--- title: Devin Nunes: What to Know About the House Intelligence Chair description: House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes is under fire over his handling of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election canonical: https://time.com/4715399/devin-nunes-russia-investigation-house-intelligence-committee/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-28T19:27:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T08:26:19.402Z article:section: Politics og:title: 7 Things to Know About House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes og:description: Including how to pronounce his name og:url: https://time.com/4715399/devin-nunes-russia-investigation-house-intelligence-committee/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b9cdcecaabebea8/6988c0430a4a2276ab9cd71e/gettyimages-657285680.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4928 og:image:height: 2772 og:image:alt: US-INTELLIGENCE-POLITICS-RUSSIA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 7 Things to Know About House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes twitter:description: Including how to pronounce his name twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b9cdcecaabebea8/6988c0430a4a2276ab9cd71e/gettyimages-657285680.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 7 Things to Know About House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=57c951bb-21bb-425d-ab5b-75d564fb23ab&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Devin Nunes Sees No Reason to Recuse Himself from Russia Probe [Watch (HLS stream): Devin Nunes Sees No Reason to Recuse Himself from Russia Probe](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6AtmHWxR.m3u8) (0:39)  _Published 2017-03-28. Nunes asked reporters, "Why would I?" when they asked whether he was stepping down. He dismissed the lawmakers' comments as "a lot of politics."_ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Mar 28, 2017 7:27 PM UTC by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Mar 28, 2017 7:27 PM UTC House Intelligence Chairman [Devin Nunes](https://www.congress.gov/member/devin-nunes/N000181) is [under fire](http://time.com/4714860/devin-nunes-recuse-russia-probe/) over his handling of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The California Republican acknowledged Monday that he [met an unnamed source](http://time.com/4713943/devin-nunes-white-house-source-meeting/) and reviewed intelligence reports at the White House complex before making public statements that associates of President Trump were caught up in “incidental” surveillance. The intelligence committee’s ranking Democrat, [Rep. Adam Schiff](http://time.com/4713943/devin-nunes-white-house-source-meeting/), and Democratic leaders of the [House](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/us/politics/devin-nunes-house-intelligence-committee-white-house-wiretap.html?%5Fr=0) and [Senate](http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/325968-schumer-nunes-needs-to-be-replaced) have called on Nunes to recuse himself from the Russia probe, though he and Speaker [Paul Ryan](https://www.congress.gov/member/paul-ryan/R000570) have dismissed the idea. Here are seven things you need to know about Devin Nunes. **His name is pronounced ‘NEW-ness.’** TV pundits keep pronouncing Nunes’ last name, which is of [Portuguese origin](http://nunes.house.gov/biography/), as “noon-YEZ.” But a [pronunciation guide for Congress from CQ Roll Call](https://www.acpservices.org/sites/default/files/shared/documents/leadership-day/16/planning-materials/pronunciation-guide.pdf) notes it is pronounced “NEW-ness.” **He was not a vocal Trump supporter during the election.** Nunes stayed neutral during the Republican presidential primary. After Trump became the nominee, he said that he [supported his party’s nominee](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-7-levels-of-trump-support-in-congress/) without using his name. But [according to Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/trump-endorsement-congress-231777), he made a standing offer to brief Republican hopefuls on national security issues which the Trump campaign took up in March of 2016\. In that role, “grew close with retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn,” who later was tapped as Trump’s first national security adviser, Politico reported. Trump later [fired Flynn](http://time.com/4670930/white-house-president-trump-asked-for-flynns-resignation/) for [misleading Vice President Mike Pence](http://time.com/4670208/michael-flynn-resignation-trump-white-house/) about whether he discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador. **But he was part of the Trump transition team.** After the election, Nunes was [named to the executive committee](http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-rep-devin-nunes-named-to-trump-s-1478893307-htmlstory.html) leading Trump’s transition team, giving recommendations on national security picks, including then-Rep. [Mike Pompeo as CIA director](http://time.com/4576939/mike-pompeo-cia-donald-trump-what-to-know/). “Now that I’m on the executive committee, my phone is ringing off the hook from all over the country — people who know me are sending their résumés,” Nunes said. **He went to the White House grounds under mysterious circumstances.** In early March, Trump tweeted without evidence that former President Obama [“had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower”](http://fortune.com/2017/03/04/president-trump-obama-wiretapping-trump-tower/) before the election, drawing weeks of criticism. On March 20, FBI Director James Comey testified before the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI and the Department of Justice have [“no information to support”](http://time.com/4706720/james-comey-donald-trump-barack-obama-wiretap/) Trump’s tweets. The next day, Nunes went to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House to [meet with an unnamed source](http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-house-intel-chairman-met-source-on-1490630796-htmlstory.html) who showed him documents related to U.S. intelligence surveillance. The day after that, Nunes held a press conference to announce that the intelligence community had [inadvertently surveilled people](http://time.com/4709443/devin-nunes-trump-transition-intelligence/) involved in the transition, then went to the White House to brief Trump on his findings. **He later said it was simply a convenient location.** In [an interview with Bloomberg columnist Eli Lake](https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-03-27/devin-nunes-explains-his-white-house-visit) this week, Nunes said he met with his source on the White House grounds because he needed a secure location with a computer that can access the system that stores the reports. “We don’t have networked access to these kinds of reports in Congress,” he said. He also said that his source was an intelligence official and not a White House staffer. Nunes [told CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/27/politics/devin-nunes-white-house-donald-trump/) that neither the President nor his team knew he was there, although a former White House official said he would have needed to be cleared and escorted into the building by a staffer. **Nunes says the surveillance was legal, but he has concerns.** Intelligence agencies often spy on foreign nationals who talk with U.S. citizens. When this so-called “incidental surveillance” involves a U.S. citizen, intelligence officials are supposed to “mask” their identities in government reports. Nunes [told CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/27/politics/house-intelligence-devin-nunes/index.html) most of the names in the documents he viewed were masked but he has concerns about the ones that were unmasked, as well as how widely the surveillance findings were later shared within the government. **Trump felt vindicated, though Nunes still contradicts him.** After Nunes’ press conference, Trump said he felt [“somewhat”](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/donald-trump-wiretapping-claim-vindicated-236379) vindicated about his wiretapping tweets. But Nunes has long said that [he does not think](http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/15/house-intelligence-chair-i-dont-think-there-was-an-actual-tap-of-trump-tower.html) that Obama had Trump’s wires tapped, a view [he repeated even after reviewing](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/donald-trump-wiretapping-claim-vindicated-236379) the documents at the Eisenhower office building. “That never happened,” he said. ## Transcript Are you gonna stay as chairman and run this investigation? Well why would I not? You guys need to go ask them why these things are being said. Can this investigation continue with you as chairman? Why would it not? Aren't I briefing you guys continuously? [ CROSSTALK ] and keeping you up to speed? They're saying that it cannot run with you as chairman. You gotta go talk to them, that sounds like their problem. My colleagues are perfectly fine. I mean, they know we're doing an investigation and that will continue. We're doing a very thorough job on this investigation. As you know, this Russia issue, we have been on it for many, many years, and so we'll continue to be on the issue. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4715399/devin-nunes-russia-investigation-house-intelligence-committee/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4715399/devin-nunes-russia-investigation-house-intelligence-committee/"},"headline":"7 Things to Know About House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes","datePublished":"2017-03-28T19:27:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-08T08:26:19.402Z","description":"Including how to pronounce his name","url":"https://time.com/4715399/devin-nunes-russia-investigation-house-intelligence-committee/","keywords":["Congress","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b9cdcecaabebea8/6988c0430a4a2276ab9cd71e/gettyimages-657285680.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b9cdcecaabebea8/6988c0430a4a2276ab9cd71e/gettyimages-657285680.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-INTELLIGENCE-POLITICS-RUSSIA","caption":"US-INTELLIGENCE-POLITICS-RUSSIA","creditText":"Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4715399/devin-nunes-russia-investigation-house-intelligence-committee/","name":"7 Things to Know About House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Devin Nunes Sees No Reason to Recuse Himself from Russia Probe","description":"Nunes asked reporters, \"Why would I?\" when they asked whether he was stepping down. 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