Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, has released an extensive statement saying he hopes the minority's full countermemo will be publicly available as soon as Monday, but in the meantime, he can explain some of the problems with the Nunes memo.
The President’s decision to publicly release a misleading memo attacking DOJ & FBI is a transparent attempt to discredit these institutions and undermine Mueller’s probe.
We'll fight to release our classified response. Until then here's a glimpse at what's wrong with their memo: pic.twitter.com/HX0J6UtDLY
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 2, 2018
The Atlantic's Natasha Bertrand has a statement from Senator Mark Warner's (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee:
Statement by Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee:
“In 2016, the Russian government engaged in an elaborate plot to interfere in an American election and undermine our democracy. Russia employed the same tactics it has used to influence elections around the world, from France and Germany to Ukraine, Montenegro, and beyond. Putin’s regime launched cyberattacks and spread disinformation with the goal of sowing chaos and weakening faith in our institutions. And while we have no evidence that these efforts affected the outcome of our election, I fear they succeeded in fueling political discord and dividing us from one another.
“The latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests – no party’s, no president’s, only Putin’s. The American people deserve to know all of the facts surrounding Russia’s ongoing efforts to subvert our democracy, which is why Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation must proceed unimpeded. Our nation’s elected officials, including the president, must stop looking at this investigation through the warped lens of politics and manufacturing partisan sideshows. If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin’s job for him.”
Former FBI Director James Comey tweeted:
That’s it? Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee, destroyed trust with Intelligence Community, damaged relationship with FISA court, and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen. For what? DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs.
— James Comey (@Comey) February 2, 2018
Mincing no words, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused President Trump, who approved the memo’s release, of siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the expense of national security.
“President Trump has surrendered his constitutional responsibility as Commander-in-Chief by releasing highly classified and distorted intelligence,” Pelosi said.
STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON PARTISAN ATTACKS ON THE FBI & DOJ
Top Intelligence Committee Democrat says release of Nunes memo is an attempt to 'circle the wagons around the White House' (Business Insider)