Both CNN and The Atlantic have written pieces about the recently-shuttered House Intelligence Committee Russia investigation, taking a closer look at what exactly went down to destroy any hope for bipartisanship and honest, investigative work.
The House Intelligence Committee has not always been a model of bipartisanship and cooperation—its Senate counterpart has traditionally been far more unified, mostly by virtue of longer term limits and different rules. But the degree to which the committee’s infighting and dysfunction has spilled into public view over the last year—through leaks, television appearances, and press conferences—has been remarkable. And it is a case study in how Russia’s election interference has only deepened divisions among the political leaders tasked with responding to it.
CNN:
Democrats cast the blame primarily on Nunes, arguing that he was out to undermine the probe from the get-go, a member of the Trump transition team whose primary goal was to protect the President. Egged on by Nunes' staff, the Democrats say, Rep. Mike Conaway and other Republicans willingly went along with an effort to rush the probe to conclude there was no collusion.
Schiff said Conaway, the Republican in charge of the Russia investigation after Nunes stepped aside last April, was "forced on the most important decisions to confer" with Nunes, who sat on numerous Democratic requests for subpoenas and refused to schedule dozens of witness interviews.
"I can only conclude that he views his mission as protecting the President," Schiff said of Nunes.
But Republicans argue that Schiff and his fellow Democrats shoulder the blame for the committee's partisan war, starting with the push to remove Nunes as head of the committee with what they argue were trumped-up, partisan ethics charges. They say that Democrats have tried to draw out the investigation as long as possible once the anticipated smoking gun proving collusion failed to materialize.
However, it is important to point out that the issue of collusion remains unsettled, and two Senate committees and Special Counsel Robert Mueller still are investigating.
CNN uses former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski's second appearance before the committee as an example of how bad things had gotten behind closed doors.
Lewandowski, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, was the final witness in the yearlong House investigation that descended into vitriol and back-biting -- ultimately resulting in two separate partisan reports that will leave the American public no closer to learning how the Russians interfered in the 2016 elections.
(...)
...[A]ccording to four sources with direct knowledge of the situation, the Trump confidante repeatedly swore at Democratic lawmakers to make the point he wasn't going to talk further.
I'm not answering your "fucking" question, Lewandowski shouted at one point.
Democrats, including Rep. Jackie Speier, fired back at Lewandowski, who was not moved, multiple sources said.
Democrats said that Lewandowski wouldn't discuss the firing of FBI Director James Comey, the White House response to revelations that Donald Trump Jr. met with Russians in Trump Tower in June 2016 and his conversations with the President, among other topics.
Republicans sided with Lewandowski, saying he had spent hours before the panel answering questions pertinent to the inquiry.
And in an interview this week, Lewandowski did not dispute using those words.
"I had to repeat on multiple occasions that there was no collusion, cooperation or coordination because the Democrats couldn't understand my plain English way of speaking," Lewandowski told CNN.
But for as much as they disagree, both Republicans and Democrats see one specific incident as the committee breakdown tipping point – Chairman Nunes' midnight run to the White House on March 21, 2017.
Read both full accounts:
How the House Intelligence Committee Broke (The Atlantic)
Lewandowski to Democrats: I'm not answering your 'f---ing' questions (CNN)