Devin Nunes is done batting away the questions - for now. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who has come under fire time and again for his involvement in the Russia probe, will now be stepping away from the investigation, at least for the time being. He is currently under investigation into allegations that he disclosed classified information in an inappropriate manner.
Stepping aside
Last week, Nunes was asked if he would step away from the investigation he was leading - he responded with an emphatic denial. Guess his denial wasn't sustainable for the long term, though.
His issues started when he went to tell President Donald Trump of development in the Russia probe on White House grounds, despite the fact that the investigation was somewhat directed towards the president and his team.
Politics were part of the move, though, making things even worse. While Nunes reportedly shared information with President Trump, he did not share the same information with his Democratic colleagues on the House Intelligence Committee, leading them to turn on him. The Democratic leadership and some highly respected Republicans called Nunes out, leaving him no choice but to recuse himself from the Russia probe.
Probe mess
There's little doubt at this stage that Russia played a part in what occurred during the presidential elections in the United States in 2016.
How much of a role the nation played and how high up the American bureaucratic chain their influence extends is what's really at stake right now. The probe was supposed to clarify that but instead, has only further muddied the waters. Nunes paid the political price for it, and he may not be the last casualty of an investigation/scandal that only seems to grow daily.
Where the probe goes from here is the next pressing question. It will be handed off to Mike Conway, the next most senior Republican on the committee. His ties to the Trump administration are a lot weaker since he wasn't part of the presidential transition team like Nunes was. There's a controversy following the investigation nearly daily, though, and that probably won't stop anytime soon.
Meanwhile, it seems like the power players in Russia are getting what they probably hoped for from the latest United States administration - dysfunction and utter chaos on the world stage, a daily embarrassment waiting to unfold for all to see and mock.
