Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said that Rep. David Nunes, R-Calif., has violated his recusal from the House Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation.
"The Committee rules provide that the chair has to sign the subpoenas unless that authority is delegated to someone else," Schiff said to Andrea Mitchell Thursday on MSNBC.
He and the ranking Republican after Nunes' recusal, Rep. Mike Conaway, R.-Tex., were not consulted about the subpoenas going out, Schiff said.
"That authority should have been delegated to Mike Conaway in consultation with myself. That hasn't happened yet. I think that's a violation of the recusal by the chairman," Schiff added.
On Wednesday, Nunes, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, issued three subpoenas regarding the unmasking of President Donald Trump's campaign officials in surveillance reports.
"I think they're part of the White House desire to shift attention away from the Russia probe and on to the issue of unmasking," Schiff said in the MSBNC interview.
"My responsibility is to work with Mr. Conaway and make sure the Russia investigation gets done and gets done right. Mike is committed to that and so am I," the California congressman said.
Nunes stepped away from the probe on April 6 amid an ethics investigation into his actions during the probe.
Nunes never actually promised that he would recuse himself from the investigation, a senior Republican aide told CNN. "He didn't 'recuse' himself. That has a very specific legal definition and isn't accurate here," the aide said.
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