John McCain decries memo release: 'We are doing Putin's job for him'

Show Caption Hide Caption Nunes memo: FBI, Justice Department abused surveillance The controversial Nunes memo is out. It claims the FBI and the Justice Department abused their surveillance authority on Trump's 2016 Presidential campaign. Democrats say the memo is misleading.

Sen. John McCain, who remains in Arizona battling an aggressive form of brain cancer, warned against the release of a controversial House Intelligence Committee memo alleging FBI abuses in the surveillance of a Trump campaign official.

In a written statement released shortly before the GOP memo was made public, McCain, R-Ariz., decried what he described as a partisan attack on the FBI and the Justice Department and tried to put the focus back on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

McCain urged Trump to "stop looking at this investigation through the warped lens of politics and manufacturing partisan sideshows."

"The latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests — no party’s, no president’s, only Putin’s," McCain said. "The American people deserve to know all of the facts surrounding Russia’s ongoing efforts to subvert our democracy, which is why Special Counsel (Robert) 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.”

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McCain, the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, said the Russian regime conducted cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns to create "chaos" and undermine confidence in U.S. 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," McCain said.

The latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests – no party’s, no president’s, only Putin’s. https://t.co/6dsbcBIla6 — John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 2, 2018

Flake, R-Ariz., weighed in on the memo fight Thursday by issuing a bipartisan joint statement with Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a fellow member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“President Trump should heed the warnings of the Justice Department and FBI, and reverse his reported decision to defy longstanding policies regarding the disclosure of classified information," they wrote. "The president’s apparent willingness to release this memo risks undermining U.S. intelligence-gathering efforts, politicizing Congress’ oversight role, and eroding confidence in our institutions of government.”

The memo, written at the direction of Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is said to outline bias by members of the FBI and the Justice Department that helped shape and prolong the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump.

More: The controversial Nunes memo has been released. You can read it here

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