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A 'vanishing' congressman, a mysterious White House visit: The latest twists in the Trump/Russia saga

Pressure continues to build in Washington.

Trump Russia Congressman Devin Nunes J. Scott Applewhite J. Scott Applewhite

THE REPUBLICAN POLITICIAN tasked with heading up one of the investigations into the Trump campaign’s links with Russia is under sustained pressure in the wake of a controversial visit to the White House last week.

Congressman Devin Nunes is refusing to step away from his position as chair of the House intelligence committee amid fresh allegations about the nature of his visit.

“Why would I?” he responded, when asked whether he would recuse himself.

The committee is conducting one of three probes into the election campaign, its aftermath and potential contacts between Trump officials and Russians.

Democrats contend that Nunes’ actions in recent weeks show that his loyalty to President Trump is greater than his commitment to leading an independent investigation.

The California Republican, who was a member of Trump’s presidential transition team, has said he met with a secret source last week on White House grounds to review classified material that showed Trump associates’ communications had been captured in ‘incidental’ surveillance of foreigners in November, December and January.

Nunes would not name the source of the information, and his office said he did not intend to share it with other members of the committee.

Nor would he disclose who invited him on the White House grounds for the meeting. He described the source as an intelligence official, not a White House official. In an interview on CNN, he suggested the president’s aides were unaware of the meeting.

Trump has used Nunes’ revelations to defend his unproven claim that Barack Obama tapped phones at Trump Tower.

CNN / YouTube

Nunes has been criticised for making a beeline to present his information to Trump rather than sharing it with the rest of his committee.

Since last week, he has revealed nothing about the information he received, drawing sharp criticism and calls to step down. Jackie Speier, a Democratic member of the committee, said the moves smack of an effort by the White House and Nunes to shut down the House investigation.

“I don’t think the president wants this investigation to go forward,” she told MSNBC on Tuesday.

Adam Schiff, the most senior Democrat on the committee, has called  for Nunes to recuse himself from any further involvement in the Russia investigation.

However House Speaker Paul Ryan reiterated his support for Nunes, and Nunes himself said all of the controversy was standard for Washington.

It’s the same thing as always around this place — a lot of politics, people get heated, but I’m not going to involve myself with that.

‘Vanished’

The Daily Beast reported at the weekend that Nunes “practically disappeared” hours before he announced his surveillance claims.

Quoting several sources, the site said that he had been travelling in an Uber on the evening in question when he received a communication on his phone. He then left the car abruptly, without telling his staffer where he was going.

He arranged a press conference at short notice the following morning telling reporters: “The intelligence community incidentally collected information about US citizens involved in the Trump transition.”

Trump’s communications were picked up during court-approved targeting of suspected foreign intelligence operatives, Nunes suggested last week.

The communications were not linked to Russia, he said, adding that they appeared to have “little or no intelligence value”.

“The president himself and others in the Trump transition team were clearly put into intelligence reports,” Nunes told reporters after briefing the president on the situation.

The information collected was “widely disseminated” in US intelligence circles, he said. US intelligence community rules dictate that information on Americans picked up incidentally in surveillance must be scrubbed or masked in intelligence reports.

Nunes suggested those involved in the surveillance had violated those rules – while Trump indicated he felt vindicated.

DC: Trump Meets the Fraternal Order of Police SIPA USA / PA Images SIPA USA / PA Images / PA Images

“I somewhat do. I must tell you I somewhat do,” he said during a separate White House meeting.

I very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found.

Trump was less circumspect later, as he retweeted a post from conservative radio host and ardent Trump defender Bill Mitchell.

“Trump always ends up being right. It’s almost a little freaky,” Mitchell said.

Elsewhere, the White House has vehemently denied a report that it had sought to hobble the testimony of a former acting attorney general before Nunes canceled the committee hearing where she was to speak.

Sean Spicer, Trump’s chief spokesman, lashed out at reporters, claiming they were seeing conspiracies where none exist.

“If the president puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that’s a Russian connection,” he suggested – prompting an exasperated response on Twitter from the reporter who had asked the question:

lawd Twitter Twitter

- Includes reporting from AFP and Associated Press 

Read: Hostility between White House and press makes reporters dogged for the truth

Read: Trump’s climate plan labelled ‘a colossal mistake that defies science’

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37 Comments
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    Mute Cecily J. Hoare
    Favourite Cecily J. Hoare
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    Dec 11th 2011, 8:38 PM

    If the Euro has not actually collapsed, then PLEASE change the tense in that headline. At first glance it looks like it *has* happened.

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    Mute Dom Morgan
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    Dec 11th 2011, 8:44 PM

    Noonan looks like the Euro has just collapsed. :) Maybe the author looked at the Euro futures and anticipates carnage. Asia open this morning Euro slightly down. Muted reaction to big plans for ‘fiscal’ union.

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    Mute Liam Ó Broin
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    Dec 11th 2011, 9:46 PM

    That’s what I thought it meant too!!!! :O

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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Dec 11th 2011, 11:42 PM

    Thanks Cecily! Changed now.

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    Mute William O'Shea
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    Dec 11th 2011, 6:53 PM

    Only two things:
    1) I sure hope they have a plan B or at the very least are discussing one, and
    2) Would you buy a secondhand car from this fella?

    59
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    Mute Rodger O Waters
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    Dec 11th 2011, 7:09 PM

    Sorry Mr Noonan but trust is officially dead rip

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    Mute Alan Quinn
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    Dec 11th 2011, 8:55 PM

    great comment

    16
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    Mute Ciaran O'Reilly
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    Dec 11th 2011, 6:19 PM

    ” there is certainly no Irish Government expectation, of any collapse in the euro”
    Smart men cause even if one of the countries thought the euro would collapse, then it would all be over and we’d be totally screwed

    54
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    Mute Tim Henchin
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    Dec 11th 2011, 7:53 PM

    Govt’s and multi-national businesses all over the world are readying plans and playing out scenario’s about what will happen if the Euro collapses.

    32
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    Mute Sean O'Keeffe
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    Dec 11th 2011, 8:10 PM

    I don’t believe that Noonan believes that. For all our sakes they better have a continguincy in place.
    Launching a new fiat currency would be preferable before the collapse rather than after as it will have crediblity/trust issues.
    Euro cannot be saved without growth and even with all the histrionics and rethoric there has been no credible effort to address this.

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    Mute Jeffery Potbelly
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    Dec 11th 2011, 8:51 PM

    Have just been watching a TV programme with analysis of the Economic situation and the Euro, with all the big loans due next year, the expectations by all the major Economies are that the Euro will most definitely crash… so, is Noonan deaf or just doing the usual and thinking that the rest of us is?

    29
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    Mute Tony Skillington
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    Dec 11th 2011, 7:23 PM

    Noonan and co whistling past the graveyard….ye keep yer head up yer arses lads…the rest of us will fend for ourselves…

    48
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    Mute pagan
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    Dec 11th 2011, 6:25 PM

    Theres no smoke with out fire.

    45
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    Mute William Grogan
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    Dec 11th 2011, 7:05 PM

    Cliche

    20
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    Mute smithan_irl
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    Dec 11th 2011, 7:20 PM

    A euro in the hand is worth two in the bush

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    Mute Mark Egan
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    Dec 11th 2011, 8:56 PM

    a euro in the hand is worth f##k all

    45
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    Mute Oran Drumgoole
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    Dec 11th 2011, 6:36 PM

    Still hope we have a stockpile of punts.

    There was a chance it could or might still happen. Not to do so is at best incompetent.

    31
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    Mute Francis Stokes
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    Dec 11th 2011, 7:29 PM

    They say the value of our economy will go down 4O per cent if we go back to Irish Pound.They should be talking up the Euro not if this will happen or that will happen.

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    Mute Tim Henchin
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    Dec 11th 2011, 7:46 PM

    The problem with the Euro is based on maths. It is not about talking up or down the currency. It is about people looking at debt vs earning of countries and realizing that the current Euro is not sustainable.

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    Mute Dom Morgan
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    Dec 11th 2011, 8:33 PM

    The value of the economy does not go up and down with the currency. You can’t talk anything up or down – market makers, large players always look at fundaments. If something is rubbish – there is no amount of talk that can help. The Eu handling of the crisis is a case in point – if talk accounted for anything the Euro would be worth two USD today.

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    Mute Dom Morgan
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    Dec 11th 2011, 8:37 PM

    “The Minister for Finance said the euro was a “firm and solid currency” and was “trading well against all the other currencies”.

    Bankruptcy comes slowly and then all at once. The minister of Finance should know how the coupons on Irish bonds went up in a matter of weeks to the unsustainable levels. The same can happen to Euro at any moment in time and can be triggered even by a minor credit event. To ignore the possibility of Euro collaps is pure denial but then again I would not expect him to come out and say that the Irish government is seriously considering the Euro breakup even though everyone knows they are.

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    Mute Sean O'Keeffe
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    Dec 11th 2011, 10:02 PM

    It would be on the front page of newspapers across the world if he said euro collapse was a certainty.
    I suspect the end will come via a bank run rather than a sovereign default.

    20
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    Mute Dom Morgan
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    Dec 11th 2011, 10:10 PM

    Bank runs are happening as we speak. Some European banks were experiencing massive withdrawals and were unable to source USD (amazing – USD is the most liquid currency) – that is when the coordinated effort of central banks on USD swap rates took place. Major French banks were downgraded recently. In my opinion the situation is perilous. The most significant outcome from last weeks summit seems to be the commitment of ECB to provide 3-year funding to banks. This way the banks can get long term Euros from ECB at 1% and buy government bonds at much higher rate. Indirectly ECB is thus financing the government debt. This may buy some breathing space.

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    Mute Dublin City
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    Dec 11th 2011, 6:58 PM

    I wish people would stop calling them “punts”. They were always called Irish Pounds – and “pounds” = “puint” in Irish anyway!

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    Mute Dave
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    Dec 11th 2011, 7:29 PM

    Official name of the currency was the Punt.

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    Mute Matthew Mark
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    Dec 11th 2011, 7:56 PM

    I agree. When it was on curculation it was always called ‘pound’. It’s official name was the punt but I never heard that being used in common practice

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    Mute Silent P
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    Dec 11th 2011, 8:12 PM

    If it makes a come back we should all call it the punt. Pound is the UK currency.

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    Mute Dave
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    Dec 11th 2011, 8:28 PM

    It was used in all official reference to the currency. By that logic, we would just name it the “quid” or the “yoyo”.

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    Mute Ciaro
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    Dec 11th 2011, 10:56 PM

    Glad you raised that vital issue.

    5
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    Mute Laura Crowe
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    Dec 12th 2011, 1:13 AM

    Both “one pound” and “punt” get equal billing on the face of the old £1 note.

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    Mute Shauna McDermott
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    Dec 11th 2011, 10:49 PM

    Awful headline lads!

    14
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    Mute Liam Ó Broin
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    Dec 11th 2011, 9:50 PM

    I’m no expert, nor do I claim to be an expert in economics, but I’ll just throw this out there and see what y’all think.

    Noonan *has* to say they aren’t planning for a Euro collapse. He has to, because if he says that he’s got a stockpile of new currency at the mint, the “markets” will see this and pull the plug on the whole thing. Same goes for other countries. They have to “big up” the euro, in the hope that there’s a chance it will be saved.

    He may well be trying to buy time.

    That said he may well be in denial too, but like I said, I’m no expert…..

    14
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    Mute Réada Quinn
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    Dec 11th 2011, 10:00 PM

    If you want to know the truth reread the article except change positive statements to negative ones and vice versa. There is no certainty at the moment coming from that shower.

    It’s time to look around you and remember that this country is made up of people not statistics.

    12
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    Mute Kevin Kelliher
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    Dec 11th 2011, 9:09 PM

    freudian slip on the title…..i wonder

    12
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    Mute stephen corrigan
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    Dec 11th 2011, 10:37 PM

    Michael the headline makes it look like the euro has collapsed!

    11
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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Dec 11th 2011, 11:45 PM

    Thanks Stephen! Take your point. Headline has been changed.

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    Mute declan harkin
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    Dec 12th 2011, 12:13 AM

    Anybody notice the drip of sweat coming from Noonan’s chin? Angela Merkel is standing behind him with a Luger

    9
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    Mute John Murray
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    Dec 12th 2011, 12:39 PM

    Then why has the mint is Sandyford been printing punts day and night for the last 5 weeks??
    Answer that Noonan!!!

    4
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    Mute Lynne Underwood
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    Dec 12th 2011, 3:15 AM

    We should call it pooh!! because if it comes back thats all it will be worth for wiping arses ;)

    2
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