Rep. Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffTop Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence Overnight Defense: Top admiral says 'no condition' where US should conduct nuclear test 'at this time' | Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings Overnight Defense: House to vote on military justice bill spurred by Vanessa Guillén death | Biden courts veterans after Trump's military controversies MORE (D-Calif.) on Wednesday sharply criticized Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee and Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) in an op-ed over the impending release of a Republican-authored memo purporting to detail surveillance abuses.

In a piece for The Washington Post, the ranking Democrat on the intelligence panel takes aim at the committee's chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes Devin Gerald NunesSunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election Sunday shows preview: With less than two months to go, race for the White House heats up Sunday shows preview: Republicans gear up for national convention, USPS debate continues in Washington MORE (R-Calif.), for pushing to release the memo, which Schiff characterizes as inaccurate and misleading.

"On Monday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) moved to release a memo written by his staff that cherry-picks facts, ignores others and smears the FBI and the Justice Department — all while potentially revealing intelligence sources and methods," Schiff writes.

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Schiff added that the party-line vote Monday to release the memo despite objections from Democrats and the Justice Department represented a "violent break" from the committee's usual bipartisan work.

"The party-line vote to release the Republican memo but not a Democratic response was a violent break from the committee’s nonpartisan tradition and the latest troubling sign that House Republicans are willing to put the president’s political dictates ahead of the national interest," Schiff says.

The California Democrat also attacked Ryan over Nunes's memo, faulting the House leader for not standing up to attacks on the FBI from his own party.

"Nunes may have wielded the committee gavel here, but the ultimate responsibility lies with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), who lacked the courage to stop him," Schiff says.

Schiff has authored his own memo to counter the claims made by the Republicans' memo, but the committee's Republicans blocked its release. On Monday, Schiff said that committee Democrats "will move that this new memorandum be made available to the full House in our classified spaces."

The Republican memo is "another effort to distract from the Russia probe and undermine the special counsel," Schiff added Monday.