Eli Lake, Columnist

Devin Nunes and the Tragedy of the Russia Inquiry

The House intelligence chairman misled the public about his sources on Trump and Russia. Now his important cause is undermined.

March 30, 2017 at 10:59 PM UTC

By Eli Lake

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Devin Nunes hurt his own cause.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

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Last week, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Devin Nunes, announced dozens of intelligence reports that inappropriately included details on President Donald Trump's transition. This week, he told me that his source for that information was an intelligence official, not a White House staffer.

It turns out, he misled me. The New York Times reported Thursday that Nunes had two sources, and both worked for the White House. This distinction is important because it raises questions about the independence of the congressional investigation Nunes is leading, which may lead to officials at the White House.