Federalist publisher Ben Domenech on Tuesday shot down the “partisan” slams on Congressman Devin Nunes, attacks that are coming from Democrats as well as their enablers in the media. CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King goaded the conservative to go after Nunes as incapable of leading the investigation related to Trump, Russia and surveillance claims, saying, “Do you think it's necessary to have legitimacy in this investigation?”
Domenech shot back: “I do think you need to have a legitimate investigation. Except that right now, we do have an investigation when it comes to the Russian side of things from the FBI and James Comey. And I think that when it comes to these type of calls, they are much more of a representation of the partisan interests of Democrats in Washington.”
Co-host Norah O’Donnell seemed to get irritated when Domenech defended Nunes’s efforts:
NORAH O’DONNELL: But, wait, wait, wait. He hasn't discovered anything and he hasn't shared it with anybody.
BEN DOMENECH: Really, you don't think so?
O’DONNELL: He showed up at the White House.
DOMENECH: Yes.
O’DONNELL: And received some information from the source that he's not disclosed either Republican or Democrat from the committee.
DOMENECH: Sure. Sure. But this is traditional—
O’DONNELL: If it's that relevant, shouldn't he share that with other members of the committee?
Later in the show, the co-hosts continued their efforts, this time against John McCain. Charlie Rose demanded, “So, if you look at what he's done so far, there are demands by Democrats to recuse himself. Does John McCain think he should recuse himself?”
O’Donnell pushed, “I know that's why you called for a select committee, an independent committee because of the seriousness of these allegations. Should chairman Nunes reveal his source?”
Earlier, reporter Jeff Pegues touted the efforts by Democrats as a “House intel uproar.” He repeated talking points: “Democrats are accusing Nunes of trying to shield the President in the midst of the investigation into whether his campaign team coordinated with Russian operatives.”
For more on how all three networks went after Nunes, go here.
A partial transcript is below:
CBS This Morning
3/28/17
7:10GAYLE KING: So, now there are calls for Devin Nunes to recuse himself for this investigation. Where do you see it's going, Ben? Do you think it’s necessary to have legitimacy in this investigation?
BEN DOMENECH: I do think you need to have a legitimate investigation. Except that right now, we do have an investigation when it comes to the Russian side of things from the FBI and James Comey. And I think that when it comes to these type of calls, they are much more of a representation of the partisan interests of Democrats in Washington. As we’ve seen in the past, the powers of minority in order to influence administration really do come from investigative side. That's what's going on here. Chairman Nunes is actually someone who has a lot of trust within the Republican coalition as being someone who is not a camera hog or someone who chases headlines. That's one of the reasons why he got this job in the first place.
KING: But there does appear to be a lack of transparency.DOMENECH: There is a lack of transparency at this point on his part. But I think one of the reasons for that is he has a history of cultivating a lot of intelligence sources within the community.
There's an open question if what Chairman Nunes is claiming is correct, if there really was intelligence information that was distributed throughout the agency and he now claims in an interview yesterday to the Obama White House yesterday itself that's something that deserves further inquiry and why we need more transparency in this process.
O’DONNELL: But, wait, wait, wait. He hasn't discovered anything and he hasn't shared it with anybody.
DOMENECH: Really, you don't think so?
O’DONNELL: He showed up at the White House.
DOMENECH: Yes.
O’DONNELL: And received some information from the source that he's not disclosed either Republican or Democrat from the committee.
