Democrats Say Republicans Who Released the Memo Are Complicit in Obstruction of Justice

They charge their colleagues with “a shocking campaign to obstruct the work of the Special Counsel.”

The Nunes memo released Friday.Nunes memo

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Democrats responded to the release of the controversial Devin Nunes memo Friday with a strong allegation of their own: that the Republicans who allowed the memo’s publication are complicit in an attempt to obstruct justice.

“House Republicans are now accomplices to a shocking campaign to obstruct the work of the Special Counsel, to undermine the credibility and legitimacy of the Justice Department and the FBI, and to bury the fact that a foreign adversary interfered with our last election,” Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee wrote in a letter.

The Democrats allege that worse than simply ignoring or enabling President Donald Trump’s opposition to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, releasing the memo raised the level of Republican involvement on the president’s behalf. “Releasing these Nunes talking points—likely prepared in coordination with the Trump White House—constitutes a deliberate and active complicity in the Administration’s attempts to undermine the Special Counsel and the FBI,” it states. 

The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), tweeted the full statement:

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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