Tag: Devin Nunes

A process that tarnishes the House

The following commentary from the Editorial Board of the Washington Post was posted on their website February 1, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

“WHAT THIS is not is an indictment of our institutions, of our justice system,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday about the now infamous “Nunes memo.” “It does not impugn the Mueller investigation or the deputy attorney general,” the speaker insisted. Is this cynicism or naivete?

Discrediting law enforcement is the memo’s transparent purpose and why it has been embraced by President Trump. Written mainly by the staff of Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the loose-cannon chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the memo reportedly makes the case that the FBI abused spying authorities as it sought permission to surveil a former Trump adviser. The Justice Department called its potential release, which Mr. Trump reportedly intends to approve, “extraordinarily reckless.” The FBI released its own startling public statement citing “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” Adam Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, wrote in a Post op-ed that the Nunes memo “cherry-picks facts, ignores others and smears the FBI and the Justice Department.” Continue reading “A process that tarnishes the House”

Trump’s enablers are misreading the stars

The following commentary by Joe Scarborough was posted on the Washington Post website February 1, 2018:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), left, and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves,” Cassius counseled his friend and fellow republican Marcus Brutus. In Shakespeare’s telling of the tragedy of Julius Caesar, the triumphant general returns to Rome and is feared to be plotting to become an emperor capable of laying waste to the Roman republic. But Brutus takes to heart Cassius’s reminder that loyalties flow first to the republic and not to political friends. He acts on the warning, helps to kill Caesar and then dies a miserable death. Alas, no one lives happily ever after.

This week’s story line out of Washington is less grim but still of great concern. Despite daily reminders that President Trump holds democratic traditions in deep contempt, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and his Republican caucus are allowing themselves to become co-conspirators in the president’s push to compromise U.S. constitutional norms. While no one expects the GOP to take grisly cues from Shakespeare, is it too much to ask that Ryan place grave national security concerns from the Justice Department ahead of his political peonage to Trump? Continue reading “Trump’s enablers are misreading the stars”

Fired FBI Director Comey Slams GOP Memo: ‘That’s It?”

The following article by Eric Tucker and Chad Day was posted on the Associated Press website February 2, 2018:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey scorned the memo that was released by House Republicans after being declassified Friday by President Donald Trump, saying it doesn’t add up to much. “That’s it?” Comey said on Twitter.

“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?” Comey wrote, adding: “DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs.” Continue reading “Fired FBI Director Comey Slams GOP Memo: ‘That’s It?””

The sketchy past of the man at the center of the Republicans’ memo obsession

The following article by Judd Legum was posted on the ThinkProgress website February 1, 2018:

Carter Page, an unlikely choice for American hero.

Moscow, Russia-Dec. 12, 2016: Pagemakes a presentation titled ” Departing from Hypocrisy: Potential Strategies in the Era of Global Economic Stagnation, Security Threats and Fake News” during his visit to Moscow. Credit: Artyom Korotayev/TASS via Getty Images

The infamous Republican House Intelligence Committee memo, which alleges abuses by the FBI in its investigation of the Trump campaign, is expected to be released very soon.

To regular viewers of Hannity, this is the most monumental event since the moon landing. The rest of America, meanwhile, may be wondering what this is all about. It really comes down to one question: Was an obscure Trump adviser named Carter Page a legitimate subject of FBI surveillance, or was he targeted improperly?

For many, Americans the answer to this question is: I don’t really care. For everyone else, please read on. Continue reading “The sketchy past of the man at the center of the Republicans’ memo obsession”

Rep. Devin Nunes, Trump’s stooge, attacks FBI

The following commentary from the Editorial Board of the Sacramento Bee, the largest newspaper in Rep. Nunes’ district, was posted on their website January 24, 2018 and updated February 1, 2018:

What, pray tell, does Rep. Devin Nunes think he’s doing by waving around a secret memo attacking the FBI, the nation’s premier law enforcement agency?

He certainly isn’t representing his Central Valley constituents or Californians, who care much more about health care, jobs and, yes, protecting Dreamers than about the latest conspiracy theory. Continue reading “Rep. Devin Nunes, Trump’s stooge, attacks FBI”

Why Trump is so eager to release the Nunes memo

The following article by James Hohmann with was posted on the Washington Post website February 1, 2018:

The Washington Post’s Devlin Barrett analyzes the disagreements between the FBI and the White House over a memo alleging surveillance abuse by the FBI. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

THE BIG IDEA: The classified memo written by Republican staffers for Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) could be released as early as today, despite an FBI statement expressing “grave concerns” and complaints from Democrats that it’s been materially altered at the last minute.

Senior White House officials and advisers say that President Trump wants the document published because he sees it as key to making changes at the Justice Department, particularly pushing out Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Continue reading “Why Trump is so eager to release the Nunes memo”

Rising White House fear: Nunes memo is a dud

The following article by Jonathan Swan was posted on the axios.com website February 1, 2018:

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, who previously had recused himself from the panel’s Russia investigation, arrives ahead of White House Senior Advisor and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s interview on Capitol Hill on July 25. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Inside the Trump administration, sources who’ve been briefed on the Nunes memo expect it will be underwhelming and not the “slam dunk” document it’s been hyped up to be.

What we’re hearing: There is much more skepticism inside the administration than has been previously reported about the value of releasing the memo, according to sources familiar with the administration discussions.

Be smart: Trump still wants to release the memo. But there are a number of people in the White House who are fairly underwhelmed, and there’s internal anxiety about whether it’s worth angering the FBI director and intelligence community by releasing this information.

Continue reading “Rising White House fear: Nunes memo is a dud”

Rep. Nunes’s memo crosses a dangerous line

The following commentary by Adam B. Schiff was posted on the Washington Post website January 31, 2018:

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) says the House Intelligence Committee vote to release documents alleging abuse in the FBI’s Russia probe marks a “very sad day.” (The Washington Post)

Adam B. Schiff, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, represents California’s 28th District.

Even during the most difficult of times, when Congress had seemingly lost the capacity to govern and partisan storms raged across Capitol Hill, the intelligence committees remained largely insulated from the nation’s increasingly self-destructive politics.

No more. Continue reading “Rep. Nunes’s memo crosses a dangerous line”

FBI has ‘grave concerns’ about accuracy of classified Nunes memo

The following article by Kevin Johnson was printed in the February 1, 2018 issue USA Today:

‘Material omissions of fact’

WASHINGTON — The FBI expressed “grave concerns” Wednesday about the expected declassification and release of a memo from the House Intelligence Committee that alleges the Justice Department and FBI abused their surveillance authority. Continue reading “FBI has ‘grave concerns’ about accuracy of classified Nunes memo”

Schiff accuses Nunes of altering memo before sharing it with Trump for release

The following article by Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website January 31, 2018:

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Credit: Susan Walsh/AP

The House Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat accused the panel’s chairman of making “material changes” to a GOP-drafted memo alleging surveillance abuses before sending it to the White House to approve its public release, a move he charges should prevent President Trump from releasing it.

Ranking Democratic member Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) sent a letter late Wednesday to chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), accusing him of “deliberately misleading” the committee, demanding he withdraw the version he sent to the White House because “there is no longer a valid basis for the White House to review the altered documents” and approve their public release. Continue reading “Schiff accuses Nunes of altering memo before sharing it with Trump for release”