Story highlights Paul Callan: Democrats and others want intelligence committee chair to resign for odd late-night visit to White House

Callan: Nunes should do so; US has right to expect more circumspect behavior from head of committee in charge of America's secrets

Paul Callan is a CNN legal analyst, a former New York City homicide prosecutor and currently is of counsel at the New York law firm of Edelman & Edelman PC, focusing on wrongful conviction and civil rights cases. Follow him on Twitter @paulcallan. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

(CNN) Opponents of President Donald Trump are eager to slap a set of handcuffs on House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes for his alleged "late night" visit to a secure intelligence facility (known in the intelligence community as a "skiff") within the White House complex, followed shortly thereafter by a meeting with the President.

In the full technicolor version of this fantasy, the cuffs would next be fastened on Trump, ending the progressives' enduring Trumpian nightmare.

It's clear that a lot more information is required before anyone can fairly judge the propriety and legality of Nunes' actions. What we do know is that shortly after this visit to view classified information, Nunes perhaps surprised even the President by requesting a meeting. He failed to tell the House Intelligence Committee about this meeting with the President, an action for which he recently apologized.

JUST WATCHED Schiff: Nunes should recuse himself Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Schiff: Nunes should recuse himself 01:14

Nunes tried to explain all of this to Wolf Blitzer earlier today, fielding specific questions about the White House visit. The chairman hedged on some questions and flatly declined to answer other inquiries, invoking the need to protect "sources and methods" and still "classified" information.

As chairman of the intelligence committee, enjoying among the highest of security clearances, the chairman would clearly be committing a crime if he publicly disclosed classified information. Answers that appear to be specious and deceptive may fit that description or in fact just be an intelligence chairman trying to protect classified information as well as "sources and methods." This can only be legally evaluated when more is known about the contents of the mysterious documents that are now causing such a controversy on Capitol Hill.

Read More