House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) supports the release of a memo crafted by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee responding to the controversial memo crafted by staff for Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA).
“The speaker is in favor of greater transparency. If it is scrubbed to ensure it does not reveal sources and methods of our intelligence gathering, the speaker supports the release of the Democrats’ memo,” Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said in a statement.
As Republicans in the House pushed for the release of their memo that alleges abuse by senior government officials of the system used to obtain surveillance warrants, Democrats crafted their own memo responding to the GOP claims.
The 10-page Democratic memo reportedly argues that officials did not abuse the FISA process and charges that the Republican memo is just a political document aimed at undermining the FBI.
In the same meeting on Monday during which Republicans voted to make their memo public, Democrats pushed for theirs to be released as well. However, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee voted against releasing that memo.
Though it appears that Ryan disagrees with Nunes and the Republicans on the Intelligence Committee about the future of the Democratic memo, he has largely been deferential to Nunes and the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee throughout the push for the memo’s release.
On Thursday, Ryan fiercely defended the Republicans’ memo, claiming that it will not hurt special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, even though President Donald Trump reportedly hopes it does just that.
“What this is not, is an indictment on our institutions, of our justice system. This memo is not indictment of the FBI, of the Department of Justice, it does not impugn the Mueller investigation or the deputy attorney general,” Ryan told reporters at the Republican retreat in West Virginia.
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