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Blumenthal: There Is a 'Credible' Obstruction Case Against Nunes

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) said Friday there was a "credible" obstruction of justice case against House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R., Calif.).

Nunes is at the center of Washington's hottest political controversy for his role in writing a memo that reportedly shows abuses by the Department of Justice and the FBI in its surveillance efforts against former Donald Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

Democrats and other critics have balked at the pending release of the memo because they say it's a political ploy to undermine Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Trump is expected to allow the release of the memo to the public on Friday.

"I think a lot of the statements that Donald Trump has made in connection with the release of the Nunes memo may well come back to haunt him, as evidence of obstruction, because what we're seeing is obstruction of justice unfolding in real time right before us," Blumenthal said on "Morning Joe."

Panelist Mike Barnicle asked him whether Nunes could be roped into that conversation about obstruction, too.

"If you take Devin Nunes' statements about the memo and about the ongoing investigation and you look at the weirdly constructed statement that is about to be released apparently, what about Devin Nunes obstructing justice?" Barnicle asked.

"I think there is probably a credible case involving Nunes as well," Blumenthal said. "Not just in what we know publicly, but in conversations that no doubt took place between him and the White House, which evidently was involved in drafting that three-and-a-half page memo."

Blumenthal said it should be noted Nunes was already under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for his "hugely embarrassing visits" to the White House last year that involved him publicly discussing foreign surveillance reports.

He was cleared of any wrongdoing, however, since the committee concluded he did not divulge classified material.

"There is a lot there that I think could come back to haunt him, too," Blumenthal said.