WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan has joined those disputing President Trump’s assertion that federal law enforcement planted a spy inside his campaign, telling reporters Wednesday that he has seen “no evidence” to back up such claims.
Ryan, R-Wis., said he thought “Chairman [Trey] Gowdy’s initial assessment is accurate.” He was referring to last week, when Gowdy, R-S.C., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said on Fox News that “the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do” in investigating information alleging certain Trump campaign advisers had suspicious ties to Russia, “and that it has nothing to do with Donald Trump.”
Trump’s assertions that the bureau was engaged in a “witch hunt” that is “worse than Watergate” began last month, after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., demanded a briefing from top FBI and Justice Department officials on a confidential FBI source who made contact with members of Trump’s campaign.
After much squabbling, the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, Calif., also attended the briefing. The full Gang of Eight – which includes the Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and Senate, as well as the top Republicans and Democrats on the Intelligence committees – received the same briefing later the same afternoon. Ryan and Gowdy attended the first briefing with Nunes and Schiff.
In delivering his rebuke of Trump’s and Nunes’ claims, Ryan was careful on Wednesday not to disparage all of Nunes’ complaints with the Justice Department, which include several unfulfilled demands for documents unrelated to the spying accusations – but which Democrats still feel are intended to undermine the federal law enforcement agencies and, by extension, the foundations of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the election outcome.
“Normally I don’t like to comment on classified briefings,” Ryan said. “Let me say it this way: I think Chairman Gowdy’s initial assessment is accurate. I think – but we have some more digging to do. We’re waiting for some more document requests. We have some more documents to review. We still have some unanswered questions.”
“But I have seen no evidence to the contrary of the initial assessment that Chairman Gowdy has made,” Ryan continued, adding: “But I want to make sure that we run every lead down and make sure we get final answers to these questions. I’ll leave it at that.”
Ryan also shot a careful retort back at Trump’s assertion this week that, as president, he is entitled to pardon himself should Mueller’s probe unearth evidence of crimes – while at the same time, asserting that he had done nothing wrong.
“I don’t know the technical answer to that question,” said Ryan, who is not a lawyer. “But I think obviously the answer is, he shouldn’t and no one is above the law.”
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