Taking up the latest attempt by House Republicans to derail the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation in Russian collusion by attacking FISA warrants that picked up evidence before the election, CNN host Chris Cuomo mocked a House intel member for trying to bring down ex-President Barack Obama.
"I viewed the classified report from House Intel relating to the FBI, FISA abuses, the infamous Russian dossier, and so-called 'Russian collusion.' What I saw is absolutely shocking," Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) said Thursday night.
In a statement, Rep. Adam Schiff, (D-CA) pushed back at the far right conservative onslaught, issuing a statement reading: "Rife with factual inaccuracies and referencing highly classified materials that most of Republican Intelligence Committee members were forced to acknowledge they had never read, this is meant only to give Republican House members a distorted view of the FBI. This may help carry White House water, but it is a deep disservice to our law enforcement professionals."
Asked by host Cuomo to explain the "release the memo meme" that has fired up conservatives, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) tried to sell the CNN host on the idea that whatever is in the memo -- reportedly authored by Republican Devin Nunes (CA) -- is a blockbuster.
"It's primarily dealing with the Department of Justice and FBI and imagining this, did they propose or provide information to the FISA courts, and was that information accurate? That's the essence of this," Stewart asserted.
"You believe you have proof that a judge allowed warrants in violation of the legal standard for those warrants?" Cuomo pressed.
Stewart demurred, saying: "I'm not going to elaborate on it other than that."
"That is a pretty loaded suggestion, though," Cuomo shot back before mimicking Stewart with, "'This is huge but I can't tell you why.'"
"Yeah, once again, we want to declassify this as quickly and to the greatest degree that we can so that the American people can know," Stewart continued. "I've been alluding at this for months now saying there is so much that is concerning about some individuals at the Department of Justice and the FBI."
"To be very clear, I'm not casting a wide net across the FBI," the Utah Republican said backing up."They are dedicated public servants. We're talking about a few individuals in very senior leadership positions."
"It is being pitched as something that will bring down the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton," a deadpan Cuomo quipped.
"I think that's rather dramatic," a nonplussed Stewart replied. "I don’t think that’s the outcome from this."
You can watch the video below via CNN:
