Charlie Dent: Senate should lead Russia probe: Report

Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania said Wednesday that the Senate should take the lead in the investigation into Russia’s possible interference in the U.S. election now that the House probe has become too “paralyzed.”

Mr. Dent said on CNN that he is not sure whether the House Intelligence Committee can salvage its investigation given the “tone and the tenor” and the way in which the effort has become “overly politicized.”

“What I think should happen right now is the Senate is going to lead this discussion, this investigation on the Russian meddling into the election,” Mr. Dent said. “I think that is where it is. It is unfortunate that we are where we are in the House. It seems like there is not going to be a House report on intelligence on the Russian meddling, so I think we have to turn our eyes to the Senate.”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes has come under fire for the way he has handled the investigation on the other side of the Capitol. Democrats have questioned his impartiality over his decision to brief President Trump before members of the committee on claims that the Trump transition team had been incidentally swept up in legal surveillance from intelligence agencies.

The outcry from Democrats grew this week after it was revealed that Mr. Nunes secretly visited the White House grounds before making his claims public. The California Republican, though, has refused to heed the calls of Democrats who have questioned his impartiality and are calling for him to recuse himself from the probe.

Rep. Walter Jones, North Carolina Republican, also has argued that Mr. Nunes should no longer lead the House push, while Mr. Dent appears to be the first to say the Senate should lead.

Sens. Richard Burr, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the committee, are scheduled to hold a joint press conference Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

“It seems that the Senate — both Senators Burr and Warner — are doing a pretty good job running a fair investigation, and I think that is where we are going to have to look right now to actually get a real report on this,” Mr. Dent said.