title:  Nunes’ Replacement In Trump Investigation Defended Russian Hackers And Putin
text: The new leader of what can laughably be called an  investigation  into the Trump Team s collusion with Russia to undermine our democracy makes disgraced House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes look almost sane.When he recused himself (temporarily) from the investigation after he became the subject of his own congressional ethics investigation for releasing classified information in an effort to help Donald Trump, Nunes handed off his duties to Texas Republican Rep. Mike Conaway, whose own views on the Russia situation are, well, let s just say they would make Putin happy.When FBI Director James Comey testified last month, Conaway unleashed a weird defense of Putin, comparing his support of Donald Trump   which has been verified by 17 intelligence agencies   to football of all things. That might work on Saturday afternoon when my wife s (Texas Tech) Red Raiders are playing the Texas Longhorns,  Conaway said.  She really like the Red Raiders. But all the rest of the time   the logic is that because he really didn t like candidate Clinton, it automatically [meant he] liked Trump,  Conway told a befuddled-looking Comney That assessment s based on what? Some levity in the #RussiaIntelHearing   Watch this #YogiBerra exchange between Rep. Mike Conaway and Director Comey! #WhosOnFirst pic.twitter.com/UUSlTGxjnG  Justice&Mercy (@JRDarius1) March 20, 2017He also defended the hackers in an interview with the Dallas Morning News, where he proclaimed that Russia hacking Trump s political opponents after Trump promised they would be rewarded is just like when Democrats hire foreign performers at campaign events: Harry Reid and the Democrats brought in Mexican soap opera stars, singers and entertainers who had immense influence in those communities into Las Vegas, to entertain, get out the vote and so forth. Those are foreign actors, foreign people, influencing the vote in Nevada. You don t hear the Democrats screaming and saying one word about that. Asked whether that is the same as Russia interfering in our election, Conaway didn t back down: Sure it is, it s foreign influence. If we re worried about foreign influence, let s have the whole story. Assisting Conaway will be Trey Gowdy, who recently found himself the subject of an ethics complaint for accepting donations from anti-Clinton groups while he was investigating her and Tom Rooney, who very vocally opposed Clinton.Something tells me these guys won t be taking this seriously.Featured image via Getty Images (Mark Wilson)/screengrab