Rep. Devin Nunes: 'No Evidence' Of Trump-Russia Ties

WASHINGTON, DC — Rep. Devin Nunes denied that there is evidence of any connections between President Trump's associates and Russian spy agencies in a meeting with reporters Monday, contrary to news reports based on anonymous sources suggesting otherwise.

"It's been looked into, and there's no evidence there," said Nunes, a California Republican and member of the House Committee on Intelligence, referring to investigations by the intelligence community. "We can't just go on witch hunt."

He also warned against bringing back "McCarthyism."

Nunes' comments stand in stark contrast to those of Rep. Darrell Issa, another California Republican. Over the weekend, Issa called for a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation into contacts between Trump and Russia.

The New York Times recently reported that several of Trump's associates had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence during the campaign, according to multiple anonymous official sources.

Nunes continued: "The only serious crimes we have are leaks that have come out from our government to the press and others."

He suggested that it should be easy to figure out who might have leaked findings of the intelligence community that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak back in December. These reports were shortly followed by Flynn's resignation.

Flynn was just doing what he was supposed to do as a part of Trump's incoming administration, Nunes argued. Even if, as many observers have speculated, Flynn was explicitly undermining President Obama's sanctions imposed on Russia, Nunes said it would not have been inappropriate.

Nunes also noted the investigations continue into Moscow's hacking and interference in the 2016 election.

Contrary to President Trump's expressed views, Nunes said he was very skeptical about the prospect of having a good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He noted that the last three administrations have thought they could have a good relationship with Putin but failed to achieve one.

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