Conservative Scholar Norm Ornstein Calls for Devin Nunes’ Expulsion From Congress

Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has called for Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) to be expelled from Congress due to his his continuous attacks on the Mueller probe.

In a recent tweet, Ornstein retweeted an article by The Hill which referenced Nunes’ plan to write a report alleging “corruption” at the FBI, accusing the agency of misconduct in its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The report in question was later released by President Donald Trump in the form of a controversial memo in which Nunes targeted the FBI’s application for an electronic surveillance warrant to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Nunes argued that the warrant was the result of political bias and heavily reliant on the infamous and unverified Steele Dossier.

As chairman on the Select House Intelligence Committee, Nunes is one of the very few people privy to the full warrant as provided by the Department of Justice. He later disclosed in an interview with Fox News that he had never actually read the warrant, having designated Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) as the Republican reader instead.

With the recent release of a redacted version of the FISA warrant, Nunes’ memo has come under fire by critics for misrepresenting the contents of the document. While Nunes had painted the surveillance warrant as baseless, the report reveals that Page did, in fact, have multiple ties to the Russian government and had lived there for three years. 

Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has since elaborated on his expulsion tweet in the latest segment of MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. He acknowledges that expulsion is “pretty severe,” but asserts that such action is warranted on the grounds of treason.

“When you look at the Constitution… that defines treason, it is, besides war, adhering to their enemies, the state’s, and giving aid and comfort. And I think what we have seen with Nunes, going back to way before the attacks on the FISA report, on the intelligence community, undermining key security of the United States, to when he was working with the White House against the interests of the Congress… he has brought dishonor on the House and endangered the country and I don’t say it lightly.”

In an interview with MSNBC, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking member on Intelligence, also accused Nunes “of doing the work of the White House” in his repeated attacks on U.S intelligence agencies. 

Article by Cathryn Casatuta