Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/804369
ByEileenSullivan The Associated Press WASHINGTON House in- telligence chairman Devin Nunes went to the White House grounds to review in- telligence reports and meet the secret source behind his claim that communications involving Trump associates were caught up in "inciden- tal" surveillance, the Re- publican congressman said Monday, prompting the top Democrat on the committee to call on Nunes to recuse himself from the commit- tee's Russia probe. Rep. Adam Schiff said Nunes' connections to the White House have raised in- surmountable public doubts about whether the commit- tee could credibly investi- gate the president's cam- paign associates. "I believe the public can- not have the necessary con- fidence that matters involv- ing the president's cam- paign or transition team can be objectively inves- tigated or overseen by the chairman," Schiff said in a statement Monday. Nunes confirmed Mon- day that he met with the source at the White House complex, but he denied co- ordinating with the presi- dent's aides. After reviewing the in- formation last week, Nunes called a news conference to announce that U.S. spy agencies may have inadver- tently captured Trump and his associates in routine tar- geting of foreigners' com- munications. Trump quickly seized on the statements as at least partial vindication for his assertion that Presi- dent Barack Obama tapped his phones at Trump Tower — though Nunes, Schiff and FBI Director James Comey have said there is no such evidence. The Senate intelligence committee is also conduct- ing an investigation into Russia's interference in the election and possible ties with the Trump campaign. On Monday, it announced that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has agreed to be interviewed. The White House confirmed that Kushner, a senior Trump adviser, had volun- teered to be interviewed about arranging meetings with the Russian ambassa- dor and other officials. Kushner is the fourth Trump associate to offer to be interviewed by the con- gressional committees look- ing into the murky Rus- sia ties. Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, Trump adviser Carter Page and Trump associate Roger Stone last week volunteered to speak as well. "Mr. Kushner will cer- tainly not be the last per- son the committee calls to give testimony, but we ex- pect him to be able to pro- vide answers to key ques- tions that have arisen in our inquiry," the chairman, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, and the top Dem- ocrat, Mark Warner of Vir- ginia, said in a joint state- ment Monday in a sign of bipartisanship. The House investiga- tion, meanwhile, has been plagued with partisan di- visions under Nunes' lead- ership. The chairman did not tell top Democrat on the com- mittee about the meeting at the White House complex. It is highly unusual for a committee chairman and ranking member not to co- ordinate meetings related to an investigation. "'I think the chairman has to make a decision whether to act as a surro- gate of the White House — as he did during the cam- paign and the transition — or to lead an independent and credible investigation," Schiff said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation." Nunes argued he had to review classified, executive branch documents from a secure facility at the White House because the reports had not been provided to Congress and could not be transported to the secure facilities used by the House intelligence committee. "Because of classification rules, the source could not simply put the documents in a backpack and walk them over to the House Intelligence committee space," Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said. "The White House grounds was the best location to safe- guard the proper chain of custody and classification of these documents, so the chairman could view them in a legal way." Nunes would not name the source of the infor- mation, nor would he dis- close who invited him on the White House grounds for the meeting. In addi- tion to the White House it- self, the grounds include an adjacent building with of- fices for National Security Council and other executive branch employees. Nunes described the source as intelligence offi- cial, not a White House of- ficial. In an interview on CNN, he suggested the pres- ident's aides were unaware of the meeting. White House spokes- man Sean Spicer would not comment on whether White House officials were involved with Nunes. "I'm not going to get into who he met with or why he met with them," Spicer said. The clandestine meeting was remarkable for a com- mittee that seeks to dem- onstrate bipartisanship, said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Wash- ington University who has written extensively about separation of powers. "Ideally, any meeting at the White House on a sub- ject under investigation would have been done with the knowledge of the rank- ing member or his staff," Turley said. US-RUSSIA Visit to WH grounds by intel chairman clouds probe PABLOMARTINEZMONSIVAIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif, speaks with reporters outside the White House following a meeting with President Donald Trump. By Sadie Gurman The Associated Press WASHINGTON Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday warned so-called sanctuary cities they could lose federal money for re- fusing to cooperate with immigration authorities and suggested the govern- ment would come after grants that have already been awarded if they don't comply. Sessions said the Justice Department would require cities seeking some of $4.1 billion available in grant money to verify that they are in compliance with a section of federal law that allows information sharing with immigration officials. His statements in the White House briefing room brought to mind tough talk from President Don- ald Trump's campaign and came just three days after the administration's crush- ing health care defeat. But Sessions also acknowledged he was reiterating a simi- lar policy adopted by the Obama administration last year. "I urge the nation's states and cities to care- fully consider the harm they are doing to their citi- zens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws," Sessions said. The message is a further- ance of Trump's campaign promise to "defund" sanc- tuary cities by taking away their federal funding. But legal precedent suggests that would be difficult. The Obama administra- tion issued the same warn- ing last year, telling cities they risked losing grant money in 2017 if they didn't comply with the law. Sessions did detail what specific factors would trig- ger the government to deny or strip a city of money, only that it would take "all lawful steps to claw-back" funds to cities deemed to be out of compliance. The White House last week stepped up pressure on sanctuary cities by re- leasing a report on local jails that listed more than 200 cases of immigrants re- leased from custody before federal agents could inter- vene. That list was com- piled following an execu- tive order Trump signed in January that called on the government to document which local jurisdictions aren't cooperating with federal efforts to find and deport immigrants in the country illegally. Refusing to honor such immigration detainer re- quests would not put a city in violation of the statute Sessions cited, which deals instead with law enforce- ment sharing of informa- tion about someone's im- migration status. Meanwhile, municipal leaders nationwide vowed to defy any crackdown. "We are going to become this administration's worst nightmare," said New York City Council Speaker Me- lissa Mark-Viverito, who was among officials gath- ered in New York for a small conference that attracted officials from cities includ- ing San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Philadel- phia and New York. Mark-Viverito and oth- ers promised to block fed- eral immigration agents from accessing certain pri- vate areas on city property, to restrict their access to schools and school records and to offer legal services to immigrants in the country illegally. California Senate leader Kevin de León called Ses- sions' message, "nothing short of blackmail. ... Their gun-to-the-head method to force resistant cities and counties to participate in Trump's inhumane and counterproductive mass- deportation is unconstitu- tional and will fail." IMMIGRATION Attorney General Sessions: Sanctuary cities are risking federal money ANDREW HARNIK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Attorney General Jeff Sessions, right, accompanied by White House press secretary Sean Spicer, talks to the media during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington on Monday. 13540 Trinity Ave, Red Bluff (530) 527-8262 • (530) 528-8261 IF NO ANSWER CALL 529-7400 www.garysautobodyandtowing.com AUTO BODY REPAIR 24 HOUR TOWING WEBILLALL MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES • ECO-FRIENDLY&DRUGFREE • COLLISION REPAIR APPROVED BY ALL MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES • LIFETIME WARRANTY • STATE-OF-THE-ART DOWN DRAFT SPRAY BOOTH • NATIONAL AWARD WINNING RESTORATION • AUTO & RV REPAIRS "WE MEET BY ACCIDENTS" • ECO-FRIENDLY&DRUGFREE • FAST! COURTEOUS SERVICE • CLEAN AIR CONDITIONED TRUCKS • REASONABLE RATES • LOCAL & LONG DISTANCE • FORK LIFT SERVICE • ANTIQUE & LUXURY CAR TOWING • ON & OFF ROAD RECOVER • MOTOR HOMES & RV'S TOWED • AUTO & RV REPAIRS • INSURANCE WORK • 5TH WHEEL TOWING • AUTO BODY WORK Full Auto Detailing Available Free with collision repair GARY'S AUTO BODY & 24 HOUR TOWING, INC. "GOODSAM" MOTOR CLUB WildWilly's Smokehouse 8570Hwy99E, Los Molinos Come see our mascot (WildWillie) SHOWROOM HOURS: WEDNESDAY THRU SUNDAY NOON TO 6PM! and new smoker/grills from Traeger & Camp Chef! (530) 200-0656 FD652 -BurialorCremation - Personalized Services - Pre Planning - Customized Burial Option 816WalnutSt.,RedBluff,CA (530) 527-1174 www.chapeloftheflowers.net Youcanhavepeaceofmindknowing your loved one has rested with dignity. Hoyt-ColeChapeloftheFlowers 522AntelopeBlvd.,RedBluff (530) 529-1654 www.lesschwab.com WINTERDRIVINGTIREGUIDE DRY - RAIN - SNOW - ICE Eclipse STARTINGAT P155/80SR-13 PASSENGER $ 64 99 Superior handling and safety Alloffersforalimitedtime.Notallbuyerswillqualifyforindividualprograms.SeeRedBluffChrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ramforcompletedetailsandvehiclequalificationsforallcurrentlyrunningprograms.0%and1.9%APRfinancingarenotapplicableonthesenewselectedmodels.AllrebatesinlieuofspecialAPRsofferedbyChrysler. All prices plus government fees and taxes, any finance charge, any dealer document, preparation charge, and any emission charge. Subject to prior sales & credit approval. Some vehicle images in this ad are for illustration purposes only and may vary from actual vehicle. Ad expires 03/25/17. Offer not good to dealers. 545 Adobe Rd., Red Bluff 530-366-3166 WWW.REDBLUFFDODGE.COM CHOOSE FROM "3" AT THIS PRICE MSRP $31,110 REBATE - $4,000 CHRYSLER FINANCING - $500 DISCOUNT $1,833 $ 24,777 2017 JEEP CHEROKEE "SPORT" 4X4 Yep With The Cool Wheels, 18 inch., Sport Altitude Package, Remote Start, V6 Engine, Trailer Tow pkg. & tons more! VIN#HW628069, HW628071, HW628073 | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017 4 B