Certain Republicans had high hopes for the Nunes memo before it landed Friday — after President Donald Trump cleared its release — with a dull-at-best thud.
CNN reported yesterday that Trump was hopeful the memo would undermine special counsel Robert Mueller and discredit the federal Russia investigation he is overseeing. Other members of his party predicted that its impact would be even greater, though now that the memo has been made public, it looks as if the White House official who worried to the press that the memo was a “dud” may have hit the nail on the head.
Here’s a look back at some of the lofty predictions Republicans have made over the last month about the memo’s import and impact.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)
“I believe the consequence of its release will be major changes in people currently working at the FBI and the Department of Justice,” Gaetz told Fox News in January.
In a separate appearance, he told Sean Hannity, “I think this will not end just with firings. I believe that there are people who will go to jail.”
“I think there will be criminal implications here,” Gaetz added.
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC)
Duncan tweeted on Thursday that he expected the memo to “shake” the FBI “down to its core.”
“Having read ‘The Memo,’ the FBI is right to have ‘grave concerns,'” he posted.
Duncan predicted that the document would show “Americans just how the agency was weaponized by the Obama officials/DNC/HRC to target political adversaries.”
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA)
“You think about, ‘is this happening in America or is this the KGB?’ That’s how alarming it is,” Perry told Fox News in January.
Rep. Steve King (R-IA)
Not one to avoid controversy, King claimed in January that the memo would kick off a scandal “worse than Watergate.”
“The sickening reality has set in,” King tweeted. “I no longer hold out hope there is an innocent explanation for the information the public has seen. I have long said it is worse than Watergate.”
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC)
“It’s troubling. It is shocking,” Meadows told Fox News last month. “Part of me wishes that I didn’t read it because I don’t want to believe that those kinds of things could be happening in this country that I call home and love so much.”
Later, in a tweet, he said, “This report needs to be released — now. Americans deserve the truth.”
