Devin Nunes and His Partisans Could Be Threatening the Security of an Intelligence Source

I recently offered up a piece on the D.C. swamp, and in specific, spoke about a particular swamp thing, by the name of Devin Nunes.

Nunes is the California representative that sits as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and with his “F” rating, hopes his sniveling fealty to President Trump will be enough to keep him in his current position.

So desperate is Nunes to ingratiate himself to the president, that he’s jumping at any opportunity to prove himself the true, Trumpian zealot.

His latest is to start a war with the Justice Department, as he seeks to get his hands on documentation regarding how the U.S. intelligence community seeks out Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants.

It’s actually not clear what documentation he’s asking for now, but the FBI and other intelligence officials reached out to the White House, in an appeal for assistance, given that the particular information Nunes is seeking could put the life of a top-secret intelligence source in danger.

Top White House officials, with the assent of President Trump, agreed to back the decision to withhold the information. They were persuaded that turning over Justice Department documents could risk lives by potentially exposing the source, a U.S. citizen who has provided intelligence to the CIA and FBI, according to multiple people familiar with the discussion and the person’s role.

This hasn’t stopped Nunes. To date, he’s threatened to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt.

“They are citing spurious national security concerns to evade congressional oversight while leaking information to The Washington Post ostensibly about classified meetings,” he said in a statement to The Post. “Congress has a right and a duty to get this information and we will succeed in getting this information, regardless of whatever fantastic stories the DOJ and FBI spin to the Post.”

In other words, he doesn’t believe them.

Nunes and the partisans of House Intel are not thinking beyond this current administration. They’re not listening when they’re told this could risk the lives of sources and damage relationships with other nations.

The decision to withhold the information Nunes is seeking happened over a meeting with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Wednesday of last week. After presenting President Trump with the concerns, he agreed that protecting the identity of sources was important enough to reject Nunes’ efforts.

The DOJ has otherwise offered to help with Nunes’ inquiries, but he seems to want all or nothing.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd laid out those concerns to Nunes in a letter the following day, noting that the department made the decision after “consultations” with the White House and intelligence agencies.

“Disclosure of responsive information to such requests can risk severe consequences including potential loss of human lives, damage to relationships with valued international partners, compromise of ongoing criminal investigations, and interference with intelligence activities,” Boyd wrote.

Using the word, “obfuscation,” Nunes rejected the explanation, convinced that President Trump did not actually agree with withholding those documents.

The pressure tactics being used, even after accommodations have been offered, just goes to show how desperate Nunes is.

Thankfully, career professionals, like Rod Rosenstein, aren’t impressed.

Rosenstein has sought to make clear in recent weeks that while he is willing to compromise, he will go only so far. Last week, in response to the revelation that members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus drafted articles of impeachment, Rosenstein declared that the Justice Department was “not going to be extorted” and would not hand over documents that might harm national security or ongoing investigations.

“If we were to just open our doors to allow Congress to come and rummage through the files, that would be a serious infringement on the separation of powers, and it might resolve a dispute today, but it would have negative repercussions in the long run, and we have a responsibility to defend the institution,” Rosenstein said.

And sometimes you have to look beyond the moment to tomorrow. Nunes seems to be having trouble with that.

If Nunes and his band of partisans can’t be persuaded to consider the well-being of an intelligence source, but insist upon their way, with no compromise, are they still working for We, the people?

Then again, he’s staring down a tough reelection battle. Who knows how many tomorrows in the swamp he may have?