The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee told CNN that the "subterfuge" used with the White House and Chairman Nunes was "an effort to point the Congress in other directions" from the Russian investigations and "whenever they see the president use the word 'fake,' it ought to set off alarm bells."
Rep. Adam Schiff (CA-28) went to the White House on Friday to view previously hidden intelligence documents that Nunes secreted around for over a week.
The California congressman questioned why there was all this sneaking around with White House officials to get information to Chairman Nunes after CNN's Jake Tapper asked, "Can you understand why Chairman Nunes might have some issues with the surveillance that was going on?"
Schiff responded by saying he didn't "agree with the chairman's characterization" of the documents he viewed at the White House and questioned why these documents were only shared with Nunes to begin with.
Rep. Schiff also threw cold water on the Nunes and White House claims they had nothing to do with the leaked materials and said, "How does the White House know that these are the same materials that were shown to the chairman if the White House wasn't aware what the chairman was being shown?"
Tapper asked if this was an attempt to provide cover for the Trump administration's claims that Obama wiretapped them and Schiff replied, "I think the answer to the question is this effort to point the Congress in other directions, basically say 'don't look at me and don't look at Russia, there is nothing to see here.'"
He continued, "I would tell people whenever they see the president use the word 'fake,' it ought to set off alarm bells and I think that's what has gone on here."
