"If American civil liberties were abused, then that needs to come to light so that does not happen again."@SpeakerRyan and @SenateMajLdr speak amid reports @POTUS is set to release @DevinNunes memo. pic.twitter.com/MrC7ViqKo2 — Fox News (@FoxNews) February 1, 2018

With it looking like the controversial Nunes memo could be released as soon as tomorrow morning, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell answered questions from reporters on the issue this afternoon. In a press conference at the GOP retreat in West Virgina, Ryan expressed his approval of the memo’s release.

Ryan framed the release of the document — something the FBI has stated they have “grave concerns” about due to the memo’s inaccuracy — as supporting freedom of information and protecting civil liberties.

“If American civil liberties were abused, then that needs to come to light so that does not happen again,” he told reporters.

He also took issue that this memo was attacking the FBI and Department of Justice and that it was an attempt to undermining Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling.

“It does not impugn the Mueller investigation — or the deputy attorney general,” the speaker declared.

This, however, flies in the face of reports that the president sees this memo as a way of discrediting the Russia probe. According to CNN, Trump has been calling friends to tell them that he “believes the memo would expose bias within the agency’s top ranks and make it easier for him to argue the Russia investigations are prejudiced against him.”

Watch the clip above, via Fox News.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Justin Baragona on Twitter: @justinbaragona

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