Spokesman: Yoho 'misspoke' when he said Nunes 'works for the president'

Rep. Ted Yoho knows congressmen work for their constituents, not President Donald Trump, a spokesman clarified Thursday after the Florida Republican “misspoke.”

Yoho defended embattled House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who is facing calls from Democrats to recuse himself from the panel’s investigation into Russia’s election meddling and possible collusion between Trump associates and Russian officials.


Nunes is “a man of high integrity and character” who will “do the right thing,” Yoho said. “If he feels he’s been compromised, if he needs to step aside, I’m sure he will. But until he makes that decision, I’m not concerned with it.”

Nunes, who has rebuffed those calls for recusal, met with an undisclosed source on White House grounds last week — the day before he announced that members of the Trump transition team (Nunes was a member of the transition’s executive committee) had been inadvertently surveilled and briefed the president and House Speaker Paul Ryan on his findings while committee members were left in the dark.

“You gotta keep in mind who he works for,” Yoho told MSNBC earlier on Thursday. “He works for the president. He answers to the president.”

“Does he?” MSNBC’s Craig Melvin challenged. “Or does he work for the constituents of his district?”

“Well, you do both,” Yoho shot back. “But when you’re in that capacity — you know, if you’ve got information — I’m OK with what he did.”

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Yoho’s spokesman, however, said the congressman “misspoke” — “plain and simple.”

“He knows that every member is here because of the people that voted them into office,” Yoho communications director Brian Kaveney said in a statement. “Members work for their constituents, whether they are rank and file or if they have the honor of serving as a committee chairman. The congressman stated that he works for his constituents and not for the President. The same reasoning is applied to all members.”

This article tagged under: Devin Nunes

Ted Yoho