House Intel Chair on Trump–Russia Evidence: ‘There’s Nothing There’

California Rep. Devin Nunes, who heads up the House Intelligence Committee, said he’s not going to subpoena President Donald Trump’s tax returns as part of the government’s investigation into Russia because there’s nothing that could be gleaned.

In other words: Nothing to see, folks. Go home.

His remarks came as the left kicked off a new campaign to take down Trump by demanding, as part of the investigation into the administration’s contacts with Russian authorities, he release his tax returns and filings for public review.

Nunes put a halt to such talk during a recent press gathering on Capitol Hill, telling the reporters “there’s nothing there” in Trump’s returns that needs to be analyzed.

The Daily Caller has the story:

“Trump’s tax returns have received new attention amid the ongoing probes into any links between his advisers and the Russian government.

“But Nunes, who served on the Trump transition team, told reporters that a subpoena is not on the table.

“‘No, we’re not going to do that,’ he said.

“Nunes was also asked various questions about investigations into Trump-Russia ties, including his committee’s probe into Trump advisers’ possible contacts with Russian government officials and of former national security advisor Michael Flynn’s intercepted phone calls with Russia’s ambassador in December.

“‘What I’ve been told, by many folks, is that there’s nothing there,’ Nunes said regarding the Trump advisers’ alleged contacts with Russia.

“In a Feb. 14 story, The New Times reported that federal investigators have evidence that at least three former Trump campaign advisers communicated with members of the Russian government prior to the election. The newspaper also reported — though further down in the story — that investigators had not found evidence that influencing the election was discussed in those calls.

“The former advisers have all denied having contact with Russian officials during the campaign. The White House contends that FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe told White House chief of staff Reince Priebus on Feb. 15, the day after the Times piece was published, that the article was ‘bullshit.’”

Nunes clarified to reporters that he would be open to receiving information that showed evidence of telephone calls, for possible further investigation. But “the way it sounds like to me is it’s been looked into, and there’s no evidence of anything there,” he said, the Daily Caller reported.