Nunes memo

The Nunes memo is a four-page memorandum written by Republican staff members of U.S. Representative Devin Nunes and released to the public by the Republican controlled House Intelligence Committee on February 2, 2018. Formally titled Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Abuses at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it alleges that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "may have relied on politically motivated or questionable sources" to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant on Trump adviser Carter Page in the early phases of the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.

Quotes

 * The “dossier” compiled by Christopher Steele (Steele dossier) on behalf of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Hillary Clinton campaign formed an essential part of the Carter Page FISA application. Steele was a longtime FBI source who was paid over $160,000 by the DNC and Clinton campaign, via the law firm Perkins Coie and research firm Fusion GPS, to obtain derogatory information on Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.
 * The [FISA] application does not mention Steele was ultimately working on behalf of—and paid by—the DNC and Clinton campaign, or that the FBI had separately authorized payment to Steele for the same information.
 * [Christopher] Steele admitted to Ohr his feelings against then-candidate Trump when Steele said he "was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president." This clear evidence of Steele's bias was recorded by Ohr at the time and subsequently in official FBI files—but not reflected in any of the Page FISA applications.
 * [FBI agent Pete] Strzok was reassigned by the Special Counsel's Office to FBI Human Resources for improper text messages with his mistress, FBI Attorney Lisa Page (no known relation to Carter Page), where they both demonstrated a clear bias against Trump and in favor of Clinton, whom Strzok had also investigated.

Quotes about the Nunes memo



 * The only thing [the memo] established is that Nunes is a nut job, and he has released anew the putrid stench of neo-McCarthyism
 * Former White House Counsel to Richard Nixon John Dean, in
 * 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. ... 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.
 * Joint statement by Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake and Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons, in
 * There is a Russia investigation without a dossier ... So to the extent the memo deals with the dossier and the FISA process, the dossier has nothing to do with the meeting at Trump Tower. The dossier has nothing to do with an email sent by Cambridge Analytica. The dossier really has nothing to do with George Papadopoulos' meeting in Great Britain. It also doesn't have anything to do with obstruction of justice. So there's going to be a Russia probe, even without a dossier.
 * South Carolina Republican Representative Trey Gowdy, in
 * There is no evidence that Clinton was involved in Steele's reports or worked with Russian entities to feed information to Steele. That's where Nunes's claim goes off the rails — and why he earns Four Pinocchios.
 * Glenn Kessler, in


 * Conservatives have not had so triumphant a week since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The past two years have offered many successes, from President Trump’s victory in 2016 to the successful confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. But none so thoroughly demolished so dominant a leftist narrative as the collapse of the Russia collusion hoax.
 * Michael J. Knowles, Trump’s best week ever – Dems' politics of fantasy collapse, 29 March 2019, Fox News


 * I would argue - if you have some information that would lead you [to serious charges], you would likely do a full investigation, taking information, boiling it down into a memo that certainly has only one perspective, and then releasing it at the angst of all of the intelligence community and the FBI I argue is probably not the best way for the public to figure out what in the heck is going on.
 * Michigan Republican Representative and former Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers, in
 * This is about [FISA] abuse and this is about holding our government accountable and this is about Congress doing its job, its conducting oversight over the executive branch.
 * Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan, in
 * This memo totally vindicates 'Trump' in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their [sic] was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction.
 * Donald Trump, in