Democrats and NeverTrump Republicans reacted to the release Friday of a memo alleging abuses of the federal government’s surveillance powers for political reasons by defending the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Justice, and the “Russia collusion” theory in general.
None acknowledged the importance of the constitutional rights potentially implicated by the memo’s accusations about the abuse of government authority.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who is the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee and opposed the memo’s release, called the memo’s release a “shameful” effort to discredit the FBI and the Justice Department.
Lengthy response from @RepAdamSchiff on The Memo: pic.twitter.com/SS1oJa1Guu
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 2, 2018
Likewise, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called the release of the memo a “cynical attempt” to discredit those agencies, and used the occasion to reiterate the accusations that led to the entire Russia collusion theory: “[W]hat do the Russians have on Trump, politically, financially and personally?” she said.
Pelosi’s response to Nunes memo: “What do the Russians have on Trump?” pic.twitter.com/I1jxQDwAkg
— Lisa Mascaro (@LisaMascaro) February 2, 2018
Similarly, Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez insisted: “The American people deserve to know the truth about Trump’s ties to Russia and whether he obstructed justice to prevent the truth from coming out.” He also accused Republicans of undermining the justice system — making no mention at all of the rights of the accused.
NEW: DNC Chair Tom Perez condemns Nunes memo as a “sham” after Trump authorizes its release
“We can’t let them undermine our justice system to serve their partisan political interests” pic.twitter.com/FjOv3IPV1O
— IJR (@TheIJR) February 2, 2018
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said the release of the memo could do “damage … to our ability to protect Americans from threats around the globe.” (He made no mention of the protection of Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights potentially implicated by the abuse of government surveillance, allegedly on the basis of partisan motives.)
Top Senate Intel Democrat @MarkWarner says the release of the GOP memo is “reckless and demonstrates an astonishing disregard for the truth.” pic.twitter.com/gzJrzHbRG4
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 2, 2018
While some members of NeverTrump — Republicans opposed to Trump — derided the memo as a “nothing burger,” frequent Trump critic Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) used the occasion of the memo’s release to accuse critics of the Russia investigations of partisanship and of assisting Russian president Vladimir Putin in dividing the country.
.@SenJohnMcCain statement on “partisan attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice” out now:
“We are doing Putin’s job for him.” pic.twitter.com/piJWfKWl0Z
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) February 2, 2018
None suggested that the FBI, Justice Department, or other agencies might be open to legitimate criticism.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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