Pelosi knocks Nunes amid mounting calls for Schiff’s resignation

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized Rep. Devin Nunes’s (R-Calif.) leadership while chairman of the House Intelligence Committee as Republicans call for the resignation of his successor atop the panel, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). 

“.@RepAdamSchiff’s calm, professional leadership is something we should all be proud of,” Pelosi tweeted Friday. “Unlike his predecessor, his time as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has been a shining example of how to responsibly carry out the committee’s mission.”

.@RepAdamSchiff’s calm, professional leadership is something we should all be proud of. Unlike his predecessor, his time as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has been a shining example of how to responsibly carry out the committee’s mission. https://t.co/v30oR8Xi3X

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) March 29, 2019

On Thursday, Pelosi called Nunes’s behavior as the previous chairman of the committee “almost criminal” during a press conference and also criticized those targeting Schiff. 

“They’re afraid of the truth; they’re afraid of competence; they’re afraid of a leader who is recognized in our country for being calm, professional, patriotic,” she said. “I’m so proud of the work of Chairman Adam Schiff — in stark contrast to the irresponsible, almost criminal behavior, of the previous chair of the committee.”

Following Attorney General William Barr’s summary of the Mueller probe on Sunday, Republicans have been increasingly calling for Schiff to step down from his role on the committee. 

President Trump tweeted on Thursday that Schiff should be forced to resign. 

“Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress!” he wrote. 

Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2019

Barr on Sunday told Congress that Mueller’s report on his investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 election did not contain evidence that Trump’s campaign coordinated with Moscow and did not provide sufficient evidence to pursue and obstruction of justice charge against him.

Schiff has said that his Intelligence Committee will continue its own investigations into the president. 

Nunes has been a strong supporter of Trump. When he was head of the committee, Republicans released an intelligence memo claiming that the Justice Department had abused its surveillance powers.