King defends House Intel panel’s Russia probe

A top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee is defending the panel amid a hailstorm of criticism over Chairman Devin Nunes’s (R-Calif.) actions.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) decried calls for the committee to step aside from its investigation into Russian election interference, saying that “to turn and abdicate to the Senate is totally irresponsible.”

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) this week joined with a chorus of Democratic criticism and said lawmakers should leave it to the Senate Intelligence Committee to probe Russia’s meddling.

{mosads}But King slammed Dent, who is not a member of the committee, telling The Hill he “doesn’t know what’s been going on.”

The House panel is likely to hear from FBI Director James Comey next week, King said.

Democrats are calling for Nunes to recuse himself from the investigation after it was revealed he went to the White House last week to view classified documents before saying in a press conference that he’s seen evidence that President Trump’s transition team was incidentally surveilled by U.S. intelligence.

Nunez, who briefed Trump on what he found, has said he will not share his evidence with the rest of the Intelligence Committee.

Watch the video above to hear the lawmakers in their own words.