House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes did not seize an opportunity to continue talks Friday with government officials about documents he seeks related to the Russia investigation.

A Justice Department official confirmed to the Washington Examiner that they never heard back after sending an invitation to Nunes on Tuesday to "answer the questions he posed last week."

Nunes' office replied to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Gowdy told the Washington Examiner that while the South Carolina congressman has been invited to certain meetings with Nunes, Nunes and House Intelligence Committee staff have handled all of negotiations with the DOJ and Gowdy has not been involved in those talks.

Earlier this month, the California Republican subpoenaed the Justice Department after the agency did not respond to a classified letter he sent with his request regarding special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The subpoena reportedly demanded documents related to a U.S. citizen who contributed to the probe as a confidential intelligence source. However, the Justice Department — backed by the White House — withheld the documents and told Nunes in a follow-up letter that turning over the requested information would be a risk to national security and specifically put at risk the lives of the informant and the informant's sources.

But tensions between Nunes and the DOJ appeared to cool after a classified briefing last week that included Nunes and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, DOJ, and FBI.

Noting they had a "productive discussion," Nunes and Gowdy wrote, "The officials committed to holding further discussions of these matters, and we look forward to continuing our dialogue next week to satisfy the Committee’s request.”

The debate over this FBI informant has taken a tumultuous turn this week as conservative lawmakers and media have pushed the unsubstantiated reports that the source may have been a plant to spy on the Trump campaign for investigators.

However, U.S. officials told CNN that this was not the case and the New York Times, which claims to have identified the informant but has not disclosed an identity, reported Friday that the FBI source was used to look into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.

Still, the matter has escalated to the point where President Trump has tweeted about a spy scandal that could be "bigger than Watergate!"

Democrats have fought back against what they fear might be a political ploy by their Republican counterparts to undermine Mueller's investigation, which not only is looking into Russian interference in the 2016 election, but also possible collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin.

“It would be at best irresponsible, and at worst potentially illegal, for members of Congress to use their positions to learn the identity of an FBI source for the purpose of undermining the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in our election," Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

There is also dispute about whether the Justice Department will ever fully comply with Nunes' subpoena, as well another by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., for information on matters related to the Russia investigation.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, told CNN that a DOJ official told him the agency had "no intention" of complying with Nunes' subpoena. Meadows added that he is not "optimistic that the Department of Justice will voluntarily comply with the two outstanding subpoenas that are there."

However, a source familiar with the situation told CNN that Meadows was off the mark in his characterization of the negotiations.

Whether or not there is continued resistance from DOJ, Nunes may soon have some more leverage with DOJ with a helping hand from Trump. Rudy Giuliani, Trump's lawyer, told the Washington Post on Thursday that he now believes Congress should secure the release of classified information regarding Mueller’s Russia investigation.

“It’s ridiculous,” Giuliani said. “You guys in the press should have them. I don’t know why the current attorney general and the current director of the FBI want to protect a bunch of renegades that might amount to 20 people at most within the FBI.”

Meanwhile, Nunes has sought other ways to pressure the Justice Department.

Earlier this month, Nunes threatened to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt of Congress over the Justice Department pushback on requests for information related to the Russia investigation.

But, in speaking with Sinclair Broadcasting Group on Thursday, Nunes shifted his sights to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing Mueller's operation since Sessions recused himself, saying he should be the one held in contempt of Congress.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from Rep. Gowdy's office.