John McCain and Jeff Flake oppose release of Nunes memo, but other GOP members support the move

Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake both issued warnings ahead of President Donald Trump's decision Friday to allow the release of a controversial Republican House Intelligence Committee memo that alleges 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.

READ THE MEMO: Full text on GOP memo on Trump, Russia

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 in the statement issued while he remains in Arizona battling an aggressive form of brain cancer. "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.”

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.

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.

Trump didn’t seek to block the memo’s release, though the FBI said this week doing so posed grave security concerns.

What McSally, Sinema and others said

The issue has divided two of the women running for Flake's seat, Reps. Martha McSally, a Republican, and Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat.

On Thursday, McSally said in a Fox Business interview with Lou Dobbs that she agreed with "any time the public's right to know is responded to affirmatively it's the correct response."

McSally also indicated a concern that the memo's release was done in a way "protecting sources and methods and those types of things."

In a pair of tweets, Sinema said she opposed the memo's release.

"The Nunes memo is misleading and contains factual inaccuracies, and should not be released. It appears to be politically motivated," Sinema said. "Arizonans expect transparency and deserve the truth. The government should release the facts about these FISA warrants to the public, facts free of political posturing or bias."

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said the memo's clear purpose is to interfere with the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller by clearing the way to fire the man who oversees it: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said keeping the memo confidential only helps further a cover-up within the government.

“In a time when Americans need to know that they can trust the government, it is ironic that our top law enforcement officials seek to protect their own from indications of corruption," he said Thursday. "The men and women who constitute the rank-and-file of the Department of Justice and the FBI are doing a wonderful job. Their credibility must not be undermined by protecting those who have attempted to manipulate our laws. Americans must be given the opportunity to see the memorandum without exactions or redactions. They must know who has betrayed our trust.”

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., directed his followers to an opinion piece in The Hill headlined, "let's stop pretending that Democrats are the defenders of the FBI."