Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., defended the House Intelligence Committee’s requests for records from the DOJ about the Russia investigation, following several weeks of a contentious back-and-forth between House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and DOJ officials. “Inherent in the committee’s work is the responsibility to ask tough questions of the executive branch,” Ryan said. “SPYGATE - a terrible thing!”White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and White House lawyer Emmet Flood made brief remarks during the briefings to convey "the president’s understanding of the need to protect human intelligence services and the importance of communication between the branches of government." However, Shah said in an updated statement late Wednesday that the White House was "working" to schedule a "Gang of 8" briefing before the recess. For his part, Gowdy told Fox News Wednesday that "I don't care who comes" to the meeting.

Source: Fox News May 24, 2018 16:31 UTC