Whether President Donald Trump likes it or not, the question of what the Russians did to our presidential election process and who they did it with is a big, dark question looming over the new administration. And it is increasingly apparent that the question needs to be probed by an independent investigator who is not subject to political party pressures.

Last week Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee panel charged with running the investigation, committed a faux pas that brings his independence and intentions into question. After receiving information from some source that the FBI did have the Trump campaign under some kind of surveillance, if not phone taps, Nunes trotted to the White House to tell the president without informing his Democratic colleagues on the panel. We don’t know too many invesigators who think it’s a good idea to go to the person they are investigating with information they have found against them.

As we said, allegations of Russian interference and possible collusion by members of the Trump campaign are serious, and deserve a serious investigation. We wonder if Nunes or any member of Congress is able to handle the job. It is a question that indeed calls for an independent investigator.