Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff (D-Calif.( on Tuesday released the panel’s highly anticipated report on its multi-week impeachment inquiry, concluding that President Donald Trump abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. The 300-page report also contains several references to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), not in his capacity as the Ranking Member of the Committee presiding over the proceedings, but as a point of contact for the president’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, his recently indicted business associate Lev Parnas, and opinion columnist John Solomon, .
The timing and frequency of Nunes’s communications with three of the central characters at the center of the impeachment inquiry into the president’s alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine left many legal experts particularly suspicious of the Ranking Member’s impartiality to the proceedings.
Phone records provided by AT&T revealed that in the days after Solomon authored an article accusing former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch of covering up wrongdoing by Biden, contact between the four men spiked. “Specifically, Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Parnas were in contact with one another, as well as with Mr. Solomon. Phone records also show contacts on April 10 between Mr. Giuliani and Rep. Nunes, consisting of three short calls in rapid succession, followed by a text message, and ending with a nearly three minute call.”
An example of the call logs included in the report. pic.twitter.com/kp4glyCb7i
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 3, 2019
Nunes also had an eight-minute phone conversation with Parnas on April 12. Parnas and his associate Igor Fruman were indicted in October on suspicon of violating federal campaign finance law. Along with Giuliani, both men are also being investigated by federal prosecutors for their role in ousting Yovanovitch, a known anti-corruption adovcate, in favor of someone more amenable to their business interests.
On April 12, Parnas spoke directly to Nunes. Phone records show they had an 8-minute call that day after appearing to play phone tag. pic.twitter.com/CGOKhH4ZBS
— Emma Loop (@LoopEmma) December 3, 2019
Nunes’s former senior staffer Kash Patel on May, 10 traded phone calls with Giuliani before the two spoke for over 25 minutes. Immediately after their call, Guiliani spoke to Parnas for approximately 12 minutes.
The House Intelligence Committee obtained phone records that shed new light on possible coordination between Giuliani, Nunes, his staff, Kash Patel (his former staffer), John Solomon, Parnas and possibly the president. pic.twitter.com/19Mm4l0qaw
— Kate Brannen (@K8brannen) December 3, 2019
“Puts [Nunes’s] ridiculous attempts at gaslighting during the House Intel Committee impeachment hearings in some new perspective, doesn’t it,” NYU Law professor Christorpher Spigman said in response to Nunes’s apparent communication with a since-indicted individual.
Puts @DevinNunes ‘s ridiculous attempts at gaslighting during the House Intel Committee impeachment hearings in some new perspective, doesn’t it? https://t.co/FLigfCsDN2
— Christopher Sprigman (@CJSprigman) December 3, 2019
In a twist, Nunes, who failed to divulge that he had been in direct behind-the-scenes contact with figures of interest in the panel’s investigation, on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against CNN, accusing the media outlet of reporting “demonstrably false” information regarding his involvement with Parnas, Giuliani, and Solomon. The report was based on statements made by Parnas’s attorney Joseph A. Bondy.
In that lawsuit, Nunes called CNN the “mother of fake news” and criticized that outlet of using as a “‘trusted’ source” a man “indicted by the United States Government, charged with multiple Federal crimes – a man who faces years in a Federal penitentiary – Lev Parnas.”
Alabama Circuit Judge Bob Vance said if he were CNN he would file an immediate answer to Nunes’s lawsuit and serve him with notice of a deposition, forcing him to answer questions under oath.
If I’m CNN, I file an answer ASAP (to prevent Nunes from unilaterally dismissing) and then serve a deposition notice on him. In a deposition, he would have to answer questions under oath. https://t.co/cdwMcn7qwN
— Judge Bob Vance (@BobVanceJr) December 3, 2019
Following the release of the Intel Panel’s report, a seemingly vindicated Bondy chastised Nunes for not recusing himself from the impeachment proceedings.
Devin Nunes, you should have recused yourself at the outset of the #HIC #ImpeachingHearings. #LetLevSpeak https://t.co/HeG8kFEDwl
— Joseph A. Bondy (@josephabondy) December 3, 2019
“Devin Nunes was definitely part of an attempt to gather information about the Bidens. He was definitely involved in Ukraine. He definitely had involvement in the GOP shadow diplomacy efforts in Ukraine, contrary to his claims,” Bondy added.
Read Nunes’s lawsuit against CNN below:
438100508 Devin Nunes Sues CNN for Defamation Over False Vienna Collusion Story by Law&Crime on Scribd
[image via Youtube screengrab]
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