KEY POINTS: What to Know About the Nunes Memo

After weeks of hype and hyperbole on the Nunes Memo, what we got was a lot of sizzle, no steak. But the PR blitz by Nunes, the Administration, and other GOP leaders is trying to sell a partisan and misleading memo. Arm yourself with some facts and key points, courtesy of Stand Up Republic.

The Administration’s Response

It’s no secret that the president viewed this memo as a way to stop the Mueller investigation.

• Trump’s own tweets prove as much
• His allies have lined up to push the very same narrative:
• Tea Party Patriots want to fire Rod Rosenstein,
• Judicial Watch echoes the same,
• the Federalist says to be a patriot you HAVE to attack the FBI.

Congress’ Role

Many Members of Congress have tried to walk a tightrope, saying the memo was important, but didn’t discredit the Mueller investigation.

• Maybe they believe that, but after a year of Trump warring against those investigating him, they had to know how he’d use this memo.
• It’s naive to think that the president would view this memo as anything other than a weapon against the FBI and Mueller investigation.

Many members of Congress pointed to public pressure campaigns urging them to #ReleaseTheMemo, but research shows that these social media campaigns were by and large the result of Russian information warfare attacks.

The Memo’s False Allegations

The memo itself contradicts Team Trump’s central claim that the Steele Dossier provided the basis for the Mueller investigation. Rather, it was Trump campaign adviser George Papadopolous who’s ties to Russia prompted the investigation.

The memo claims that the Steele Dossier is the only evidence the FBI used in applying for a warrant to monitor Trump advisor Carter Page.

• Page first appeared on the FBI’s radar in 2013, and there are literally recordings of Russian spies discussing Page as a potential agent.

The memo also argues that the Steele Dossier — funded by Clinton’s opposition research efforts — shouldn’t be used by the FBI. It’s astonishing that GOP leaders think the FBI shouldn’t follow credible evidence or leads if it comes from a source they don’t like.

• Despite the memo’s claims that the FBI had not told judges of the political nature of the dossier, they’ve now acknowledged that yes, in fact, the FBI did tell judges of the document’s political roots.

Ultimately, the memo claims to prove that there is an anti-Trump bias in the FBI, especially during the 2016 election. But there is no evidence that the FBI did anything at that time to tip the scales against Trump. On the contrary, the fact that these investigations were not leaked or made public show that they were not used to influence the election.

We know that Russia did attack our country with information warfare in the 2016 election, and we know that they continue to do so today. We also know that Carter Page has several troubling ties to Russian intelligence agents.

Critical questions to ask:

Why is the Trump administration, Devin Nunes, and the House GOP leadership trying to defend Carter Page with half-truths and partisan memos?

We already know that the Trump campaign included 5 advisors and employees with dangerous ties to the Kremlin: Flynn, Gates, Manafort, Page, and Papadopolous.

• Why did the Trump administration hire so many advisers with inappropriate ties to Putin and the Kremlin?
• Were those advisers hired because of their Russian ties, or were people working on behalf of the Russian government eager to inject themselves in the Trump campaign?
• If they’ve done nothing wrong, why have so many of them openly lied about their connections, and why has the administration routinely misrepresented their work for the campaign?
• Don’t we deserve answers to these questions?