The information in question concerned packages that were reportedly sent to members of the Republican Congress, including Nunes, by Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach, who has worked closely with President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani played a key role in the effort to pressure the Ukrainian government to publicly announce an investigation into the former vice president, an effort that led to the removal of the president and his subsequent acquittal.
But when asked by Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Nunes declined to respond.
“I suppose I would ask the highest ranking member for an explanation as to why he simply is not prepared to answer a simple question of whether he received questioned materials that seem designed to denigrate a former vice president of the United States, but at the very least share them with the rest of the committee, “Maloney said.
The exchange occurred during a committee meeting on Wednesday, where the panel voted along party lines to allow all members of the House to see the classified intelligence that Democratic leaders provided to the FBI warning of a “disinformation” campaign. foreign aimed at the 2020 presidential elections.
“Mr. President, there have been public reports that the minority has received materials from Andrii Derkach, and those materials would not be classified and would not be prohibited from disclosure,” Maloney said Thursday. “But, at a minimum, I also understand that the majority staff have asked the minority to share with the majority staff so that we can independently evaluate them.”
Maloney added that his question is whether Nunes is “prepared to reveal to the committee whether he has received materials that have been questioned in Andrii Derkach’s public reports and, if so, whether he is prepared to share them with the rest of the Committee.”
Intelligence Chamber Speaker Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, stepped in and asked, “Does the highest-ranking member want to respond?”
Nunes replied: “No.”
Maloney continued, asking Nunes why he would not confirm receipt or share Derkach materials that Maloney said seemed to despise Biden.
“I mean, as I understand it, the committee staff has evidence that a package was received. None of this is classified,” Maloney said.
Maloney added: “Is the ranking member ready to answer the question? How about it, Mr. Nunes? Did you receive a package from Andrii Derkach or not? And would you share it with the committee or not? Well, I suppose this it is a case where silence says a lot “.
Schiff then adjourned.
Democrats in Congress have expressed interest in possible misinformation that haunts Biden. Last week, Democratic congressional leaders sent FBI Director Chris Wray a letter asking for an FBI briefing to all lawmakers on foreign interference efforts in 2020.
Sources told CNN that a classified Democrats annex included concerns about a Russia-linked “disinformation” campaign to attack Biden in the 2020 election, including information from entities with ties to Russia being provided to the president. of the National Security Senate, Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin who is leading an investigation into Biden.
In recent months, a small group of Ukrainian political figures have injected themselves into the United States presidential election by releasing and promoting alleged Biden audio tapes. Some of these figures are related to the interests of the Kremlin or Russian intelligence agencies, which experts say suggest their actions may be part of a Russian-backed disinformation campaign.
The recordings are of Biden’s dealings with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and appear authentic. But the material reinforces Biden’s claims that he promoted American interests and did nothing wrong in Ukraine. There is no evidence of irregularities on the tapes, and the Biden campaign maintains that these releases are a blatant Russian meddling against the former vice president.
Some Republicans and the right-wing media have accepted the unsubstantiated claims that these controversial Ukrainian figures impose. Some of these figures, including Derkach, have worked closely with Giuliani. Johnson has tried to obtain the testimony of another Ukrainian in this orbit, the former diplomat Andrii Telizhenko.
Johnson told CNN earlier this month that he was unaware of any Russian disinformation sent to his committee, but that his staff examines any evidence the panel provides and takes everything that comes from Ukraine with a “big grain of salt. ”
“I don’t know all the information that our committee has gathered. We are encouraging people to send us information, but then we go through it completely,” Johnson said. “We take everything with a grain of salt that we get from Ukraine. I think you have to.”
CNN’s Jeremy Herb and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.
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