House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes (R-CA) on Friday sent a letter to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) requesting that the House Intelligence Committee chairman testify as part of the impeachment inquiry.
In the letter, Nunes argued that Schiff should testify in lieu of the “whistleblower,” since the “whistleblower” went to Schiff’s staff before filing his complaint and since Schiff will not let the whistleblower testify.
In his letter to Schiff, Nunes wrote:
As the American public is now aware, in August 2019, you and/or your staff met with or talked to the whistleblower who raised an issue with President Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky. Although you claim that nothing inappropriate was discussed, the three committees deserve to hear directly from you the substance and circumstances surrounding any discussions conducted with the whistleblower, and any instructions you issued regarding those discussions. Given that you have reneged on your public commitment to let the committees interview the whistleblower directly, you are the only individual who can provide clarity as to these conversations.
Nunes noted that there is precedent: Members of Congress participated for closed-door depositions during the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
He added: “Given your championing of such an arrangement two years ago, you should have no problem with you appearing before the three committees to discuss your interaction with the whistleblower.”
The New York Times reported on October 2 that the “whistleblower” went to Schiff’s staff with his concerns about Trump’s phone call, and the “outlines” of those concerns were passed on to Schiff. The report said the “whistleblower” was instructed by staff to seek legal representation and file a whistleblower complaint with the intelligence community inspector general.