The discussion surrounding this tape has focused on the obvious point that Nunes, as Chair of the
It is worth noting, though, what Nunes doesn't say. Two bigly words. "WITCH HUNT!!!" Or, any synonym for that Trumpian catchphrase. There are two types of Republicans in Congress: those who grudgingly adopt their roles as Trump's "subs," and those who embrace the role enthusiastically. While Paul Ryan falls into the former category, Devin Nunes falls into the latter. Yet, nothing in that audio suggests that Nunes is motivated by a desire to protect Trump from a horribly unjust "WITCH HUNT!!!"
Clearly, that means he knows Trump is guilty and is out to subvert justice, right?
No. As I have written in other contexts, Nunes doesn't care. Nobody in the Republican congressional delegation does. When Nunes put together that silly, little document called "The Nunes Memo," I wrote an absurdist post on the nature of facts, and how Nunes is a stoner philosopher challenging our conceptions of knowledge itself. Neither Nunes nor his party care what Trump did, does, or will do. All they care about is making sure that the GOP holds onto power. That's it.
Now, let me clarify. This is not about power for its own sake. Power is a means to policy. They care intensely about the tax rate and the Supreme Court. The GOP wants to make sure that the tax code is to their liking, and that people like Neil Plagiarist-Gorsuch are put on the Supreme Court, and no, I'm never getting over that plagiarism thing. I hate plagiarists. (Are you paying attention, kids? Are you really paying attention?!)
So, Trump must be protected. Is he guilty? Is he innocent? Nunes doesn't care. Neither does anyone in the Republican congressional delegation. (He's guilty, though.) Hence, behind closed doors, Nunes expresses his vehement desire to protect his "dom," but uses none of the language to suggest he actually believes the guy. Not because Nunes disbelieves him. There's just no such thing as "knowledge" in Nunes's head.