced over to the White House to "leak" the agenda of the investigation to Trump. Why wasn't he then immediately removed from the investigation?
66
Because Paul Ryan is Speaker of the House and Chaffetz helmed oversight. That's why.
7
Ryan
I wonder how much Trump had to spend for Nunes to sell out his constituents, his office and his country.
Trump debases everything he touches, EVERYTHING,
37
As Comey said last night in San Francisco:" trump stains everything he touches"
When Nunes revealed he was working for Trump and not his voters Ryan shoukd have removed him from the committe. Their are no patriots in the Republican party so to save America vote them all out of office in November.
46
Nunes is clearly an intellectual llightweight, and a member of the CULT OF TRUMP.
The best thing that can happen would be that he actually fails to be re-elctected. The next best thing would be that the Democrats win control of the House of Representatives in ovember and he becomes the minority ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
I have donated to his opponent, Andrew Janz.
https://www.andrewjanzforcongress.com/
A Public Policy Polling survey conducted in January 2018 on behalf of Democratic candidate Andrew Janz found Nunes leading a generic Democratic candidate 50-45.
26
I have also donated to Janz. Out with Nunes.
5
Signs of our divided times: when a partisan Congressman trashes the nonpartisan traditions of an intelligence committee - puts it out of business - and is elevated to celebrity status by his tribe. Can democracy survive this?
27
I can hear his inner dialogue as this farce of investigation, intimidation, lying and collusion with his lackies goes on. " I know I'll go let Trump know they have all this stuff on him, then I'll tell him I'll do anything to help him. Then when this is all over he will give me greatest appointment there ever was. I know my people hate me and won't reelect me. But who needs those people? " sounds and looks like a Cohen, don't you think? I think they both have daddy issues.
11
Conspiracy theory: "A conspiracy theory is an explanation of an event or situation that invokes an unwarranted conspiracy, generally one involving an illegal or harmful act carried out by government or other powerful actors. Conspiracy theories often produce hypotheses that contradict the prevailing understanding of history or simple facts." It would seem that Nunes, Hannity, Limbaugh, Alex Jones and Fox and Friends are some of better known addicts, consumers and/or themselves creators of conspiracy theories. These folks relate to one another by lazy thinking, paranoia, use of and belief in inflammatory buzzwords. For them facts grounded in reality, analyses based on a nuanced understanding of facts are alien to their modus operandi. They have always been around. It's just that once Trump became president, he occupied not only the WH but he also became the center of a whirpool which draws in all such addicts and by virtue of his office cloaks them with seeming credibility. Let's not bend to their malevolent appeal.
15
Not all conspiracy theories are false.
Many times, when politicians are accused of wrong doing they attack the accusation as a conspiracy theory.
The idea that Kissinger told Pinochet that we would criticize him in public, but he could do whatever it took to consolidate power in Chile, was a conspiracy theory, until Kissinger's diplomatic cables were declassified. They it became history.
When Reagan was accused of helping Iraq use chemical weapons against Iran, it was a conspiracy theory. Now it is history.
The conspiracy theory that Reagan paid Iran with missiles for holding the hostages until his election, paid for by cocaine smuggled from the Contras in Nicaragua was a conspiracy theory until some of his cabinet went to jail.
"Conspiracy theory" is a common charge to throw at allegations that are hard to prove.
Many alleged conspiracy theories don't require a conspiracy at all. The world's billionaires don't all need to gather in a dark room for them all to want their taxes cut, and for each of been to have their lawyers, lobbyists, politicians, and pundits to work towards massive tax cuts for the corporations they own. Sometimes it is enough for people to have similar interests for them to work on the same direction, without conspiring.
Those that make allegations have a responsibility to provide proof, but just because something is labeled a conspiracy theory doesn't mean that it's not true.
1
So well said Camestegal!...We only have November to push back against the Fox Noise hole of propaganda and insanity that is driving the country under the trump cabal toward a complete breakdown of truth and reality....The kooks are running the nut house! But they will not stand for long!
"Mistrust"? I know that he prefers conclusions that serve his purposes (i.e., Benghazi is a huge scandal, Donald Trump is the victim of a witch hunt) over anything for which there may be evidence. A gloss like this suggests that Nunes may have a *reason*, perhaps at least partly valid, not to trust our intelligence apparatus. He may have motives, but he has no reasons. I think it would be better to say that Nunes *disregards*, rather than mistrusts, our intelligence agencies.
9
The congressman's behavior as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is reprehensible and likely criminal.
Like so many others in Trump's orbit, Nunes may be indicted for obstruction of justice as a reward for his blind loyalty.
21
Here, Here! I think it's dereliction of duty, maybe treason, to ignore the intelligence community. Nothing wrong with questioning and validating, but this administration is a criminally liable for trying to run the world with NO intelligence. And, yes, that is a pun intended.
3
Nunes has not turned anything inside out. You have. Nunes and Trump do not distrust our intelligence community. They distrust some leaders of our intelligence community: Comey, Mueller, Rosenstein, and others. This is not the same thing as distrusting the entire community, unless you think that these appointees represent this community. They don't. They represent only themselves.
4
Nice try....no I'm not, you are.
The persons you mention do represent the intelligence community, because they lead it.
Precisely because Nunes was involved in Trump's transition team, he should have recused himself from the Russia investigation on the Intelligence Committee. All he has done is enhance the appearance of bias by maintaining control as committee chair and crafting his memo. If Trump or his staff were not colluding with Russia, it would be more believable if the committee result wasn't so obviously manipulated by Nunes.
13
He did recuse himself from the investigation, but keeps interfering in it! Yet another sign of his lack of integrity.
4
He SAID he recused himself. But he maintained control, despite what he said.
When the obvious truth about Trump family-Republican conspiracy with Russia to steal the 2016 presidential election, and the billions of dollars of their money laundering are clearly revealed, and possibly via the actions of the beyond-presidenrial-pardon Southern New York District Attorney’s office, a number of their obvious criminals are in jail, we shall see Nunes and the rest of Republicans who studiously ignore the absolutely obvious recorded for all time in omnipresent unerasable media where they will be shown to belong—on the garbage heap of history.
9
What's there to say..... the Intel Oversight committee needs an oversight committee, checks and balances are askew. Leadership (all serving) should be required to pass some sort of sanity test. Nunes - I guess these days you either love him or hate him - I hate him and others that don't seem to be able to govern ethically, morally, intelligently.... we pay taxes for what?
Last but not least Pelosi (& other elder states people) need to step aside and help bring in new leadership. I think it's time to take another break from the news.
6
Besides Democrat operatives and a few named Republicans, these are the exact sources for this “news story:”
1 One senior campaign official
2 By all accounts they seemed
3 One Trump transitions official recalls (followed by more references to this official)
4 Transition officials
5 Trump’s circle believed …
6 One former Boehner aid says
7 A fellow congressman remembers Nunes gleefully informing him
8 One former Intelligence Committee staff member recalls
9 One former committee staff member says
10 According to three people familiar with the log
11 According to a former committee staff member
12 The former staff member says (after a negative quote about Nunes)
13 Even worse, in the eyes of some of committee members and staff,
14 The former committee staff member says “He wasn’t discerning…..”
15 A former government official recalls
16 According to a source familiar with the investigation
17 According to a person familiar with the conversation
18 According to people familiar with the matter
19 According to multiple sources
20 According to two former government officials (mentioned again later in the paragraph)
21 Says a government official
22 According to an American official who was at the dinner (quoted again later in the paragraph)
23 The government official says
24 A former Pentagon official suspects that
25 This official says
26 Nunes was reportedly riding
27 He reportedly met with
28 Says a former Intelligence Committee staff member
Draw your own conclusions.
3
Nicely done, although you should have mixed in the real sources.
My conclusion its that the reader should be very careful what they believe when most sources are anonymous. And the NY Times should be less willing to use anonymous sources, especially when they have become a talking point among those that attack the press.
This is why I try to read primary materials whenever possible. Read the Nunez Memo to see his obvious contradictions, which prove he is lying without resorting to anonymous sources.
4
I guess Nunes is clean as a whistle according to this "logic".
I think we're all in deep state...
Nunes ruined whatever good reputation he may have had when he signed himself over to Donald Trump.
3
Yet another failure of Paul Ryan. At any time Ryan could throw Nunes out of the committee, but as with everything else, Ryan hides and acts as though nothing is wrong about Nunes' actions. Therefore, The Speaker of the House fully endorses what Nunes does. There is no other conclusion based on the facts.
20
"Once Trump was elected, he appointed Nunes to the executive committee of his transition team ..."
-------
That's the crux of the matter right there: Mr. Nunes has no respect for the separation of powers.
9
“The worst crime against this nation which can be committed by any man is the crime of dishonesty, whether in public life, or whether in private life, and we are not to be excused as a people if we ever condone such dishonesty, no matter what other qualities it may be associated with.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
8
What a well-researched and written story.
However, I think the story can be summarized in one word. Love.
Devin Nunes fell in love with Donald Trump and for better or for worse will do anything for him.
But beware Mr. Nunes, just as he does his female flavors of the day, the President is famous for tossing his boys to the side once he decides they can no longer help him. Above all, watch your tender heart, Dev.
9
I like the part about going abroad frequently, not to the watering holes but to out of the way places, to get a sense of ground truth.
Without that, it's hard for ordinary members of Congress to make sense of often sterile briefings from the IC. But Nunes appears to have a singular capacity to hear only what he wants to hear and then believe it with all his heart, an Ollie North who never served.
As with Ollie and others in Iran-contra the desire for "short-order intelligence, cooked to taste" characterizes Nunes career, from his over the top advocacy of Lajes to his subversive cover-up of the President and the President's men involved in the Mueller investigation. Cherry picking, knowledgeable people cali it, except that there was no cherry when it came to Benghazi or Carter Page, whose publicly known behavior clearly deserved investigation, to the point that a federal judge reportedly approved a FISA warrant.
If Nunes had been a courtier in Babylon, he would have characterized "the handwriting on the wall" as fake news, meant to undermine the King. The difference between Watergate's principals and Nunez is hard to discern.
2
All the while Paul Ryan stood by complicit while Nunes interfered with a special counsel investigation. Mueller should charge all of them with conspiracy against the US.
10
Nunes and Ryan worked together to pass this bill in Congress. Make no mistake. It takes away Social Security, Medicare, Children’s Insurance (CHIP) and healthcare.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/4529
3
Ryan said, "The matter of concern outlined in this memo is a specific, legitimate one. Our FISA system is critical to keeping America safe from real and evolving threats. It is a unique system with broad discretion and a real impact on Americans' civil liberties."[100] Ryan also supported the release of the Democrats' counter-memo.[101]
Representative Trey Gowdy, the only Republican on the House Intelligence Committee who actually read the underlying classified material, said the FISA application cited other material besides the dossier, but in his opinion the warrant would not have been authorized without the dossier
1
It matters not at all whether the FISA warrant was based on the dossier. The intelligence professionals involved and the judge thought the material in the application sufficient to issue (and reissue and resissue) the FISA warrant. The point the Republicans seem to be trying to make is that somehow the opposing party had something to do with the dossier. The judge had the information that the source of the dossier was political. It does not matter the source if the information is deemed sufficiently credible and urgent. Ironically, the Republicans ordered the dossier. The Democrats just ended up paying for some of it and never used the material before the election.
4
Read the actual Nunez Memo. The last paragraph explains that Carter Page was under surveillance since at least 2014 because Russian Intelligence tried to recruit him as an asset. It also says that there were at least two warrants before the Steele Dossier was used to get the last warrant.
Nunez can't even lie well. His own memo contradicts its own accusations and the Republican talking points that came from it.
Read it.
2
The Azores angle is as funny as it is disconcerting.
If I understand the article, Nunes can be OK as long as he has a professional father figure to guide him.
Not surprisingly, having chosen Trump as the adoptive father, Nunes has become a wrecking ball, out of depth trying to find his way with a compass with its needle glued in one direction.
2
Nunes should focus on getting water for his Central Valley constituents who desperately need it and had placed their confidence in him. Instead he has focused on his own political ambitions in D.C.
7
I am particularly bothered by the fact that Nunes seems to have convinced Trump there is/was no drought in California. Because Northern California has sufficient water stored in reservoirs, that does not mean the Central Valley and Southern California are not in drought. If Donald and Devin had paid attention to the valley as they flew over it, they would have noticed it looked like a dust bowl in many places, there were plenty of orchards where all the trees were removed and sitting in huge piles within site of the highway. In addition, much of the land is sinking due to the depletion of ground water, and many families who live there have wells that ran dry and have had to have water trucked in.
Neither of them seems to delve deeply into any issue that affects large numbers of people in this country besides their own special interests.
1
We know how he ill-served his sworn duty to this country and what he did in doing so.. The imperative question is why did he continue to do this. An answer and correctives need to found to restore Congressional integrity.
4
Thank you for the finer-grained details. I had no idea Nunes was so instrumental in spinning up the whirlwind of incompetents from which Trump's administration was culled. This brings Nunes into the elite but numerous group of "least honorable mention" gold-medal contenders.
3
A conspiracy theorist par excellence--and yet willfully blind to the conspiracy his committee was charged to investigate.
When given the opportunity to review the classified application for the renewal of the wiretap warrant on Carter Page--which was the entire subject of his now infamous memo--Nunes declined, turning that opportunity over to Trey Gowdy, a fellow Republican on the House intelligence committee and a former federal prosecutor. Within weeks of reviewing this file and only two days before the public release of the Nunes memo, Gowdy announced his retirement from Congress.
In making his announcement, Gowdy said, "I like jobs where facts matter. I like jobs where fairness matters, I like jobs, frankly, where the process matters. It's not just about winning and it's not just about reaching a result." Asked if facts did not matter in Congress, he replied, "I think what matters in Congress is finding a group and then validating or ratifying what they already believe."
Apparently even a fellow Tea Party Republican like Gowdy drew the line this side of Devin Nunes.
11
Mr. Nunes didn't turn the intelligence committee inside out Paul Ryan did by appointing Mr. Nunes chair of the committee and bowing to all of Mr. Nunes demands. Mr. Nunes was the least qualified to head this committee except that he was a Trump lap dog. The intelligence committee will survive hopefully without Mr. Nunes or Mr. Ryan. Ryan had retired and if Mr. Nunes is smart he will do the same.
7
Boy the NYTs sure make it sound like this Russia stole the election seem plausible. Of course all the minutiae has to be spun just right. The NYTs has proven beyond a doubt that one should be skeptical about what one reads in the newspaper. Nunes is shown as highly partisan, which he is, but the objections NYTs raise concerning the Russia investigation are largely the holes in their story that they want to sell the public. I like Democratic congressman Schiff's statement that there is proof for the Steele Dossier, its in Russia. The real issue is how long these FBI guys the NYTs place so much faith in will go before they are prosecuted. The NYTs has hermetically sealed itself off in a conspiracy world that they insist is the only possible world.
2
Projection. Plain and simple. Trump brought this virulent disease.
Nunes. NRA. Laundered Russian money.
As my mom used to say, "Time wounds all heels."
31
Great writing by Jason Zengerle. So, in other words, Nunes is crazy. It's amazing what these congressional districts can come up with. Nunes is like Trump in his inability to process critical information. And like Trump, he's enabled by Fox News:
"According to three people familiar with the log, during Nunes’s first several years on the committee, he rated as its 'least read' member."
And Nunes is really the same ilk as Trump as he attacks expertise to support his neurotic fantasy:
"Nunes would later accuse the Defense Department of inflating its cost estimates and asked its inspector general to investigate; the inspector general’s report showed that the Pentagon’s budget projections were far more accurate than Nunes’s."
And his disregard for American security:
"Nor was the N.S.A. confident that Portugal had the type of counterintelligence controls to protect American secrets."
And Nunes's psychological state:
"Jim Townsend, who as President Obama’s deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy was the Pentagon’s point person on Lajes, says of Nunes, 'He looked on this almost from a paranoid perspective, like we were out to get him."
Nunes the leaker, as is Trump:
“'We would have a conversation about some proprietary matters with Nunes,' this official says, 'and then the next day, somehow, Portugal knew some of that.'”
Nunes is, as is Trump, a danger to this nation.
73
Most politicians are rather paranoid. I've met extremely few politicians at either the state governor's or U.S. Congressional level who don't let their position go to their heads. Only sycophants would think otherwise. This applies to Democrats, Republicans and even Centrists. It also applies to most seemly benevolent social organizations.
As for Trump, when you elect a clown . . . expect a circus.
Crazy? Not crazy. Corrupt. Calling him crazy just lets him off the hook, plus it dishonors and stereotypes people with actual mental illness. Don't let him get away with it by discounting his responsibility, he knew exactly what he was doing...and he expects to be, or already has, very well paid for it (my opinion).
I think the salient issue here is privacy. Why do we accept government, social media corporations and more importantly "voluntarily" given/taking our information to use as control centers and mechanisms? Nunes is correct and should have more friends.
5
Privacy? In what context? Nunes would have us living in a totalitarian state. Not much privacy there.
The Republicans have tirelessly advocated for government power to spy on citizens, with help from many Democrats.
Nunez never opposed spying on Americans until Trump hired a bunch of people that had secret meetings with Russians and lied about it.
?
“We would have a conversation about some proprietary matters with Nunes,” this official says, “and then the next day, somehow, Portugal knew some of that.”
Why isn't above treason in the sense that Nunes shared US information with Portuguese authorities without proper clearance?
41
Read the Constitution, genius. "Treason" is about giving ENEMIES aid and comfort.
I have no doubt that Nunes is culpable.
Of what, other than stupidity and at best Inspector Clousseau like antics, I don’t know. But there has to be something personal in there.
That’s the case with everyone in this administration - because there are no principles left in the Republican Party and its acolytes.
Everyone who protests has some personal bone to hide. Just look at Sean Conflicted Hannity...
37
Part of the problem with Liberals and Dems it seems, we don't call people out and if we do its so politely diplomatic as in Patrician's "Sean Conflicted Hannity". If the shoe was on the other foot there'd be rabid angry shouts of "Sean CROOKED Hannity, lock him up, lock him up!" This day and age, those who shout loudest (however absurd the accusation) sadly win.
"deep mistrust"? Nunes knows on which side his political bread is buttered. A conspiratorial imagination and lack of knowledge helps him to live with putting Party over Country.
26
Doesn’t read, is paranoid, pursues a wacky agenda, has questions asked about his patriotism by non-partisan people...
What else does Nunes have in common with Trump?
32
I am hoping that the mid-term elections will make Nunes, McConnell, et al irrelevant
23
Don’t just hope, DO something!
Nunes and Jim Jordan and Goodlatte need to go.
They're unAmerican, and yet they claim to be the truest Patriots.
31
Fortunately, Goodlatte is one of the cockroaches that has seen the writing on the wall and is scuttling away. Unfortunately, my district has been gerrymandered and I cringe at considering the whack a doodle that the good mountain folk in my area will vote for to replace him in November.
Nunes understands that the FBI, CIA, and NSA have been recklessly partisan, in some situations, dishonest in others and in some cases incompetent. From the failure to have a clue before 911, the San Bernardino slaughter, NSA being less than truthful as to eaves dropping, using the dirty dossier for FISA warrants, Comey's insertion into the election to McCabe "lack of candor" etc etc. So, he and others, both Democrat and Republican need to be very skeptical as to what these agencies are doing. It is not the rank and file but senior management in these agencies that have so failed this country.
7
There is nothing wrong with skepticism. Skepticism can be expressed through conventional channels, but should not be an excuse to go outside them as he has. The irrational embrace of every crackpot conspiracy theory and simplistic unproven assertions such as you list make him unfit for his position.
3
Delusional.
Well worded, but hardly factual, comrade-troll.
I have written it before and will likely do so again: Nunes is a dangerous man and should be watched closely. He has no true belief in "separation of power" as we know it, and would probably assume the role of dictator if possible. He makes Trump appear somewhat benign.....unfortunately for us and for both of them.
33
Devin Nunes is positioning himself to head the GOP 2024 ticket. Until then, he'll milk the FBI and the DOJ of their credibility the way he milked cows in Tulare.
22
My grandson asked me what an oxymoron meant. I said, it's either a single word or a couple of words in a row which express a contradiction. You know, for example, "Devin Nunes" and "Intelligence."
22
I can not for the life of me understand why we accept the actions of Mr. Nunes without consequences? His total disregard for the boundaries of his position for personal gain and his disdain his clearly defined purpose as a part of the checks and balances we have in place to stop corruption, are egregious to say the least. There is NO integrity in our leadership and the system they run. We should enforce these boundaries and traditions by law. We cannot trust our government or leadership to honor their oath to the people and the Constitution of the United States. Corruption is running rampant and my centrist leanings are fading fast. The pendulum must swing and action needs to be taken to impede further degradation of our Democracy and our Republic's institutions. VOTE
87
The answer to your question is clear: "We" (the people) accept Nunes' actions because Republicans were elected to office and now control two-if-not-three branches of our government. Nunes is further enabled by Ryan who seems lacking in intellect, judgment, or character; perhaps he lacks in all three.
If you want change, vote and get others to do so as well.
5
I believe I am correct that the Speaker appoints the Chair of the Intelligence Committee. Thus Speaker Ryan is responsible for Nunes and his behavior. A fact, rarely or never, reported. Why?
167
You are correct and Ryan is responsible for a lot more than just the Nunez debacle!
35
Ryan said, "The matter of concern outlined in this memo is a specific, legitimate one. Our FISA system is critical to keeping America safe from real and evolving threats. It is a unique system with broad discretion and a real impact on Americans' civil liberties."[100] Ryan also supported the release of the Democrats' counter-memo.[101]
Representative Trey Gowdy, the only Republican on the House Intelligence Committee who actually read the underlying classified material, said the FISA application cited other material besides the dossier, but in his opinion the warrant would not have been authorized without the dossier
1
Totally agree. I've been on a personal twitter/phone campaign to Paul Ryan to remove Nunes, not just from the chairmanship, but the committee. Any help would be appreciated!
Nunes is one of the true villains in government and I only hope he and his party can be functionally neutered in November. Paul Ryan has conspired with Nunes to jettison the concept of separation of powers - disgusting.
66
Nunes is about as dim as they come. Combine that with sycophancy to the nth degree and you have Trump's lapdog. Too bad he was too dumb to actually take up farming. But his intelligence and judgement and paranoia make him perfect for Trump who seeks out the lowest of the low as his proteges.
53
I don't know this man personally, but from his public actions and statements, two things emerge for me. First, his naked partisan-ness. He puts party and ideology ahead of the national interest. Second, he seems at times to be quite out of his depth. A quick look at his educational background might provide some hints that this is indeed the case. For me, this stupidity and partisan zeal are never a good mix and always bad for our democracy. Add to this a skill to acquire power, and you have a toxic situation. That's what we have with Nunes.
49
Nunes is another Russian plant in the government. We better start cleaning house, and soon.
25
Yes, Nunes along with Rohrabacher who was lobbied by a former Soviet military intelligence officer and is also a Russian plant.
This is what happens when intellectually limited people get too much power.
50
... what does that say about the people
who help them acquire such positions?
[all along the career ladder, from rung one.]
“Tradition says that Tiberius as often as he left the Senate-House used to exclaim in Greek, "How ready these men are to be slaves." Clearly, even he, with his dislike of public freedom, was disgusted at the abject abasement of his creatures.” Tacitus Annals 3.65
10
So, basically, Devin is like every other republican in government.
They all hate the government because the government is big and bad.
In fact, they hate the big bad government so much that they want to have complete control over every single aspect of it.
And once they control every single aspect of it, they do everything in their power to prove their point that the government is big and bad.
They rack up debt, and then complain about the debt.
They infringe upon peoples' rights, and then talk about freedom.
They ensure that the government is incapable of operating, and then point their fingers and stomp their feet that government can't do anything.
To paraphrase one of the worst presidents ever: Government is not the problem. Republicans in government are the problem.
157
Spot on except you left out the part about steering every last one of our tax dollars that they can to themselves and their buddies
Well Said!..................
Next to Rohrabacher, Nunez is the most Un-American member of Congress. His ties to foreign interests and loyalty to the Russian puppet in the White House are breathtaking as they are criminal obstructions of justice as is participating in the conspiracy to attack the United States by Russia should/could lead to his indictment in 2019. Congressmen don't have absolute immunity when actively participating in a criminal activity.
33
In a cast of particularly despicable characters, Nunes stands out tall.
Here is my question: Am I the only one who thinks someone has something on Nunes? Because his behavior is neither smart nor self-serving. He has branded himself a slave of the administration and lost all moral standing and name equity.....
25
I assure you, you're not the only one who thinks someone has something on Nunes.
Nunes is a sycophant on steroids...there must be something about Trump that supercharges guys like Nunes.
16
yep, and that "something" is $$$.
I don't think this guy is too bright. And he operates in Trump's inner orbit: not a good place to be.
I have also long believed that Nunes was interviewed by Mueller who indict him for obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI.
Nunes is destined for a very humiliating and deserving fall.
10
Hmm, so dear leader asked for Nunes loyalty and by golly, Nunes is giving his all. This man should be locked up. He is to the point of treason and the pipeline to t-Rump. What a disgusting little man and what disgusting followers.
14
As distrustful as many of us may be of the "U.S. intelligence" agencies it is hard to see how crippling them can be anything other than the opposite of intelligent.
9
The Deep State is the global billionaires, who make 90% of political donations and their political appointees, like the ones that took intelligence from career intelligence professionals, and took out all of the caveats and warnings of low confidence to proclaim that Saddam was about to deliver a "mushroom cloud," so we had to invade, at the cost of 45,000 dead or wounded U.S. troops, and trillions of dollars, all so we could take Ideas oil and give it to global oil companies.
They had shares in the oil companies and shares in the military contractors that profited from the war.
Trump is a global billionaire, who hires a bunch of global billionaires to his cabinet. Trump bragged about bribing all of the other Republican presidential candidates and the Clintons.
Trump and his appointees are the Deep State, but since they have come out into the open, they have tried to change the meaning of Deep State to mean career government employees.
Career governments employees at the Justice Department are in charge of holding Trump accountable to the rule of law, and that is why he attacks it and the FBI.
Trump may be fighting with other members of the Deep State, but they are not career government employees. They are the other billionaires, and other political appointees.
Follow the money. It flows to the Deep State. Union government employees don't have the money.
And they most certainly have more integrity and more patriotism than our pathological liar in chief.
3
Nunez is betting that Trump is the start of a red wave which will last for quite some time. It is a gamble, because if Trump is a 1 term president or is forced to resign under dark clouds of corruption, Nunez will be on a bus back to Palookaville and will never be heard from again.
What I found so interesting about Nunez is how bad he is at playing with the big boys. No skill, no finess, totally uncouth, unable to speak to the media etc.
Is this what our political system has come to?? Even Ted Cruz, (who I despise), has more skill.
10
He should be voted out. He and the rest of GOP house, senate and spineless Ryan and McConnell are pro Putin. They closed their eyes while Putin intervened in our democracy.
8
I don't know why the Trump supporters have so much trouble believing meddling in the election since meddling seems to be one of their specialties.
14
Nunes is chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. That's a joke. All I see is a dedication to the destruction of everything Obama helped to establish. Unfortunately, the impact of this administrations thoughtless and destructive actions may not hit home until after the midterm elections. But we can count on Nunes to continue his aimless attacks while supporting one of the worst crooks to hold our presidency.
10
Nunes is what he is. There's no secret about his failings and paranoia. So, who to blame for his current status? Well, Boehner and Ryan of course - Boehner for picking him even knowing so much about him and Ryan for turning a blind eye and not reining him in.
Nunes is the poster boy for how important the House Speakership actually is. If Speakers do a good job of picking people for important positions, Government functions pretty well, no matter political disagreements. But, if the Speakers don't do a good job, we end up with unthinking and incompetent politicians in these important positions.
Boehner and Ryan will go down as 2 of the least effective Speakers in our recent history. Blame them. Nunes is what he is and they facilitated him in spite of all the warning signs. Bad Speakers, bad Speakers!
19
One of the things we will need to consider when Trump's affairs are exposed as corrupt and possibly treasonous is the role that his protectors have played in obstructing lawful investigations into these affairs. Nunes is not simply playing partisan politics. He is actively collaborating with a president who may soon be convicted of criminal charges in flagrant disregard of his congressional duty to uphold the constitution. If Trump is ever convicted of a crime, Nunes should face criminal charges himself.
17
Nunes should be indicted and jailed for conspiracy to obstruct justice. He will wind up in prison in the bunk directly beneath Donny's.
9
I hope he's indicted as a co-conspirator to obstruction of justice. The evidence is there.
9
Devin Nunez chases conspiracy theories; he has made an entire political career from it. Andrew Janz is running to replace DN for CA-22, please donate or vote to restore the balance or powers.
12
"A shared mistrust of policy experts." In other words, a deep commitment to ignorance and uninformed "gut" instinct. Just what you want in an airline pilot; just what you want in a heart surgeon; just what you want in political leadership.
8
He needs to be voted out of office.
6
An excellent article even though it suffers for omitting the word "certifiable."
10
Yes, a certifiable idiot. Where do these people come from?
3
Devin Nunes is exhibit A of what a lousy, corrupt Speaker Ryan is, and the corrupt rot infesting and spreading through the Republican Party.
Even when two senators, one Republican and one Democrat, spoke recently with Speaker Ryan and asked him to do something about Nunes' unethical behavior regarding a leak from Nunes, Ryan did nothing.
Get rid of this rot and vote out the Republicans this November.
21
Nunes ran opposed for his seat but had three million dollars sitting in his campaign account as of January. Focusing on Trump rather than his constituents has harmed his district. This is an area that needs better health care but Nunes voted to repeal the ACA. This is an area that Ag sanctions will harm. This is an area that needs protection from pesticides that impact worker’s health. Nunes should have discussed Kesterton Resevoir with Trump to demonstrate why we have environmental regs.
Nunes continues to pander to Trump instead of taking care of the people who elected him. Spending time defending the Trump administration and not working on constituency issues demonstrates that he isn’t fit to be a congressman.
34
Well stated, from one of his constituents who is supporting Andrew Janz's bid to replace him.
2
I hope that the voters in his district know and act upon this in November. It would be nice to see him disappear! (Or get on board with Trump and then go down with the ship.)
1
"And what makes Nunes an especially strong — and effective — ally for Trump is that they share a worldview. Both men have long CONSIDERED THEMSELVES outsiders doing battle with a corrupt, rigged system."
NY Times, please don't tell me what Nunez "considers" himself. You can't know. Don't tell me what people "believe," or, "think." You cannot know that people believe.
It is your job to report what they say and do, not what they consider themselves.
It is highly misleading to tell us what someone thinks, especially obvious, self contradicting, liars like Trump and Nunez.
Just because they say they "considered themselves outsiders doing battle with a corrupt, rigged system.," doesn't mean that it is true, especially when Trump bragged about rigging the system himself, and Nunez has been caught attempting to rig the system more than once.
Tell is what they do and say, not what is in someone's head.
12
If you omitted the information about how someone in an influential position views themselves you are leaving out perhaps the most important part.
3
This is a profile, not a news story.
2
What they "consider themselves" is taken from their exact words Both of these morons (what I "consider them") have stood up and said they are doing battle with a corrupt, rigged system. Can't believe I'm saying this, but you really should read more of Donald Trump's tweets. They tell us quite clearly how he considers himself. And don't deem to tell professionals what their job is. No one tells you how to use that stick to pick up garbage on the side of the highway.
nunes is the epitome of a hack. lacking critical thinking skills, he perceives conspiracies when none exist. a product of too much sun, too much alcohol, not enough sleep, not enough exercise, not enough water. perhaps the enlightened voters of tulare county may (hopefully) tire of his sycophantic defense of easily the most corrosive president one can remember, and vote him out of office, and our consciousness. dare to hope....
21
Many of the good folks I’ve met here in Tulare suffer from the same condition.
We here in Tulare County are peddling as fast as we can to replace him.
4
Devin Nunes is a deplorable human being and has no place in politics let alone Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The House investigation of Trump was a sham and a disservice to the citizens of this country. Nunes took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, not Trump, and he should be reminded of that oath along with all the other Republican Trump enablers.
24
Scary!
Thank you Mr. Zengerle for this in depth and insightful story about Mr. Nunez. It is scary that such an obvious sociopath is in a position of political power.. Clearly truth has a different meaning for this Intelligence Committee Chairman ( in this case, a real contradiction in terms). He clearly has little intelligence rather unabashed bias toward his own version of reality and a proclivity to obfuscate, denigrate and deny any true information that runs contrary to his paradigm.
America is a much more dangerous and vulnerable place with REP. Nunez in such a influential position.
12
They only distrust the policy experts when they disagree with them.
8
Welcome to the world of alternative facts.
Where buffalo chips are polished and sold to the rubes as gold.
40% want more gold.
10
The area he represents is 95% rich white landowners and corporations who vote plus large numbers of brown worker bees who do not or cannot. Signs throughout the area proclaim the Drought as being created by Congress. Most folks hate San Franciscans, and Sacramento is Deep State. The morality of this area is astoundingly 1950's. If you thought all of California was blue, think again.
Nonetheless, Nunes is not a shoo-in for being re-elected. I'd predict that after November 2018, there will be only 6-7 GOP left in the entire California delegation. Despite the Cali-Tucky of this area, Nunes may not be one of them because the fight over his lapdog status began in January.
Folks outside his district know he's just a sign painter for tRump. However, while he may have committed political treason since tRump was elected, he's still unabashedly agrarian in his outlook. Protecting farming is his only real legislative goal. He may yet survive.
4
I live in his district and seriously question the facts of your comments. It is nowhere near close to 95% rich withe farmers. Such a silly simplistic view, really. Yes am working to get rid of the jerk but let's try to be real about how we describe my fellow citizens.
6
California vote this shill out of office!
15
I live in his district and there is a push to replace him with Andrew Janz
2
There's an all-out effort to do exactly that. Stay tuned ....
2
@Erika and CommonSense'18,
Why is there no local newspaper reporting on Nunes' actions? How do voters learn what Nunes is doing?
"a deep mistrust of the expert consensus on reality"? Nunes is nothing but a lying propagandist. Mistrust has nothing to do with it. He has a fatal disconnection from honesty and decency, in real life.
15
I liked Congressmen Nunes before but really like him now. Especially when compared to “lights-camera-Schiff”. The line when Schiff says the committee was non-partisan is laugh out loud funny.
Glad to see a person who understands hard work and effort fighting the good fight.
4
I agree. I have contributed to his campaign for re-election and will continue to do so.
He deserves, though not likely to get it, the Profiles in Courage Award for 2018.
People who are extremely stupid, uneducated, and patently insecure are often defensive with regard to people who know much more than they do.
24
And that is exactly why Trump was attracted to him. Recall at one of his rallies he gleefully exclaimed to applause: "I love the uneducated"!
Endless investigations of Benghazi for pure political purposes - his report said same as all the previous 7 and came out 2 weeks after the election
No real investigation of treason by team trump - presumably because nunes is a co conspirator.
He is a traitor to the people of his district and a traitor to the United States and Speaker ryan keeps him there despite that, which makes ryan the same
61
Hey, California, vote DN out.
12
Playon--Just sent 50 bucks to Democrat Janz, whom I hope will be one of his opponents.
The absolute and shameless of patriotism that this man has demonstrated should be enough for his constituents to vote him out.
11
Nunes is the poster child of the politicalization of the intelligence community.
22
A dangerous and mediocre man, helping to destroy our country.
19
A fellow congressman once said of Nunes: "If Mensa had a picnic he would not be the one invited to bring the cole slaw." He is a classic example of the dumbing down of Åmerica and the dumbing down of our Congress -- an inept bumbling toady who couldn't hide the fact that he was taking instructions from the White House not once but several times. Vote people and get this idiots out of our government.
32
Now that we know that James Mattis was Nunes’s pick, it follows that Mattis is either an incompetent partisan hack or that Nunes made a mistakenly good choice (for the USA, not him).
5
Then-President-elect Donald Trump met with Mattis for a little over one hour in Bedminster, New Jersey, on November 20, 2016.[75] He later stated on Twitter, "General James 'Mad Dog' Mattis, who is being considered for Secretary of Defense, was very impressive yesterday. A true General's General!"[76] On December 1, 2016, Trump announced at a rally in Cincinnati that he would nominate Mattis for United States Secretary of Defense.[77]
As Mattis retired from the military in 2013, his nomination required a waiver of the National Security Act of 1947, which requires a seven-year waiting period before retired military personnel can assume the role of Secretary of Defense.[78] Mattis is the second Secretary of Defense to receive such a waiver, following George Marshall.[78] Mattis was officially confirmed as Secretary of Defense by a vote of 98–1 in the United States Senate on January 20, 2017.[
1
Harold412: That's my point -- if Mattis is as solid as we and everyone else thinks he is, then Nunes made a mistake.
1
Davin Nunes is a disgrace of a politician, his actions speak louder that even his nonsense being uttered by a hypocritical stance in protecting a corrupt president....while exercising dereliction of duty as a member of a separate branch (legislative) of government, in unison with Trump's lying pattern to distort the truth. Shameful but not unexpected from a servile thug parroting Trump's ugly stand. That he is praised by like-minded republicans ought not come as a surprised. Any biased individual tends to believe that everybody else is alike.
10
Having completely ignored the evidence and the reality that the Democrats conspired with government officials in the FBI and DOJ to frame Trump with the Russian collusion nonsense and unleash the Mueller probe on him, the NYT has completely ignored their journalistic duty in favor of partisanship.
The Nunes article comes because what he is uncovering is too big to ignore no matter how much the MSM would love to.
Mueller, unsurprisingly having found no Russian collusion because it was a made up farce from the start, and having been unable to find anything on Trump, has now sunk to unimaginably low levels in a desperate attempt to find something, anything on Trump.
Absconding with all of Trump’s legal records from his lawyer’s office, apparently over a taxi company Trump had nothing to do with, and then threatening to throw Trump’s lawyer in jail forever unless he provides some kind of dirt on Trump, because Mueller couldn’t find anything himself smacks of the Stasi.
The deep state is represented by the MSM and the NYT is the poster child of bias and selective reporting.
Even the NYT will eventually recognize reality.
4
I agree: Ryan said, "The matter of concern outlined in this memo is a specific, legitimate one. Our FISA system is critical to keeping America safe from real and evolving threats. It is a unique system with broad discretion and a real impact on Americans' civil liberties."[100] Ryan also supported the release of the Democrats' counter-memo.[101]
Representative Trey Gowdy, the only Republican on the House Intelligence Committee who actually read the underlying classified material, said the FISA application cited other material besides the dossier, but in his opinion the warrant would not have been authorized without the dossier
1
(Citation needed)
And how many Pulitzer Prizes did Fox News receive this year?
Devin Nunes is clearly a co-conspirator in the obstruction of justice to the Russia investigation. His Keystone Kop stunts like the so-called "unmasking" of Susan Rice with the help of The White House and later getting Speaker Paul Ryan to join his political cabal in forcing newly, Trump-appointed FBI Director, Christopher Wray, to release classified documents for another failed attempt to undermine the investigation by falsely claiming the improper use of the FISA warrant process by the FBI and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in authorizing the surveillance of
12
Ryan said, "The matter of concern outlined in this memo is a specific, legitimate one. Our FISA system is critical to keeping America safe from real and evolving threats. It is a unique system with broad discretion and a real impact on Americans' civil liberties."[100] Ryan also supported the release of the Democrats' counter-memo.[101]
Representative Trey Gowdy, the only Republican on the House Intelligence Committee who actually read the underlying classified material, said the FISA application cited other material besides the dossier, but in his opinion the warrant would not have been authorized without the dossier
1
I live one county over from Master Nunes; The entire Southern San Joaquin Valley is a pit of poverty sprinkled with massive Agricultural Wealth; The majority population is Hispanic but the Republican money poured into Tulare, Kern, Kings and Fresno Counties (and the convoluted district lines) insure a sable Republican voting base. Far too many poor people here get sucked into "We're working for you". Unionism is virtually nonexistent -because- packing house workers: Tomatoes, Garlic, etc are terrified they will lose their meager wages; most vote against their own interests: Nunes is the wonder-boy who was the youngest to hold a position on a College Board (College of Sequoias) he has traded off this infamy and the hometown boy has to do nothing more. He is intellectually lazy; his work ethic is lazy but the good folk in Tulare County do not care. The Feds are stuck with them; sorry we gifted him to you.
8
'Representative' Nunes is as reputable a Congressman as was the late and unlamented Sen. Joseph McCarthy ... as dysfunctional as his lyin' commander-in-chief ... as patriotic as Benedict Arnold ... as fair and as balanced -- and as 'factual' -- as Fox News, RT, Tass and Pravda.
And. beyond his array of singularly and 'universally' evil and venal 'traits' ... Nunes is as intelligent (some hyperbole here admitted) as an amoeba.
8
The absolute lack of patriotism that this man’s behavior has demonstrated should be enough for his constituents to vote him out!
8
This guy is a Trump shill. And if he's wrong so frequently, why it it that he's so popular with the Republicans? I'm aware they know no shame but this is ridiculous. The man has no moral compass and the Republicans elevate his position and standing. The entire affair is so sorted and may even be treasonous but Republicans simply don't care.
Reckless and shameful.
5
A Trump puppet.
11
"A stooge for the White House" is Nunes, but thanks, Congressman, for the Republican report about the FISA warrant in the Carter Page investigation, and for getting the Comey memos released, both of which have clearly backfired on the Republicans. Not a "useful idiot" for Trump. Just an idiot.
9
Fiercely loyal - too bad that loyalty doesn’t extend to the US Constitution or to the brave men and women of our intelligence services who serve quietly and with dignity everyday. Shame. Shame. Shame.
16
“Since Nunes’s midnight run, the committee has been crippled by partisan fighting.” This is a little like saying “Since the husband cheated on his wife, the marriage has been crippled by mistrust and recrimination.” Describing the consequences of Nunes’ profoundly dishonest collusion with the White House, and his many lies about that collusion, as the beginning of “partisan” fighting whitewashes Nunes’s grave misdeeds. This continues to be a serious problem in reporting on the Trump administration. Something like a desire to be “fair to both sides,” or to hew to a “non-partisan” point of view, drives reporters to excuse egregious misbehavior on the part of Trump and his allies? “Trump obstructed justice, and Comey replied in kind with petty insults about Trump.”
One finishes the article suspecting that this problem goes deep. Why construe Nunes’s behavior as displaying “deep mistrust of the expert consensus on reality”? Why not frame it as partisanship that has slipped all ethical bounds? Are we really to think that Nunes spent his 24 hours with Trump in California sharing their genuine mutual mistrust of the expert consensus on reality?
This is a serious attempt to report in-depth on an important figure. I appreciate that. But it’s hampered by a strangely intense commitment to the false equivalency fallacy. Put it down, let it go. I think you’ll find that you’ll be freed up to report on some very important truths.
13
He's been knighted by a foreign government for favors rendered.
Which should disqualify him from serving on that committee, much less chairing it.
How do you say "Dilly dilly" in Portuguese, Senhor Devin?
5
Accepting a foreign title of nobility violates the Emoluments Act. But in the Trump Administration, the Order of Henry the Navigator is way down the list of offenses.
1
The bar fight anecdote tells you everything you need to know about the Benedict Arnold wing of the GOP. They will bust up the bar for their guy, but not for their country. Their ignorant, arrogant tribalism is going to leave this country in a vulnerable mess. Where is the patriotism in fighting against your country for a guy?
9
If there is a "deep state", people like Mr. Nunes represent it, not the other way around.
27
This very long, very detailed bio-feature can be quickly summarized: Nunes' success comes from violating the separation of powers -- the article gives many examples, not including the Congressman's informal job as go-for, literally running between his "secret" committee to the WH and back, a Legislator carrying messages to and from the (supposedly separate) Executive branch. Constitutional checks and balances are of no concern to a Congressman looking for promotion either in Congress or as a WH appointee.
425
So, I take it that you did not see the Republican Congress opposing Obama's initiatives as obstructionism, but as separation of powers, right? Somehow I doubt it.
The question must be asked and it's deadly serious: What is Nunes getting out of this relationship? Trump has gotten greater assistance than he could have hoped for, but what about Nunes? It has to be more than just garnering the slight recognition of this president. Nunes has compromised his own potentially-powerful role in the oversight of American intelligence. He has subjected himself instead to great ridicule through his oft-blundering bidding for an ungrateful administration. He has forgone jobs of real potency within the Trump government while remaining in the shade, with his recommendations for the appointment of others.
So what does Nunes get out of this? Is it money through some covert channel? Is it the promise of some deferred benefit to Nunes? Did Trump promise privilege he didn't deliver, and could Nunes be either exacting or plotting a secret stew of revenge? The answer will surely be made clear, given the cast of loudmouth clowns at work. And as such, it is certain to uphold the same circus sensibilities already evinced in this Trump-Nunes Reality TV production.
1
In June 2002, nine months before the invasion of Iraq, the head of British Intelligence returned from meeting with top members of the Bush Administration. He wrote a memo to his prime minister, explaining that the Bush Administration had already made the decision to go to war, and that "the intelligence was being fixed around that decision." Indeed it was obvious to anyone with a minor interest in the Middle East, that Saddam was actively attacking religious extremists, unlike Saudi Arabia. And while the NY Times was printing Bush lies on the front page, all of the evidence he was laying out was being contradicted by career government employees, buried in the International Section. (The Deep State is the politicians that override the government employees.) In the chaotic aftermath of that war there were numerous attacks on embassies and staff, including dozens of deaths.
Nunez should have spent years investigating who lied to invade Iraq, at a cost of 45,000 dead or wounded U.S. troops, and trillions of dollars, but instead he investigated Benghazi.
I have never trusted the Clintons. They take money from Trump and other crony capitalists, and have destroyed the Democratic Party.
But compared to the invasion of Iraq, Benghazi is a tiny little footnote, far from the worst thing Clinton has been involved in.
Spending years investigating Bengazi, while not investigating how the Deep State used our military to steal Iraq's oil and give it to global oil corps is the real scam.
6
There has been a striking absence of concern for impropriety by the Intelligence Committee towards the FBI until this specific point in time involving a controversial administration. This would suggest the Committee-- Mr. Nunes included-- has been either incompetent in doing its job or mendacious. Secret meeting with the White House outside of the Committee certainly suggest Mr. Nunes as hampered by either or both.
209
I just read the rebuttal piece in The Federalist. I am much more likely to believe The New York Times over The Federalist. The comments left under the article were predictably against 'the mainstream media.' How do we evaluate and share news in this environment where everyone picks what they want to believe over facts themselves.
Most of today’s Republicans, particularly those supporting and abetting Trump, have embedded themselves in a walled off world in which reality has ceased to exist. Aided by Fox News, their adherence to belief versus fact and evidence has allowed them to so twist the truth that no 2 2 argument ever results in 4.
It’s no wonder that hatred and fear can be leveraged to foment an environment ripe for a strong man and his acolytes. For that is what Nunez has ultimately become to Trump: a dupe, a rube.
He may, doubtfully, one day in the far future wake from this fever and see the harm he’s done. By then, it will be too late as he and Trump’s extended gang of thugs continue to unravel that which was America.
5
Nunes is in Trump's pocket now. Don't know what Trump has promised him but he needs to watch his back with this president. He is another politician who cares nothing for the voters who keep him in office. If Trump had his way, Nunes would not even be in this country. Trump would ban Nunes as an illegal Hispanic voter (even if he is American citizen).
How do these guys get these committee chairmanships?
3
In a comment last year, a woman from Philadelphia theorized that centuries of the brightest, most ambitious Americans migrating to cities from farms has left a dearth of “intelligence genetics” in the heartland - that America’s best thinkers had become genetically and geographically underrepresented in public policy. At the time to it seemed far-fetched, but examples which tend to confirm her thesis abound.
More than intelligence, the humility to admit what we don’t know, the ability to trust the advice of experts, is an essential quality for leaders. The lack of humility and self-confidence of Nunes and other politicians (not all of them Republican) gives rise to these obscene conspiracy theories and draws other like-minded, dim-witted accomplices on board. Their arrogant denial of their own shortcomings seldom ends well, for anyone.
What’s the answer? I don’t know, but I’d trust the advice of experts.
5
Read the actual Nunez Memo. The fourth and last paragraph of the memo that he wrote contradicts the rest of the memo and the talking points he put out.
The fourth paragraph states that Carter Page, who was supposedly corruptly spied on by the FBI, was actually under surveillance since at least 2014, when Russian intelligence tried to recruit him as an asset. And the warrant that Nunez called corrupt was actually the third or fourth warrant that year. So according to his own memo, Nunez says that the Steele Dossier was one piece off evidence used against him to get the last warrant against him, after he was already under surveillance for years.
Carter Page made numerous trips to Russia where he made speeches praising Putin and his foreign policy, while attacking U.S. foreign policy. He then lied about those trips.
And according to The Hill, Carter Page described himself as an adviser to the Kremlin in 2013. Of course he is under surveillance.
Then Trump personally announced that he was appointing Page to be his National Security Adviser!
Nunez was also forced to admit that the "evidence" he was bringing to the Whitehouse about this, actually came from the Whitehouse. It was s blatant attempt to plant a fake story, that he botched. That is why he had to recuse himself from the investigation
Nunez can't lie well, kept interfering in an investigate that he recused himself from, and seriously divided a House Committee that has always worked together on National Security.
13
But Nunes created so much rancor over the issue that some American officials came to question his motives, and even his patriotism. “I was having a hard-enough time being beaten up by the Azoreans and the Portuguese, but it was even harder seeing a congressman being in cahoots with them,” Townsend says. “It was like, ‘Whose team are you on?’ ”
I think we know that Nunes is not on the American team.
9
Ever since the intelligence community cooked the data for invading Iraq for no good reason, what's not to be wary of?
I believe that it was Cheney and Rumsfeld who took the good intelligence from the intelligence community and twisted it to suit their means for the invasion of Iraq.
2
The leaders at the same did that, more than the intelligence community.
1
Devin Nunes is exhibit A for what is wrong with Congress. Our House and Senate are filled with folks with loyalties to donors whose goals are almost always the opposite of the genuine needs and concerns of their constituents.
9
Devin Nunez, Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan are the worst of the worst. They belong in the same far right wing deplorable basket as Sean Hannity. There all lying, duplicitous, insufferable and traitorous knobs.
Sure, it's just name calling, but it's accurate.
28
As a California native, I found this article illuminating and confirming about Nunes and his district. Nunes's rise there is hardly a surprise in a place that really reveals the haves and have nots. The true work done economically there is done by hardworking people who make modest to poor wages which enrich the few as shown in poverty rates and pockets of beautiful homes well away from "problem areas". With unemployment consistently above 10% (currently 15%), and college graduation by just 1 in 5, it is a surreal place. If one is white or landed it is a place of possible opportunity. If not, it continues to be a place of few prospects. If one does vote - they vote against there own interests OR, they choose to not play the political game as evidenced by election results compared to census population numbers. Nunes's harm is two fold in that he clearly does not benefit the majority of his constituents AND his imagination and character is an affront to democracy.
161
Nunes is a poor choice for this position. As with Scott Pruitt and others, this is one of those completely insane appointments that is counter-productive, headed by someone who is not qualified and who a highly partisan party hack. It's bad enough that we have Trump at the helm; he is now aided and abetted by a long line of incompetents who are not even fit to clean the bathroom, let alone oversee major government agencies and committees.
98
But he's full of passionate intensity. And a great head of hair. That's what counts in the Gilded House.
6
Birdygirl, stop judging the competence of these individuals against your view of what a president and his cabinet should do. That is not how they judge themselves.
Trump didn't accidentally pick Pruit to the head of the EPA, or DeVos as head of Education.
He purposefully put people in charge of agencies they have been trying to weaken from the outside, so they could destroy them from the inside.
Trump is not a normal president and judging him like a normal president means you completely misunderstand what he is doing.
Trump may not care about history or how the constitution says the government should work, but he managed to make himself president because he's is a genius at manipulating the media and his white supremacist base.
Trump is not interested in the smooth operation of government, or incremental improvement to policy. Trump is actively attacking every institution of our Republic, especially all of the checks on presidential power, from the justice department (which is the only department that can hold him accountable to the rule of law) and the FBI, to the judiciary, the Press, and even the opposition party, who he accused of "treason," because they didn't clap for his speech.
Trump said that Xi was a "great man," because he made himself "president for life," and, "maybe we should try that here."
Do not underestimate Trump by comparing him to normal presidents. He has a completely different mission from normal presidents and he has his own view of success.
5
Voters in every district (Republicans or Democrats) are responsible for the politicians they select to represent them. They have the responsibility,above all,of choosing honorable men who will serve this country and not their own
interests. Mr. Nunez is a disgrace. We can only hope that the people of Mr. Nunez district will have the moral fortitude to vote him out next time around.
117
"Jack Langer, a Nunes spokesman, responded: “The ‘facts’ sent by The New York Times Magazine to check for this article, filled with laughable fictional stories and some entertaining conspiracy theories, are great examples of why so few people trust The New York Times anymore.”"
What an infantile response. Nunes and his cabal are completely out of touch with the reality of America. It will be ever so cathartic to watch him and Trump hold hands while they sink into the abyss of their own making.
248
Agreed. NYT is more of an institution in American discourse than Nunes could ever hope to be. Many here in California apologize to the other states for sending such a cad to congress. His district is imprisoned by the land owner, farmer, and not the land worker and typical striving American. How can caring Americans respond? Boycott product from his district.
6
I'm not sure - maybe it is us who are out of touch with what America has become?
3
Nunes represents the glaring fault of a democratic system of elections. Namely, that a fascistic advocate, antithetical to democratic rule, can be elected to a position of power, and undermine the very system that granted him such power.
26
What is your alternative to democratically elected representatives?
2
I know a puppet when I see one. And I know an idiot when I see one, too. Mr. Nunes is both, and he has hitched himself to a star that will soon come crashing down. He is a singularly good reason, along with Paul Ryan, for Republicans to lose their majority in Congress.
387
Nunes and Ryan are both prostitutes who do far worse than rent out their private parts: they rent out their oath of office. (At least Ryan is rather an DILF who could rent himself out on the street.)
Wake up America- get out and vote in November-
the only way to gut check this political hack is to install a Democratic lead Congress.
That will be the end of "committee chairmanships" for Mr. Nunes.
It can't happen to quickly
131
Amen! Time for U.S. voters to take control. Get rid of these hucksters as well as the Electoral College and Citizens United!
Devin Nunes is a sycophantic, needy congressman whose behavior is bad for the American government and the separation of legislative and executive branches of government. He has risen too high in this Republican Congress for the good of the country. His leadership is compromised by his susceptibility to flattery from elsewhere. This is a very dangerous man to have in any House leadership position. He is an example of why the Congress's reputation among American citizens is so low.
33
Nunes is Trump's patsy, just like Michael Cohen was. Until these scurrilous republicans are defeated for reelection, the country is veering towards a right wing cliff. And three guesses whom the Trump-led republicans will continue pushing off of the cliff. But with a non-functional parachute so they can mislead the country that no one is being hurt.
19
This man has single-handedly rendered the title of his committee the cruelest of ironies. He has done severe damage to the institutions of government that protect and preserve our democracy. Irrational loyalty and hyper partisanship are qualities that are antithetical to the function of the committee over which he presides. Nunes' level of corruption easily rivals that of Scott Pruitt and the damage that he has done to our nation may be far greater.
715
Nunes' corruption pales in comparison to Paul Ryan who not only put him on the committee but has had the power to stop all of his destructive shenanigans for months and hasnt. Been searching pretty long and hard for a voice of reason with an R next to their name and have come up wanting.
10
Speaking as a liberal and a Democrat and a 70-year-old with an interest in such things and a long memory, I wonder how much the FBI and CIA "protect and preserve our democracy" as opposed to protecting and preserving corporate interests. Lord knows the CIA has been viciously anti-democratic in Iran, Chile, Guatemala and many other nations. The FBI and CIA are more democratic than Trump -- but that's not saying a lot.
2
And does anyone really believe that Inhofe had no idea this guy was so corrupt and detestable?
Please.
Mr. Nunes received only 1% of his campaign funds from small contributors and took none from his own bank accounts. He is entirely owned by PACs and wealthy conservatives.
He doesn't merit articles about his thinking process or opinions. Report on the contributors who OWN Mr. Nunes instead.
341
A Grand Old Puppet.
1
Chris, agreed! and it's much more efficient to say it your way!
1
Devin Nunes is a personification of a man who seeks opportunism at all costs.
He’s an American non-hero and an embarrassment. He’s an enabler and a fraud. History will not be kind to this “nebbish” from Fresno.
83
But he's a hero to Portugal, which knighted him.
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/bill-mcewen/article14...
1
Anyone who has looked at the facts regarding the looming California water crisis know that if the huge industrial farms (that have have brought and paid for Nunes congressional seat) keep sucking water out of the water table at the current rate, central California can before long kiss commercial farming goodbye.
Another Republican putting his rich political donors a head of the best interests of their own states and country.
33
This goes to show you that even in CA's Deep Blue Ocean of the electorate we still have poisonous Red Algae blooms, robbing oxygen and producing toxins. On the one hand, I thank the Times for such a thorough bio of Nunes. But frankly, and I say this on an emotional level, the man does not deserve to take up this much space. Yes, his district loves him, and he will most likely be re-elected. But those people of my state are doing a great disservice to the rest of our country by blindly defending a man as deceitful and dishonest as his boss in the Oval Office. For this, I am embarrassed, and I apologize.
48
Nunes has virtually no credibility nationally. In shirking his legal and moral responsibility to uphold the laws of our country Nunes undermines America. Its also an indication that he's willing to do it everywhere. California buyers beware.
18
Devin Nunez will be indicted for obstruction and other high crimes.
10
Or, or that corrupt agencies have stonewalled, lied, destroyed evidence, colluded, illegally surveilled, extorted silence, and leaked true and sometimes fake info to destroy political opponents and cover up crimes.
2
Nunez announced that he had big evidence that the Russia investigate was corrupt, and brought a trail of reporters to the Whitehouse to give the evidence to the Trump administration. Later that day, he was forced to admit that he had gotten that "evidence," from the Trump administration in the Whitehouse.
If you actually read the Nunez Memo, you will see that the last paragraph contradicts the rest of the memo and all of the Republican talking points around it. It says that Carter Page was under surveillance by the FBI since at least 2014, when Russian intelligence tried to recruit him as an asset. It also says that the Steele Dossier was used in the last warrant against Carter Page, not the first. So his own memo shows that Nunez is lying. Like Trump Nunez is a blatant liar, and not even good at it, So when he contradicts sources in the FBI, he has no credibility.
He also ignored the fact that the Bush Administration lied to invade Iraq, at the cost of 45,000 dead or wounded U.S. troops, and trillions of dollars. The political appointees that altered the reports of career intelligence professionals, taking out their caveats and low confidence warnings, to declare that Saddam definitely had WMD, should have been investigated. There were many embassies attacked with dozens killed in Iraq.
I'm no Clinton fan (she should have known the evidence wasa lie), but Benghazi was a distraction from the investigation that Nunez didn't lead.
Nunez is a liar and political hack.
2
Nunes, a self serving opportunist- Nunes is a shameless political hack who wears his "conservative" ideas like a cheap suit.
Yet another Republican putting himself first, party second and our country and democracy last.
And why do otherwise intelligent voters in California keep voting this corrupt fool into to office?
12
it's becoming more and more obvious that many republicans lack the 'shame' gene.
as well as the 'critical thinking' one.
53
Nunes will go down as one of the classic Republican Liars....a fool who sacrificed his honor for a worthless man named Trump.
100
The mistake you are making in characterizing Nunes as a fool who "sacrificed" his honor, is in assuming that Nunes ever had a discernible shred of honor. He
Well done: an exhaustive, probing article on the psychology and chronology of Mr Nunes, who comes across as a fixated, obsessive fruitcake. While I’m sure conservatives will cry “foul” and accuse the NYT of liberal bias and being part of the conspiracy, this read helped me understand all the aberrant behavior I’ve seen on display by Mr Nunes over the last few years.
95
"Mistrust of reality" uh, no. Liar. Nunes is a liar. He is willing to lie to keep a fraudster conman in office. Despicable.
156
I applaud your assessment. I wish today's journalists would use the words that simply describe what is actually happening. It's not a "mistrust of truth" or "misrepresentation" or my favorite, "disingenuous" -- it's a LIE, and the people who speak them are LIARS. If "they" want to get rid of political correctness, let's get rid of it and call them what they are.
4
This guy is either crooked or stupid. Not good traits for a congressman.
48
Both?!
6
This guy is either crooked or stupid.
You can be both!
1
Possibly both.
1
Nunes should remember that, with Trump, loyalty is a one way street.
47
Before I read this article, I disliked Nunes mostly on the basis of his rabidly destructive partisanship.
After reading this article, I have no respect for him whatsoever. Worse than merely being not particularly smart, he doesn't care to learn about facts. And even worse than that, he displays incredible hubris, thinking that he himself knows better than everyone else around him.
The title of this article should have been: How Devin Nunes's Lack of Intelligence Turned Congress Inside-Out.
214
Nunes' arrogance, hubris, and self-serving nature are responsible for his actions, coupled with Ryan's complicity. They are traitors, they violated the separation of powers, they have violated their oath of office.
Nunes is a dishonest Trump lackey who will do anything, including destroying his committee, to follow and protect Dear Leader. This piece overthinks Nunes’ motives. There is nothing else explaining his outrageous behavior.
13
Nunes is rightwing hack politician -- lacking intelligence, integrity, and decency. He's just one of many members of the House who have helped to destroy Congress and render it a non-working and despised body. If Nunes were ever subjected to investigation for his many transgressions, he'd be tossed.
13
Nunes is a traitor. Pure and simple.
247
Lock him up! he earned it!
3
Is Nunes a Russian plant? A double-agent? He sure acts like it.
26
Nunes deeply mistrusts anyone who tells him an inconvenient truth for right-wing Republicans. He's never met such a truth he hasn't done his best either to bury or distort. Fortunately, as with Comey's memos, Nunes is so stupidly incompetent that he usually shoots himself and right-wing Republicans in a place somewhat more vital than the foot.
13
It really does feel like America is being led by Republicans who would be out of place running a high school student council. They are arrogant and ignorant and in love with themselves and the warm feeling that power brings. Boehner appointed him, and it was Boehner's way of flipping off the American people as he wandered out the door.
Hugh
67
An objective assessment of Nunes’ use of his Congressional power places him as second only to McCarthy in its danger to our democracy. In team with the Fox network and Trump he really has turned truth inside out. America is paying a very high price for this reckless abuse of power.
15
How is Devin Nunes still a member of Congress?
Paul Ryan will go down as the worst Speaker in history.
22
Nunes is still a member of Congress because he embodies ALL of the Republican values the base seems to love.
I'm sure Ryan's memoir will emphasize, "I never wanted the Speaker's job. It was all but forced on me by great American patriots." I will laugh at that line.
1
Benedict Devin Nunes Arnold.
14
Do not disparage Benedict Arnold so cavalierly.
4
Nunes reminds me of every brown-nose I encountered in government, corporate - wherever. His type flourishes in heirarchical structures by cleverly scouring the surface of issues that stir the pot. Just twist the facts and ignorantly swagger your way around until you sniff out sponsors willing to support some whacky half-baked idea or lie. See what sticks. Please the ones that count, stay loyal and ignore all and any evidence that interferes with your campaign of self. Clearly there are parallels between him and trump, which is likely why they resonate with each other. Scary that he is allowed to work anywhere that impacts human beings, let alone one of the most important committees in Congress.
19
It says a great deal about GOP leadership to have a Congressman who gets elected on misplaced conspiracy theories head a premiere intelligence committee. Wow.
17
Devin Nunes received the "Defender of Freedom" Award! Only in Bizarro America !
10
In Nunes, it appears, we have another Joe McCarthy.
22
Trump rewards loyalty which actually takes the form of blind fealty and adoration of Trump's persona. That so many weasels like Nunes exist in Washing has never been more apparent since Trump has taken over. From White House staff to Cabinet members the one overriding characteristic that is beneficial to your advancement in Trump's administration is to unquestioningly carry out the boss' orders. No wonder Comey's analogy of Trump being a mob boss fits so perfectly.
10
Why is he still in office? His only duty is to help Trump and implode any investigations
And he is getting away with it
Thank You Republicans!
12
And Nunez and the Grand Old Propagandists remain perfectly silent on the shady deaths of four American servicemen in Niger while painting the four Benghazi deaths as the end of the world.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/niger-ambush-latest-mi...
Fair and balanced all the way.
Birther Liars, Benghazi Propagandists and All The Stupidity Fit For National Office.
Flushing America down the great Republican toilet for decades.
Party First: Country Last: GOP 2018
358
Ryan said, "The matter of concern outlined in this memo is a specific, legitimate one. Our FISA system is critical to keeping America safe from real and evolving threats. It is a unique system with broad discretion and a real impact on Americans' civil liberties."[100] Ryan also supported the release of the Democrats' counter-memo.[101]
Representative Trey Gowdy, the only Republican on the House Intelligence Committee who actually read the underlying classified material, said the FISA application cited other material besides the dossier, but in his opinion the warrant would not have been authorized without the dossier
2
Besides Niger, why didn't Nunez investigate the liars who ordered the invasion of Iraq, resulting in 45,000 dead or wounded U.S. troops?
I'm no fan off Clinton, who should have known the war was based on lies, but multiple diplomatic sites were attacked or blown up in Iraq resulting in dozens of deaths. Where's the outrage? Where the investigation?
This question goes to both Republicans and the Obama Administration, which left numerous war crimes uninvestigated, including torture by the people Trump is sounding to head off State and CIA.
5
The catalyst for his recusal may have been the midnight run. But the legal basis for a full recusal is much broader than that. You acknowledge his important role on the campaign and transition, in the national security area. This is the same area as Flynn, Sessions, Papadopolous (2 indictments along them, and a recusal, to date).
His role needs to be fully investigated. Has he been interviewed by Mueller?
The fact that in essence this wolf is still in charge of the hen house baffles me. The fact that so little attention and ink have been devoted to his conflicts of interest infuriates me.
258
The fact that in essence this wolf is still in charge of the hen house baffles me.
Does it really? I think the connections and the corruption are pretty clear. They all hang together. Until we hang them separately, that is.
5
Tulare is strong Republican country.
Nunes’ loyalty should be to the country, not Trump.
Isn’t the water in the Central Valley there largely because of federally built and/or subsidized irrigation and water delivery systems? Water in California is a scarce resource with many competing interests. Turning on the spigots for water hog orchards in semi-arid conditions means some other group or groups lose out. I bet the farmers don’t want to pay more taxes to support the water infrastructure.
Nunes and Paul Ryan have almost singlehandedly destroyed the trust between the Intelligence Agencies and Congress. The Intelligence Community is far from perfect but it is necessary to have a non-partisan functioning Intelligence Community with meaningful oversight from Congress. Nunes is a bad joke.
421
The groups that lose are life in the sea, as that water is needed in rivers that nurse fish. And fishermen- they now have nothing to catch, and are overwhelmingly not just Republicans, but Tea Party Republicans.
Now the fishermen don’t know what to do, they should work with environmentalists, but can’t get over their biases. The big money Ag Republicans have kicked them to the curb.
They hate government but rely on disaster relief when fishing stocks collapse. They can’t accept science that shows we can fix fix stocks with MPAs. They mistrust everything. It’s a sad time in fishing, it is going to take a new generation to fix.
2
Nunes and Ryan probably both have seats of honor at the WH dinner tonight.
1
As a resident of California, do you eat the fruits and vegetables grown in the Central Valley? If so, you can stop being a partisan hack and casting this as a subsidy that only benefits Nunes' district. If farmers had to pay more for water, the consumer would pay the difference.
1
My problem is I have a memory.
I rememer Clapper, head of Intelligence, lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee that NSA wasn't collecting information on millions of innocent people.
I remember Snowden turning whistleblower in response--and proving what Clapper said were lies.
I remember the 60 Minutes interview of Wiliam Binney, who resigned from NSA after 30 years because the agency had intentionally decided not to use software costing millions that screened out innocent communications, and instead used a program costing billions that screened out no one.
And 12 armed FBI agents raiding Binney's home in response, taking his computer, papers, etc.
And I see Clapper on TV making claims about this or that and I know he willingly lies.
I trust Mueller. I will trust his conclusions. But telling me there is no Deep State--there was no Snowden, no Binney, no mass surveillance, no FBI raid--is not going to work.
30
There is no Deep State.
18
The Deep State was originally coined by the left to describes the huge influence of mega rich donors who make 90% of campaign donations, the politicians that take their money, and their political appointees. The swamp refers to those who are both shareholders in government contracting firms and political office holders at the same time.
The large increase in surveillance (under both parties) has been accompanied by a 50% outsourcing of surveillance to private contractors.
Trump keeps trying to paint government employees in the bureaucracy as the Deep State, but the bureaucracy already had a name, "the bureaucracy."
Clapper was a political appointee, just as Pompeo is. I have been pointing out for well over a decade that NSA is copying everything and storing it in massive data facilities. Clapper did lie, just as Bush appointees lied about Iraq.
But again these are political appointees of politicians that get millions in political donations.
Trump bragged about bribing all of the other Republicans running for president and the Clintons. That makes him one of the leaders of the Deep State, not a victim. He has filed his cabinet with other billionaire leaders of the Deep State, and they were doing what the Deep State had always done, steal from the American People and use our defense capabilities for personal gain.
As the leader of a Deep State cabinet, who would have no problem with spying on his political enemies, Trump is misusing the term to attack the rule of law.
11
“The ‘facts’ sent by The New York Times Magazine to check for this article, filled with laughable fictional stories and some entertaining conspiracy theories, are great examples of why so few people trust The New York Times anymore.”
Actually, Mr. Langer, Devin Nunes is a great example of why so few people have faith in Congress anymore. An intellectually lazy, ethically suspect, highly partisan hack whose defining characteristic is a penchant for conspiracy theories landed one of the "most plum assignments" on Capitol Hill. And he got it when it was apparently common knowledge that he was an "inattentive student" on matters requiring his close attention.
No wonder Donald Trump likes Nunes. Both cut from the same cloth.
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NA you are spot on with your comment. They are both power hungry, driven con-artists, more like peacocks with shinny feathers, and no meat.... their purpose in life - their way for everyone... power, power and more power... the voters of California need to boot this fake representative out of the People's House....
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When you put Devin Nunes in charge of a committee, you negate the title "Intelligence"
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@NYT, please post the questions sent to Langer, which he refused to acknowledge or discuss with the American people.
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