"Listen, if we could get an independent commission, I'm open to that," Sen. Mark Warner said. | Getty Warner, Schiff supportive of inquiry into Trump-Russia ties

Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Adam Schiff, the two top congressional Democratic leaders on government intelligence, on Sunday were supportive of calls for an independent commission to investigate ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

"I do think the events of this week call out the need for an independent commission quite separate and apart from what we do in Congress," said Schiff on CBS' "Face the Nation." Schiff first called for such a probe on Twitter on Saturday.


Warner echoed Schiff's call during a later appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," while noting that creating such a commission would be an uphill battle politically.

"Listen, if we could get an independent commission, I'm open to that," he said. "That means you've got to pass a bill, [and] the President's got to sign it."

Warner and Schiff, the ranking Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence panels, respectively, were also heavily critical of House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes' handling of his panel's probe. Nunes has faced strong criticism for publicly announcing, without notifying his Democratic counterparts, that Trump transition officials were put under inadvertent surveillance following November's election — and briefing President Donald Trump and the White House on the subject.

"I am totally mystified by what Mr. Nunes has said," Warner (D-Va.) said. "I think it's fairly mystifying, if not outrageous, that he’d make these claims, then goes down and briefs the White House. "

Following Nunes' press conference on Wednesday unveiling his claims of surveillance, Schiff (D-Calif.) accused the chairman of acting a "surrogate of the White House."

“The chairman will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an independent investigation into conduct which includes allegations of potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians, or he is going to act as a surrogate of the White House, because he cannot do both,” Schiff said.

On Sunday, Republican House Intelligence Committee member Trey Gowdy disputed Schiff and Warner's assessments of the events, however, arguing that Nunes had every right to brief the president on the surveillance intelligence because it was not germain to the Russia probe.

"The chairman of House Intel briefed the commander-in-chief on something that has nothing to do with the Russia investigation," Gowdy (R-S.C.) said on "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "So if the commander-in-chief cannot be briefed by the chairperson of the House Intel Committee on a matter that has nothing to do with the FBI investigation, then I don't know what they can talk about.

Nunes himself reportedly apologized Thursday "for not sharing information about the documents he saw with the minority before going public.”



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