MSNBC political analyst John Heilemann suggested on Tuesday that Rep. Devin Nunes, Republican chairman of the House Intel Committee, may have been "compromised" by Russia.
On "Morning Joe," Heilemann asked Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, a question he said "under almost any other circumstances would be ridiculous and absurd, but under these circumstances I think is actually warranted …
"Is it possible that the Republican chairman of the House Intel Committee has been compromised by the Russians? Is it possible that we actually have a Russian agent running the House Intel Committee on the Republican side?"
Murphy replied, "I hope that's not the case. I certainly have no information to suggest that it is."
He also suggested Nunes was "instinctually" acting to protect President Donald Trump.
Heilemann continued: "Doesn't his behavior speak of that though? I'm not the first person who's raised this. He's behaving like someone who's compromised and there are people in the intelligence community and others with great expertise in this area who look at him and say, 'That guy's been compromised.'"
The comments came a day after the intel panel voted Monday to make public a Nunes memo which reportedly alleges that the FBI abused its use of surveillance.
The release of the memo could muddy the federal probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether the Trump campaign was involved.