WASHINGTON, DC - After President Trump cleared House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes’ (R-CA) partisan memo in an attempt to discredit the FBI and U.S. Justice Department, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), an ex officio member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued the following statement:

“The Nunes memo is not a serious attempt at either oversight or transparency.  Rather, it presents a one-sided, misleading narrative with the apparent goal of distracting, distorting, and discrediting the FBI and law enforcement.  

“Congressman Nunes has already demonstrated his capacity to coordinate with the White House in an attempt to willfully mislead the public about the Trump-Russia case.  I am confident that the innuendo from this memo will be refuted when weighed against the full evidence.  But the manner in which it was released does a real disservice to the hardworking men and women who serve on the front lines of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence gathering.  

“It is troubling that both Putin and Trump loyalists have aligned propaganda efforts in an attempt to spread some of the same misleading conspiracy theories and undermine the integrity of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence.  They want to try to use this one-sided memo to invalidate an independent criminal investigation that has already resulted in the indictment of four members of Trump’s inner circle, and may result in more.  Mr. Mueller needs to follow the facts and evidence, wherever it leads.

“The American people deserve the truth.  If President Trump and Congressman Nunes were interested in a full, accurate accounting of why this investigation was launched, they would release Congressman Schiff’s response.

“If Mr. Mueller is allowed to do his job without further interference, I believe Americans will get the truth.  But if Republicans block this independent investigation, and continue advancing attacks on our intelligence and law enforcement agents, they will have crossed a red line.  Nobody in the United States is above the law, and we must defend our nation against future attacks.  

“We need a return to honest government and elected leaders who will put fidelity to the Constitution first.”