Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is speaking out against his fellow GOP North Carolinian Sen. Richard Burr’s decision to issue a rogue subpoena from the Senate Intelligence Committee of President Donald Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. The subpoena from Burr was issued in contravention of direct orders from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who declared the entire Russia hoax “case closed” earlier this week. So now Tillis’ decision to speak out publicly against the rogue Burr subpoena is a massive development that will have big implications in the Senate, and in both Burr’s and Tillis’s home state of North Carolina. I agree with Leader McConnell: this case is closed. The Mueller Report cleared @DonaldJTrumpJr and he’s already spent 27 hours testifying before Congress. Dems have made it clear this is all about politics. It’s time to move on & start focusing on issues that matter to Americans. https://t.co/11THs9LE0j — Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) May 9, 2019 Tillis is the latest in a long line of Republicans to turn on Burr in the wake of the issuance of the rogue subpoena to Trump, Jr., joining Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), and Reps. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) and Bradley Byrne (R-AL)–among others. Tillis is perhaps, though, the most influential given his closeness with Burr–they are very friendly–and given the fact they both represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate. While all these Republicans have publicly ripped Burr’s move, no Republicans have risen to defend the embattled Senate Intelligence Committee chairman. In fact, offered the opportunity on Wednesday evening and on Thursday morning, no Senate Republican member of the Intelligence Committee would either issue statements in public support of Burr’s subpoena or of Burr himself remaining chairman of the committee. These Senate offices include Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is up for re-election in Texas in 2020; Tom Cotton (R-AR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Jim Risch (R-ID). Tillis is up for re-election in 2020, and has framed his campaign as one where he aims to defend President Trump and his policies from critics on the left. Tillis is facing a primary, and his campaign manager told local media that he aims to be the pro-Trump candidate. “Senator Tillis is no stranger to primaries and he is fully prepared for another,” Tillis’s campaign manager said, according to a local blog in North Carolina. “He looks forward to defending President Trump and his policies against any anti-Trump activist who chooses to enter the race.” What’s more, on Thursday, Tillis’ campaign pushed out materials claiming his primary opponent is anti-Trump: Inbox: @SenThomTillis campaign issues press release highlighting previous anti-Trump views expressed by his GOP primary challenger. #NCSEN — David M. Drucker (@DavidMDrucker) May 9, 2019 Surabian, the force behind the crown, gets his results pic.twitter.com/hZ9fJQ14be — Sam Stein (@samstein) May 9, 2019 All in all, though, Tillis’ move to throw Burr under the bus on the Trump Jr., subpoena is a pretty big and bold first move on the re-election campaign to prove he is sufficiently pro-Trump in the U.S. Senate to warrant a second term. It remains to be seen what Tillis does next, but this definitely caught team Trump’s attention as several sources close to the White House were pleased with Tillis’ move against Burr on Thursday morning telling Breitbart News that those close to the president are happy.<doc-sep>Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is slamming Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), the GOP chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, for contradicting direct orders from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the Russia investigation and issuing a subpoena of Donald Trump, Jr., despite McConnell’s statement that the case is closed. Apparently the Republican chair of the Senate Intel Committee didn’t get the memo from the Majority Leader that this case was closed… https://t.co/jvV5PIX266 — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 8, 2019 Burr, as Breitbart News and other outlets reported late Wednesday, has issued a subpoena of Trump, Jr., which the president’s eldest son is electing to rebuff despite Trump, Jr.’s history of open cooperation on the Russia investigation. Trump, Jr., has been repeatedly cleared, as has the president himself. But Burr has been trying to keep the case alive, in contravention of McConnell’s stated orders, and is now facing fierce backlash not just against himself but all Senate Republicans. Paul is the first Senate Republican to stand up against this, but others are expected to join him quickly. McConnell, who is the ex officio chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and from whom Burr derives his authority as chairman, has not replied to requests for comment from Breitbart News on this matter. But a top McConnell donor, who is also close with the Trump White House, told Breitbart News that McConnell must intervene to end Burr’s decision to go rogue. “What Burr’s doing isn’t just a slap in the face to the President and his family, its a slap in the face to Americans across the country,” the top McConnell donor said. “It’s incumbent that Leader McConnell steps up to the plate and strips Senator Burr’s Chairmanship of the Intel Committee. If he refuses to do that, then he shoulders just as much blame for this travesty of justice as the Senator from North Carolina.” McConnell’s office has not answered when asked by Breitbart News what the Senate GOP leader thinks of the subpoena and whether he will allow Burr to remain as committee chairman in the wake of this move. It’s notable that Paul is the first of many expected Republicans to speak out against this, as he also represents Kentucky in the United States Senate. McConnell, who is Kentucky’s other senator, is up for re-election in 2020.<doc-sep>Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr is fighting intense backlash from his own party for subpoenaing the president's son. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Congress Burr holds firm despite GOP anger over Don Jr. subpoena The Senate Intelligence chairman has no plans to withdraw the subpoena for the president’s son. Richard Burr faces intense pressure from Republicans to drop his subpoena of President Donald Trump’s eldest son and quickly wrap up the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Russia probe. But despite a day facing attacks from the highest rungs of party leadership, Burr is unmoved, according to colleagues in both parties. The North Carolina Republican declined to address the criticism or the subpoena to reporters, but there is no talk yet of withdrawing the subpoena, according to Republican senators. Burr gave a brief update on the status of his Russia investigation at a Senate GOP lunch on Thursday, attendees said. Burr, known for his independent streak, appeared happy to ignore the political storm he had fueled. “I told you I’m not going to chat right now. I’m in the middle of something,” Burr said as he made his way to lunch in the Senate dining room. Afterward, he posed for pictures with his lunch guests, then walked into the Capitol and kept his public silence. POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. You can unsubscribe at any time and you can contact us here. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Some of Burr’s GOP colleagues, however, were eager to offer complaints that the Intelligence Committee is still working its probe weeks after special counsel Robert Mueller’s report was released. “The subpoenas can’t happen without a Republican being for it, and I would hope that Republicans would stand firm and say enough’s enough,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who is close to Donald Trump Jr. “This is a great sort of assault on someone, in the sense that you put yourself in jeopardy anytime you come in and testify.” “This is one great big politicized, political football,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont. ), another Trump Jr. ally. He described broad GOP “frustration on what’s going on at the moment. It’s time to move on from these investigations.” Some Intelligence Committee members said the panel would need to address the controversial subpoena, which was issued by Burr and the Democratic vice chairman of the committee, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. The subpoena was sent days ago, but news of it leaked just one day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declared the Mueller investigation “case closed.” “The Mueller report has concluded no collusion, and Barr said no obstruction. What’s the deal? Why is this continuing on? I think there needs to be a better conversation about that,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an Intelligence Committee member. He later declared he has “confidence” in Burr but reiterated “we pretty much know just about everything we need to know.” His fellow Texan Ted Cruz agreed, tweeting: “There’s no need for another subpoena.” Others were harsher. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) called Burr's move “beyond inappropriate” and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said it was “bad form” not to give the president a heads-up. Trump name-checked Burr on Thursday, expressing his disapproval with the subpoena and arguing his son had been “totally exonerated” by Mueller. “I was very surprised,” Trump told reporters. “I saw Richard Burr saying there was no collusion two or three weeks ago.” Indeed, the family element of the subpoena heightened the tension. Trump Jr. has been closely linked to Trump’s style of politics, barnstorming the country last year on behalf of GOP Senate candidates and seen within the Republican Party as a loyal soldier. So there was little surprise within Capitol Hill that the subpoena became an intraparty flash point. “Bringing in the son of the president? That’s quite intense, let’s put it that way, to go do that,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). And though many Trump-aligned Republicans are criticizing the committee — and in some cases Burr himself — it’s not a unanimous view. “He’s a good chairman, and I don’t have any problem with his decision,” said Intelligence Committee member Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). “I don’t have any reason to disagree with Sen. Burr’s decision.” Blunt and Cornyn said there has been no discussion of reversing the subpoena. “Conservatives shouldn’t criticize Burr. Because Burr was assigned the lead role on all of this Russia collusion stuff by the leader,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “The leader had confidence in Burr’s leadership, nobody else ought to be questioning it.” Democrats also backed up Burr, a three-term senator with a conservative voting record, a North Carolina drawl and a laid-back attitude that includes usually wearing no socks and bringing his own lunch to catered party confabs. “I’m very proud of the fact that we’re the only committee that’s kept bipartisan through this whole investigation,” said Warner. “The chairman’s had pressure to shut this down this down for a long time. I’ve had pressure to reach a conclusion before we’re finished. We’re going to do our job.” “The case is not closed as far as our committee is concerned,” said Intelligence Committee member Angus King (I-Maine), referring to McConnell’s comments. McConnell declined to comment for this story. But he did tout the importance of Burr’s investigation on Tuesday even as he dismissed Democrats’ calls to continue litigating the Mueller report and questions of collusion and obstruction. Yet to many Republicans, the news of Trump Jr.’s subpoena presented a painful dilemma: Stand with a respected GOP chairman who has held together his committee for years during a contentious probe, or with a president who takes vengeance on fellow Republicans who cross him and his family. “I don’t want to second-guess Richard,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). But he added: “Put yourself in Don Jr.’s place. In this environment would you go to Round 5?” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is facing a primary challenge in his reelection race next year, tweeted about the subpoena and said it is “time to move on.” But he protested when asked whether he was frustrated with Burr. “I respect Sen. Burr more than anybody else in the U.S. Senate because I know him better than anybody else, and he’s got a tough job to do and he’s done a good job,” Tillis said. He said his tweet was intended to “quickly head off” Democrats from trying to go on the attack. Burr has been a complex figure in the long-running investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. He’s skipped events with Trump to maintain the appearance of neutrality, yet also was cited in the Mueller report for apparently briefing White House officials on the FBI’s Russia probe. Burr reportedly helped the administration knock down stories about links between the Trump campaign and Russia, yet also maintained unity on his committee while the House Intelligence panel self-destructed amid partisan acrimony. The North Carolina Republican’s latest move deepens the intrigue and tensions in the GOP over the investigation. But Burr’s allies say it’s all overblown. “We’re not prosecutors,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). “We’re an oversight committee ... and I think it’s important for us to finish this report.”<doc-sep>
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans lashed out Thursday at fellow GOP Sen. Richard Burr for his committee's subpoena of President Donald Trump's son, a move that suggested the Russia investigation is not "case closed," as some in the party insist. Trump said he was "very surprised" at the move. The revolt by some against the Senate intelligence committee chairman comes after The Associated Press and other news outlets reported it had called in Donald Trump Jr. to answer questions about his 2017 testimony as part of its probe into Russian election interference. The issue of re-calling Trump's son laid bare the conflict inside the president's party over whether probes involving Russian election meddling are still merited. It's the first known subpoena of a member of Trump's immediate family and a new sign that the Senate panel is continuing with its own two-year-long investigation, even after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's call from the Senate floor on Tuesday to move on. "This case is closed. The Mueller Report cleared @DonaldJTrumpJr and he's already spent 27 hours testifying before Congress," tweeted Burr's fellow North Carolina Republican senator, Thom Tillis, one of several GOP senators who criticized Burr. "It's time to move on & start focusing on issues that matter to Americans." A source familiar with the committee's deliberations said the subpoena went out "weeks ago" and all committee members were aware of it. The person, who requested anonymity to discuss the internal negotiations, said members had been regularly briefed on communications with Trump Jr. Burr wouldn't comment on the subpoena or the backlash Thursday. But at a Republican policy lunch, he walked through the timeline of events that led to the committee's decision, according to a person familiar with his comments who requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting. McConnell then stood up and defended him, saying he trusts Burr, according to the person. Story continues The subpoena appeared to catch the president and many of his allies by surprise. Trump said as much, adding that "my son is a very good person." Trump Jr., the president said, had already testified for a "massive" amount of time. Chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Thursday he was not given a heads-up. But Trump's advisers had not yet decided if he would publicly attack Burr, according to two Republicans close to the White House not authorized to speak publicly about private discussions. The subpoena highlights a delicate bind facing Burr, a third-term senator who is not expected to run for re-election when his term is up in 2022. He has been adamant that the panel's Russia probe be bipartisan and fair and has worked closely with the panel's top Democrat, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner. The blowback against him inside the Senate was especially fierce from Republicans up for re-election in 2020, including Tillis and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who said he understands the younger Trump's "frustration." "I think we have an important job to do to try to keep the intelligence committee out of politics," he added. Cornyn, who is on the intelligence panel, later said he has confidence in Burr. Other Republicans joined in. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul tweeted that Burr "didn't get the memo" that the Mueller case was closed. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted: "There's no need for another subpoena for @DonaldJTrumpJr. It's time to move on & focus on issues Americans care about." Criticism also came from the top Republican in the House. "Endless investigations — by either party — won't change the fact that there was NO collusion. It's time to move on. It's time to focus on ISSUES, not investigations," tweeted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. But Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican member of the panel, said he thinks the criticism of Burr is "a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Senate intelligence committee is about," which is congressional oversight and not prosecution. The suggestion that Burr is failing to properly lead the committee is the first real sign of any dissention among its members, who have worked together quietly since the panel's Russia investigation began in early 2017. Burr and Warner have often won praise from the panel's members, and also from McConnell, throughout the probe. As the subpoena drew criticism from GOP ranks, Republicans scrambled Thursday to develop a more cohesive response.