Watch Nunes pretend he wasn’t in cahoots with the White House

It’s an Oscar-worth performance

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., gives reporters an update about the ongoing Russia investigation adding that President Donald Trump’s campaign communications may have been “monitored” during the transition period as part of an “incidental collection,” Wednesday, March 22, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. CREDIT: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Congressman David Nunes, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, was fed intelligence reports from two White House officials.

Nunes had refused to disclose his sources.

The intelligence reports were intended to justify Trump’s inaccurate tweets that Trump Tower was wiretapped by Obama. The reports actually detailed surveillance of foreign officials talking about their efforts to connect with Trump and his associates. Nunes subsequent disclosure of the “incidental collection,” however, was enough of a fig leaf for Trump.

“Nunes said, so that means I’m right,” Trump told Time Magazine.

What’s startling, in retrospect, is Nunes’ repeated efforts to pretend he was not conspiring with the White House to push this information into the public sphere.

It’s an Oscar-worthy performance. Watch: