Neither the House Oversight Committee nor the House Intelligence Committee plan to investigate the circumstances that led to Michael Flynn stepping down as President Donald Trump's national security advisor, according to multiple reports.
Flynn resigned from his position Monday night at Trump's request because of an "evolving and eroding level of trust," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Tuesday. The move came after The Washington Post reported that Flynn spoke privately with a Russian ambassador about sanctions leveled against the country by President Barack Obama.
The call happened before Trump took office, officials told The Post.
Congressional Democrats on Monday called for an investigation into whether Flynn lied to government officials about his communications with Russian officials and how he managed to keep his job despite earlier warnings from then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates.
"Do you hear that silence?" Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, asked at a news conference Tuesday. "That is the sound of House Republicans conducting no oversight of President Trump. That is what it sounds like when they abdicate their duty under the Constitution."
Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told reporters Tuesday that he saw no need to pursue an investigation into Flynn's comments.
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"It's taking care of itself at this point. I know that the Intel Committee is looking into the hacking issue," Chaffetz said, according to The Hill. "I think he did the right thing stepping down."
The House Intelligence Committee is investigating reports that Russia meddled in the U.S. election in order to put Trump into the White House.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-California, however, told CNN reporter Manu Raju on Tuesday that the circumstances are likely to fall under "executive privilege." He did, however, plan to investigate who eavesdropped on Flynn's call with the Russian ambassador and then leaked that information to the media.
"The big problem I see here is that you have an American citizen who had his phone calls recorded," he told the Post.
Trump also focused on the leaks in a post to Twitter on Tuesday morning.
"The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington?" he wrote.
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