McCarthy, Scalise stop just short of calling for Sessions to be held in contempt

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Monday stopped short of joining House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes’s (R-Calif.) push to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt of Congress. 

Nunes said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday that “the only thing left to do” is hold Sessions in contempt after concluding the Department of Justice (DOJ) isn’t going to comply with his request for documents pertaining to the special counsel’s Russia investigation.

{mosads}Scalise said he believes Nunes is best equipped to decide what the next course of action should be, adding he thinks it’s important leadership supports him throughout the process. 

“I think that the Department of Justice has to comply with the subpoenas Congress has issued, and I think Chairman Nunes has done a very important job of getting the facts out and nobody is above the law,” he told The Hill on Monday. “The Department of Justice has to turn over the documents that Congress has requested, and there’ve been a lot of serious questions raised about what we’ve uncovered so far. So, I’m not sure what they have to hide, but they have to comply with the law just like everybody else.”

McCarthy echoed Scalise’s sentiments, saying he understands Nunes’s argument and feels the DOJ and FBI should hand over the classified materials. 

“There’s a frustration with a lot of members on how long all this has taken and the withholding of information,” he told The Hill. “I’d like to see the information come to the House.”

In response to an inquiry to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a spokeswoman said Nunes “has not talked to the Speaker about this.”