Graham: Nunes should reveal surveillance source

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday that if Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) does not disclose the source behind his claim that the Obama administration inadvertently collected surveillance on members of President Trump’s transition team, then he is unfit to chair the House Intelligence Committee.

“If he’s not willing to tell the Democrats and Republicans on the committee who he met with and what he was told, then I think he’s lost his ability to lead,” Graham said on NBC’s “Today” show.

“Well I think he put his objectivity in question at the very least,” Graham added.

{mosads}Nunes caused an uproar last week when he announced to reporters that a source had shown him intelligence reports that suggested information had been incidentally collected from Trump transition members during a broader intelligence probe. Nunes, who made the announcement before briefing the committee or its top Democrat, then headed to the White House to brief Trump on his findings.  

But Nunes faced backlash Monday after it was revealed that he had a meeting at the White House one day before he made his startling announcement, raising questions about why he had to then go to the White House the next day to brief Trump. Others allege that Nunes could be trying to cover for Trump by justifying his claims that former President Obama “wiretapped” Trump Tower, which Trump made on Twitter without presenting any evidence.

Graham said the House leadership should make the call whether Nunes should step down from his committee position.

“I think he has to repair the damage … but as to whether he should step down, I’ll leave that to the House leadership,” Graham said.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Graham’s frequent ally, has also called for Nunes to reveal his source. And the chairman has faced growing dissent from Democrats on his committee, with ranking member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) calling for Nunes to recuse himself from the probe into Russian election interference.