In March of 2017, then House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) was thrust into the media spotlight when it became known that he had made a ‘secret’ visit to the White House to view classified documents that were not accessible on House computer systems. The New York Times described the occasion and circumstances of Nunes’s visit as mysteriously hasty:
The revelation on Thursday that White House officials disclosed the reports, which Mr. Nunes then discussed with Mr. Trump, is likely to fuel criticism that the intelligence chairman has been too eager to do the bidding of the Trump administration while his committee is supposed to be conducting an independent investigation of Russia’s meddling in the presidential election.
It is the latest twist of a bizarre Washington drama that began after dark on March 21, when Mr. Nunes got a call from a person he has described only as a source. The call came as he was riding across town in an Uber car, and he quickly diverted to the White House. The next day, Mr. Nunes gave a hastily arranged news conference before going to brief Mr. Trump on what he had learned the night before from — as it turns out — White House officials.
Earlier, NBC News reports that “Nunes Backs Down From Assertion Trump Was Monitored”:
The chairman of the House intelligence committee has backed down from his dramatic assertion that Donald Trump and his aides were “monitored,” by U.S. spies — a claim the Republicans have cited this week in emails to loyalists.
Rep. Devin Nunes told reporters Friday he can’t be sure whether conversations among Trump or his aides were captured in the surveillance that has become a source of controversy since Nunes made it public in two news conferences this week.
Then Nunes ends up being tarred by California Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D):
“Through his bizarre and partisan actions over the last week, Chairman Nunes has demonstrated to the entire nation why he is unfit to lead our critical investigation into ties between President Trump’s Administration and Moscow,” Rep. Jackie Speier said in a statement.
Thus, the operative description of Nunes’s ‘midnight ride’ ends up being “bizarre.”
Fast forward 11 months and all is revealed:
(CNN) House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, R-California, put together this highly controversial memo, released Friday, alleging the FBI abused its surveillance tools.
The FBI issued a rare public warning on Wednesday that the memo omits key information that could impact its veracity.
President Donald Trump, who decided to release the memo, has told friends he believes the memo would expose bias within the agency’s top ranks and make it easier for him to argue the Russia investigations are prejudiced against him, according to two sources.
But wait! “… the memo omits key information that could impact its veracity.” Okay, let’s have it out and we can settle this.
No so fast, buster. We have national security at stake here.
Oh.
We’ll dribble it out over the next 26 months while you beg and plead for each paragraph only to find out you were on target all along. That’ll teach you. Meanwhile, we’ll Mueller-ize the Trump Administration to no avail, and then impeach but acquit. By then, we’ll surely come up with something else to finish the job.
Cue Tuesday’s vindication of Devin Nunes by Lou Dobbs and John Solomon:
Et tu?